The new ECL ’26: Winter season is approaching, and registrations are open for teams and players across Europe for one final evening. The ECL is the leading European competition played in the EA SPORTS™ NHL franchise, featuring structured divisions for all skill levels.

Since 2015, the European Championship League (ECL) has been the main stage for competitive eHockey in Europe, bringing together players in a 6v6 format where every position on the ice is player-controlled. With divisions suited for all levels—from newcomers to top-tier teams—the ECL continues to offer a structured and competitive environment for everyone looking to test their skills.

This winter marks the start of another competitive chapter in European eHockey. As teams prepare their rosters and strategies, anticipation builds for what’s to come. With registration now open, the new season offers every team a chance to prove themselves on the ice.

The European Championship League (ECL) is Europe’s premier competitive league for organized 6v6 eHockey, played in the EA SPORTS™ NHL franchise.

Featuring multiple divisions from Elite to Neo, as well as a 1v1 competition, the ECL offers players of all skill levels a structured and competitive environment. Every skater and goaltender is fully human-controlled, with all games played in EASHL mode on PlayStation and Xbox.

Established in 2015, the ECL now enters its 21st season with a thriving community of players. The league also features ECL 1v1, introduced in the ECL ’23 Winter season, where Europe’s best solo players compete for the championship.
 

Basic information/requirements of ECL:

• Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however, we do not necessarily exclude players located in North America or Asia. A European server will always be used. We reserve the right to exclude teams or players in case of severe connection issues.
   
• Individual requirements: Each player needs to have an account at SportsGamer.GG and create their personal player card.
   
• ECL licenses: Teams in ECL Elite & ECL Pro, ECL Lite, and ECL Core will require their respective ECL ‘26: Winter team licenses in order to play. In addition, every player in the above-mentioned divisions needs to have a valid ECL ‘26: Player License or ECL ‘26: Winter Player License before taking the ice. Players in ECL Neo require only an ECL '26: Winter Neo Player License. You will find more information about the licenses lower in this article.
  
  Teams may also register up to three backup players, who can be used as substitutes during the season. Each backup may appear in a maximum of 10 games combined across both the Winter and Spring seasons, including qualifiers, regular season, and playoffs. All backups must be listed on the team’s official roster before participating in any game.
  
  The ECL '26 Pre-Season tournament does not require the license
   
• Rules: ECL '26: Winter - Official Rules.

The sign-ups close on the following dates:

• ECL Elite: 9.11.2025
• ECL Pro: 9.11.2025
• ECL Lite: 9.11.2025
• ECL Core: 27.11.2025
• ECL Neo: 27.11.2025

Signups will close at 23:59 CET on the day mentioned unless otherwise specified.

League Administration reserves the right to place a signed up team at a higher level than signed up, if deemed necessary for competitive integrity.

Schedule
This section briefly describes the key dates for the ECL '26: Winter season. For a more detailed breakdown, see the ECL '26: Winter - Information & Key Dates


Regular Season duration: 30.11 - 15.1

Playoffs duration: 18.1 - 28.2^*

* The exact details for the playoffs and division finals will be communicated once the final number of teams per division is known.
 

Free Agents & Teams Looking for Players

Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster?

• If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here.
• If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here.

Need more help? Check out the "How to Find a Team or Players for Your Team" article!

Player and Team Licenses

If you're a team looking to use your previous winnings toward a license, please contact support for assistance.

ECL '26 LICENSES ARE AVAILABLE USING THIS LINK

The ECL Neo division does not require a team license; however, ECL Neo players are required to have an active Player license at a cost of 10 EUR per season.

Please refer to this ECL Ranking in order to understand which teams are eligible to sign up for each division.
 

The ECL prize pool will be determined directly by community participation.

Each season, a share of the collected license-fee income is distributed back to players as prize money across all divisions.

How it works

For the ECL ’26: Winter season, at least 35% of net license-fee income (after VAT and transaction fees) will be paid out as prize money.

The initial prize pool estimate will be published at the start of the season, based on confirmed team and player registrations at that time. If additional licenses are purchased during the season, the final prize pool will be adjusted accordingly and disclosed once all registrations are complete.

Full-year license fees are evenly divided between the Winter and Spring seasons.

Why this structure?

Prize pool shares reflect each division’s competitive level and progression within the ECL structure — ensuring that advancement through the divisions is both meaningful and rewarding.

The distribution between divisions remains consistent with previous ECL seasons.

For more specific information about the division-specific prize pool distribution, please see the ECL '26: Winter - Official Rules or this forum post.

Rule Changes

The updated ECL '26: Winter Official Rules are now available. All team captains are expected to familiarize themselves with the rulebook before the season begins.

Here's a snapshot of some of the major adjustments/additions compared to ECL ‘25: Spring:

• 9.2.3.: Players taking the face-off are strictly forbidden from reverse hitting directly following the face-off (though this has been patched and should not be possible anymore)
• 11.7.: Banned Player Abilities, Builds & Positional Builds section has been significantly updated (newest update October 29th)
• Necessary links and Prize Pool Distribution information have been updated.

Banned Player Abilities, Builds & Positional Builds
You can  read about and discuss player abilities and bans here .

Are there some rule-related changes we’ve missed?

Now is your chance to discuss and suggest what type of changes you would like to see in the rulebook.

PLEASE NOTE: ECL '26: WINTER 1v1 SIGNUPS WILL LAUNCH LATER THIS YEAR.

The ECL ’26: Winter season marks the next step in our ongoing commitment to structured, high-quality European eHockey competition.

Whether you’re joining for the first time or returning to defend your title, we look forward to seeing you on the ice this winter.

🔗 Sign up now and be part of the action!