SportsGamers,

It's been quite the first week of competition in our ECL '23 Winter Elite division and several storylines are already slowly starting to unfold. While some teams have been able to take off big time, others haven't been able to start off the way they drew it up in training camp. Some of the parity of the league right now really shows in the fact that not even the defending Champion hREDS were able to escape the first week lossless, as they ended up taking an overtime L against fellow contenders in their opening night matchup.

Other things we got to witness right from the get-go on opening night was a true tale of two halves in the matchup between Reality Check and ZSC Esports. The newly promoted Reality Check squad laid a beating on the Swiss outfit in their first ever Elite bout and came away with a 10-0 win in which V-V @vvlampela (cTunkeilija) Lampela really popped off, recording 9 points in total. Imagine their surprise when the Swiss got their game going for game 2, this Elite campaign wasn't going to be quite that easy, boys! Zürich managed to mount a great response in their home game, returning the favor with a 3-0 win. The Swiss lions played four matchups in their first week, and at least early on it's looked like they've struggled finding their cycle game, having to resort to counter-attacking in many of their games. 

We've also been very pleased to see how Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen has taken off in his new red and green colors with Frölunda HC. After a few quieter seasons with HAVU Gaming and JYP there was even some speculation of the highly skilled winger laying off the thumbsticks, but now he's back and looking better than ever. With six goals on opening night and 9+3=12 in the first week in total, Puantso is second in scoring for his team, and 11th in the entire league. 

Nordic Stars is a team we were expecting to make the Playoffs based on our preview, but the squad has really been able to open their season in style with a 5-2-1 record in their eight first games. However, their schedule thus far has been fairly favorable, including Roots Gaming and ISO Esports to name a few teams that we are expecting to finish outside the Playoff picture. One of the most convincing outing for Nordic stars this past week was their absolute shutdown of Falun Coal Miners. The team managed to walk away from the matchup with a 5-0 and 6-0 win, with goaltender Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck making a total of 17 saves in the process. If Nordic Stars manage to keep up this trend and their 1.38 point average, they will make the Playoffs at the end of the season for sure. 

Falun Coal Miners made another appearance with a heroic performance on Sunday against hREDS. The team has had a challenging schedule to start their campaign to say the least, but despite having to match up against bona fide contenders Frölunda HC and hREDS in the first week of competition, the Swedish outfit has still managed to cash in on six points in total, with two of them coming from OT losses against both of the aforementioned powerhouses. Tomi @Tope0090 (Mestari_tikkuuu) Heikkilä has shared responsibilities with Jonas @poliskontroll Lindström in net, and they have certainly been able to pull their weight for the team. Falun is expected to pick up their point collection pace in the coming weeks for sure. 

Standings - Week 1

1.  hREDS (-) 5-0-1

2.  Nordic Stars (+6) 5-2-1

3.  Frölunda HC (-) 5-1-0

4.  ISO Esports (+10) 3-1-4

5.  Unlucky Boys HC (+10) 4-2-0

6.  Tunnel Vision (-4) 3-0-1

7.  Reality Check (+4) 3-1-0

8.  JYP Jyvaskyla (+2) 3-1-0

9.  ZSC Esports (-3) 3-5-0

10.  Roots Gaming (+6) 2-0-2

11.  GOONS (-2) 2-2-2

12.  Färjestad BK (-8) 2-2-2

13.  Falun Coal Miners (-) 2-4-2

14.  Växjö Lakers (-9) 0-2-2

15.  JANO (-3) 0-0-0

16.  Luleå Hockey (-8) 0-2-0

ECL '23 Winter Elite continues today with two great broadcast matchups!
Tune in to watch Frölunda HC take on Tunnel Vision and Unlucky Boys take on Falun Coal Miners. See you at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG at 19:45CET!

We've played through the first three qualifiers of the ECL '23 Winter 1v1 season and this weekend, it's time for the fourth and last chance to Qualify for the Top 128 group stage. If you haven't done so yet, this is your last shot at joining the best European players in playing for the first ever ECL 1v1 Championship.

Here's a list of qualified players from the first three Qualifiers:

Quote

Note: These players have already qualified for the top 128 and won't be eligible to participate in further Qualifiers. 

1    patee___
1    sisu33
1    Hansulinho
2    Artuzio
2    temppanen
2    Hullued
4    ITemeI
4    Koljinge
4    LaxenHD
4    tkantola
4    Markoohh-
4    kimmous
8    I_Saarinen_I
8    Indjulla
8    JesseL2002
8    juusoskari
8    Laiitinen
8    PedroFIN_
8    Wilgoat3
8    wpaananen
8    Valee__
8    Faze91-
8    Misee96
8    NikkeDangles
16    CPT_DirtyDangler
16    Eeemill_
16    eken45jr
16    Harlowi-
16    Mehukatti10
16    Mikkaah
16    Naatti__
16    Pikkarii
16    RealTuffe
16    SadaPoika
16    Sakickin
16    Searaider21
16    Sluibaaja_88
16    snipeLVcelly8
16    xSaski_
16    Youtube_Azzez
16    Larzzon19
16    bot_HENE
16    TAPPUU_
16    ssampee37
16    Kaapo13
16    Zwiggy_Star
16    keranee
16    zMikkeez
32    amadee21
32    bystrom_37
32    Danyyy452
32    darkoovski
32    EkiOriginal
32    Emppa98_
32    House_Pro
32    J-_-Jamaltheman
32    JakePlay77
32    JanEerikBanan
32    KenuFHR
32    KEVlNATOR_
32    Komir_90
32    kriketsi17
32    Krisutus_
32    Kungenkirwa
32    Maalitohtori
32    Mesimaki94
32    NiQLaSSS
32    No_Style39
32    Ose1688
32    pappeen-
32    PumPaDaDa_
32    Sagee95
32    santeerii
32    Sportage14
32    Teemuyy
32    Teroe94
32    tomboo-_-
32    Tontokar98
32    Tumpp1A
32    xTubsi
32    Allupekkaz
32    Timoccio
32    Patadevils
32    Lipijs
32    JokkeRNG
32    Johannes_MERC
32    gamer142484
32    JAMJAM923
32    Halkian-price
32    Krapulantti
32    Lidman1
32    I-Nisse-I
32    Jelgavn1eks
32    Mikse94
32    Rigoletto_
32    Jonttuyy

Description

ECL 1v1 is for players who want to test their skills against the best of the best in competitive play. The ECL 1v1 Winter season features four qualifiers, leading to group play with the top 128 players of these qualifiers involved. The top 64 of the group stage will continue to determine the best of the best in the best-of-three playoffs with a prize pool totaling 2500€. Taking part in the ECL 1v1 seasons requires the purchase of the ECL '23 Player License.

Format

The league is played in three stages:

Stage 1: Qualifier stage (BO1, single elimination) - Four qualifiers open to anyone, the top 32 players from each Qualifier advance to stage 2, with seeding baskets for stage 2 being determined by qualifier rank.

Stage 2: Group play (BO1) - The top 128 players will be seeded into eight groups with 16 players each, the 8 best will advance to the playoffs from each group.

Stage 3: Playoffs (BO3, single elimination) - The Semifinals and Finals will be played live at the SportsGamer offices in Espoo, Finland January 13th, 2023.

ECL '23 Winter: 1v1 Schedule

Qualifier 4

• Sign up period
  • 15.11-16.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 17.12
    • RO64: 16:00CET
    • RO32: 17:00CET
    • RO16: 17:30CET
  • Sunday 18.12
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 16:30CET

TOP 128 Group Play (BO1)

• Tuesday 27.12.
  • R1: 18:00
  • R2: 18:30
  • R3: 19:00
  • R4: 19:30
• Thursday 29.12.
  • R5: 18:00
  • R6: 18:30
  • R7: 19:00
  • R8: 19:30
• Friday 30.12.
  • R9: 18:00
  • R10: 18:30
  • R11: 19:00
  • R12: 19:30
• Tuesday 3.1.
  • R13: 18:00
  • R14: 18:30
  • R15: 19:00

Playoffs (BO3)

• Friday 6.1.
  • RO64: 18:00CET
  • RO32: 19:30CET
• Sunday 8.1.
  • RO16: 15:00CET
  • Quarterfinals: 16:30CET
• Friday 13.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland
  • Semifinals: 18:00CET
  • Finals: 20:00CET

SportsGamers,

The ECL '23 Winter Core division is kicking off on Tuesday, December 13th and it's time to get to know some of the teams and go through what this division is all about at the end of the day. ECL Core is the second level of competition, and the first level featuring a prize pool, which is going to be 3500€ this season. 

ECL '23 Winter Core holds 27 teams divided into two groups, out of which 8 in each group will make the Playoffs. Default gamedays are Tuesday, Thursday and Wednesday. Playoffs are played in best-of-seven manner. 

Head to the league page here to view the groups and game schedule.

ECL '23 Winter: Core Schedule

• Regular Season: 13.12.2022-19.1.2023
• RO32: 22.-26.1.2023
• RO16: 29.1-2.2.2023
• Quarterfinals: 5.-9.2.2023
• Semifinals: 12.-16.2.2023
• Finals: 19.-23.2.2023

The Core division was introduced in ECL 12, and thus this is going to be the fourth time we're seeing action at the fourth tier of competition in the ECL. The division houses several interesting teams representing traditional ice hockey clubs, such as HC Pustertal eSports based in northern Italy, who are in their inaugural season. Some other examples of such teams are Swiss sides Ambri eSports, EHC Basel eSports or the French Remparts de Tours Esport, who are now starting their sixth ECL campaign.

Some other teams to keep your eye on would definitely be the long-lived Pirates eSports, who have been consistent in their participation, but success has eluded them. Their roster has seen some turnover throughout the years, but now most of the current squad are carrying over from last season's Pirates eSports Origins. 

Perhaps the most electrifying player in the entire division can be found in the roster of Capetown Kings, as @Timotei97 has joined them from GIFU Hockey. It'll be interesting to see if he will end up being in a backup role or if the former Elite and Pro winger will take the ice in the Capetown jersey. Elsewhere, FIFA superstar @egoapina could be an interesting player to follow for his Turkunummi, who are coming fresh off an ECL '22 Spring Neo Championship. 

ECL '23 Core competition officially starts tonight, with several teams having their opening matchups scheduled! Make sure to follow the tag #ECL23Winter on social media to stay up to date on all the latest news and gameday updates. As always, Good luck, play hard and have fun!

SportsGamers,

ECL Lite is the third tier of competition under the European Championship League umbrella and features several established teams that have been building their story for years, such as Nordic Nosebleed, Lutunilkat, Resurrection or Armada Hockey. In addition, we also have the first Xbox Series X|S team xBOTS in this division, so we should have some cool storylines to follow!

Many old teams and even more new teams are here to fight for prizes and promotion to the higher divisions. The road isn’t always the easiest and as we've seen in the past, a good regular season doesn’t mean anything when the really big games start in the Playoffs. It's definitely going to be a season to keep your eye on with several good teams, and even better individuals.

Season Information

ECL '23 Winter Lite features 64 teams divided in four groups with 16 teams each. Eight teams per group will make the Playoffs, which are played in a best-of-seven manner.

Head to the league page here to view the groups and game schedule.

ECL '23 Winter: Lite Schedule

• Qualifiers: 24.11-8.12.2022
• Regular Season: 13.12.2022-18.1.2023
• RO32: 22.-25.1.2023
• RO16: 29.1-1.2.2023
• Quarterfinals: 5.-8.2.2023
• Semifinals: 12.-15.2.2023
• Finals: 19.-22.2.2023

Season preview

Preview written by @Miettinen14

The new season brings many new teams to Lite due to many of last season's top end teams getting their place in the higher division, Pro. Big Mistake is one of the interesting new teams. 12-0 in qualifiers is rare and is really a storm warning given to the opponents in the division. The squad consists of several experienced players and young prodigy @Allupekkaz, who is expected to have a proper breakout season. Gunners HC is another club that looks great coming into their first ever ECL campaign. They've got some experienced players who played together in the eSM and got into the top 16, beating the mighty HAVU Gaming on their way there. If they'll be able to find that same form and keep their heads cool, they could end up being solid contenders this season. As mentioned before, the first ever Xbox team signed up, xBOTS is another one to keep your eyes on. Their players might not sound too familiar at this point, but on the 1v1 side of the game, the roster is stacked with talent. It's going to be interesting to see how they play and if they can match up well against some of the more established PlayStation squads. 

The more experienced side is really well represented too. For example Armada Hockey, Finnish Hockey Legends and Oulunsalo HT have made up the core of the Lite division for some seasons already. We are looking for them to eventually find a way to level up their game or at a minimum solidify their spots as consistent Playoff contenders. One very experienced team, that we haven't seen on the 6v6 ice earlier is Vizio, consisting of several well performing 1v1 players and led by @Artuzio. We've seen similar projects in the past, and they've never really taken off to the extent that their potential would suggest. However, it is certain that these players hold the skill required to really make their mark in this division and above. 

It'll also be extremely interesting to see what community sweethearts Lutunilkat will be up to this season. They're a team that certainly knows how to get a buzz going around them and have proven their skill on the social media side of things in the past, maybe now is the time to transition that onto the ice?

Lite also has the Central European teams very well represented, with the likes of SCB eSports, EHC Dinamo Riga, Nurnberg IceTigers eSport, Eisbaeren Lauf Gaming, Gleumes Hockey Krefeld and many more participating. These are teams that are always tough to get a read on as they play a lot in their DACH-bubble, which is both a disadvantage and an advantage. The community has grown a great lot over the years and these teams are able to get quality practice on a regular basis, with the exception of the very top teams. However, the issue might be not seeing that much of the northern teams, but in turn, these northern teams don't see too much of the central teams either. 

Players to watch

Lite holds a lot of interesting and highly skilled players this season. It has traditionally been one of those levels, where individual players get to shine more, before moving up to the more defensively sound Pro and Elite divisions.

@Valee__, Hunters
Valee will be playing for his old team Hunters this season. He took one season in Pro and is now back with his old team trying to achieve what they couldn’t do in the past.

@Maexsa, Stone Age
A true veteran and the heart and soul of Stone Age. The team is a lite mainstay, but missed out on playoff competition in the Spring season, warranting a comeback story. We'll see Maexsa take the lead in that push for glory.

@sisu33_, Vizio
The young gun for this season is sisu33_. Maybe not the most known player in the 6v6 scene but proving himself on the 1v1 side already. Maybe we see him breaking into sixes this season alongside some of the most highly skilled players around in Vizio.

@Markus strandfeldt (Strandis96), Skellefteå AIK
Strandis96 is an interesting player also. Has built up his resume between Core and Pro and has shown potential to become a great player, even in the near future. Changing the scenery every season may be the problem but maybe Skellefteå is the right place to grow for him.

@JesseL2002, Project X
Project X have gotten JesseL2002 back from Reality Check. He has proven his level and even got the Elite promotion with Reality Check. Fortunately for Project X, they are getting a very welcome familiar face to their squad! 

@Youtube_Azzez, Purification
Azzez has great hands and vision. Showing great potential and this might be the season for him to really blossom. Has surrounded himself with likeminded players that are also looking for a spot to break out, perhaps they'll elevate each other.

@sylvesterrr87 (Bafligen), Ghost
Ghost has a really good center in Bafligen. Really shines with his two-way play and can help his team in both ends of the ice. A very mature player, who you can really count on.

@Artuzio, Vizio
A player you can never count out. Has won almost everything you can imagine on the 1v1 side of things, but success has eluded him in sixes. Maybe a couple youngsters and some of his old trustees by his side will help him turn the tide. 

ECL '23 Lite competition officially starts tonight, with several teams having their opening matchups scheduled! Make sure to follow the tag #ECL23Winter on social media to stay up to date on all the latest news and gameday updates. As always, Good luck, play hard and have fun!

SportsGamers,

It's been a wild offseason for lots of teams, and the new iteration of the game certainly adds a special spice to the mix. Several teams will have to push through various types of adversity on their long campaign that they all are hoping to end with ultimate glory - An ECL '23 Winter Championship and a spot in the fabled World Finals. Going into the season, it seems like one team especially seems to have a step on the competition, whereas below that and in the mid-table, we'll be seeing unprecedented parity throughout the league. 

Season Information

ECL '23 Winter Elite features 16 of the best NHL esports teams in Europe. Eight teams in total will make the Playoffs, which are played in a best-of-seven manner. The Champion will be punching their ticket to play the NACL '23 Winter Champion in the World Finals in Helsinki on February 25th. 

Head to the league page here to view the groups and game schedule.

ECL '23 Winter: Elite Schedule

• Regular Season: 12.12.2022-18.1.2023
• Quarterfinals: 25.1-1.2.2023
• Semifinals: 5-8.2.2023
• Finals: 24.2.2023 (Live in Helsinki)

Season preview

This ranking is based on averages in a vote involving several community members. 

1.  hREDS

The team that won it all in ECL '22 is now back, looking as strong as ever with the recent acquisition of Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila as a replacement for Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and a preseason tournament win already under their belts. There are little to no signs that hREDS would be letting up on their reign of dominance, and with GOONS' eHSM-winning roster disbanding in the offseason, now their closest competition is also just that much further away. Wingers Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen have been great for the team over the course of the preseason, and they are expected to continue performing with the return of arguably the best centerman in the league, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. It's hard to see anyone stopping the dominant streak hREDS are on currently and the competition will really have to dig deep. 

2.  Tunnel Vision
Tunnel Vision is looking great heading into another season after some offseason turbulence for the squad. While "offseason turbulence" could be something that makes lots of captain sweat, Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen definitely managed to keep their heads cool and come out on top in this one. As much as losing offensive superstar Jere @jxrska Laukka might sting, they've found a way to replace him with another Laitinen, Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen that is. The kid has been doing great things for GOONS over the past couple of seasons, and really blossomed in the eSHM, capping things off with a title. Perhaps now is his time to shine in the ECL too?

3.  Frölunda HC

Frölunda HC will be coming at us hard this season with the dream team we all wanted to see back in the NHL 19 days with peak Written In The Stars and FILADELPHIA going at it tournament after tournament, league after league. Honestly, it's a real throwback, but at the same time make no mistake - these guys still know how to play and win. In an interesting turn of events over the past few seasons, we've seen Frölunda rotate their squad and explore various outlooks for the roster that's been a lock for such a long time. Last season we saw the captain Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala take on the role of a defenseman, but this year it'll be Erik @Eki Tammenpää who is on defense as the cap swaps back to his familiar center spot. This will deifintely be an exciting team to watch, lots of storylines going on, such as the how Eki will transition into his defensive role, how newcomers Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen and Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto will fit in with the new team and if this throwback dream team really can get it done?

4.  Färjestad BK

If the ECL '22 Spring season was a small step back for Färjestad, this season is going to be a great comeback for the squad. While they've lost their long-time scoring machine Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg, they've brought in a more than capable replacement in the form of Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander, who really led Setelit On Ice in the eHSM from his winger position. They've also brought in Nico @zNico Tuoreniemi from IQUE to replace Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann, who we are sad to hear will be taking a step back from competitive NHL. Up front, this is certainly the best and most balanced Färjestad team in a long time, but it'll most likely come down to how well their defensemen will play together and if Johan @McSavid Rundqvist will continue getting those timely saves in net.

5.  Växjö Lakers

We're calling it - the dark horse of the season. Växjö Lakers may be a newcomer to the division with their promotion coming off their Spring season Championship, but they've been honing their skills together in the Pro division over the course of a couple of seasons already, and this will be their big shot in the top 16. One thing Växjö certainly isn't lacking is skill on the puck and they've got that in abundance both up front and down low. However, what they need to find is timely movement of that rubber piece. Stepping up to Elite can, as we've seen, be a massive leap, but we expect this team to find their stride quick since they've been on the fringe for so long already.

6.  ZSC Esports

After narrowly missing out on the playoffs in both the ECL '22 Winter and Spring seasons, this Swiss outfit is eager to get the action started with one major change to their roster in the offseason as Christian @GERxVillain Ungeheuer will be replacing Reto @Haldeem Haldemann on defence, as the latter is heading on loan to fellow Elite squad Falun Coal Miners. These boys can soon start to call themselves seasoned vets in the Elite division, but they've remained on the fringe of the Playoffs thus far, with the expectation to be able to break that threshold finally. The only thing that might hold them back, though, is the lack of consistent practice against higher level opposition in comparison to their peers. 

7.  Nordic Stars

Formerly Conquer Gaming, this squad will be reverting to their old Nordic Stars branding. The familiar colors, that especially Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho and Jere @Jerax13 Hällström represented for several seasons in ECL Pro back in the days. Now, the green and yellow of Nordic Stars is making their first appearance in Elite and after a very promising Spring season outing where all expectations were overcome, these guys are ready to once again make an impact. The team has some lineup changes, with both Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko and Jean-Patrick @Patsberg_ Kotonen joining them from IQUE, who had a disaster of a season in ECL '22 Spring. Now, the new Nordic Stars have looked excellent in preseason, really shining with quick puck movement and flashes of the individual skill they have in abundance. What will end up being their downfall, however, is how well they'll be able to find that five man defense in fending off stronger offensive teams.

8.  Luleå Hockey

Formerly known as Örebro Hockey or POGGERS, this group have now managed to sign with a new Swedish organization, Luleå Hockey from the very North of the country. Unlike much of their competition, this roster will be continuing into ECL '23 Winter virtually unchanged. Luleå will be sporting a very balanced offense with Jussi @JaKurrii Koivuniemi, Jan-Mikael @Janski Aittoniemi and Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen. All of them have proven to be reliable scorers at this level and possess that extra flair that will keep opposing defensemen on their toes throughout the season. Captain Tero @Terodee Dahlström will pair with Miko @Migo_boo Nurmi for a very capable defense pairing, who can jump in on the rush when needed. A 4th place finish in the regular season was a surprise, but we're still predicting these guys to reach the playoffs again!

9.  GOONS

GOONS were looking really strong to end the ECL '22 Spring season and were on a great upwards trajectory, but unfortunately the team seems to have fallen apart over the course of the offseason. As a result, we were even speculating about them possibly sitting out the season a mere week ago, but the captaincy group has managed to pull some patchwork on their roster and they're at least going to have a crack at it this season. Their new roster will certainly be heavily centered around captain Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, who will be joined by three new players in their starting lineup with Roope @pikkuroger Bergström entering his military service. Jere @jergelii Jortama, Teemu @tkantola Kantola and Tuomas @Tumpp1A Aaltonen will have to get into the GOONS groove real quick if they want to stand a chance at squeaking their way into the playoffs. 

10.  JYP Jyvaskyla

JYP is certainly an interesting team and one to keep a look out for. Despite the fact thet they've come crashing down from their glory days, they've still managed to stay in the mix and even fight for those last Playoff spots. This season, the red hurricanes are entering with a heavily overhauled roster, keeping captain Santeri @indi969 Pendolin, assistant Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen, winger Aaro @xAaro89x Aarvala and goaltender Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt while replacing the entire defense and bringing in an extra backup. The worrysome factor, though? None of their new defensemen have seen a second of ice time in the Elite division before. All of their new recruits in Aapeli @Frans-Fin Landström, Jimi @J-_-Jamaltheman Rönkkönen and @obivop are rookies and it's a big ask for them to instantly make an impact at the level required to propel their team into the playoffs. Their highly experienced core will be able to help out, but this isn't the season JYP gets back to glory yet. 

11.  Reality Check

Reality Check have really suffered from the fringe elite curse over the past few seasons, as they've been one of the strongest contenders season in and season out in the Pro division, but never managed to gain promotion until now. The team gained their spot in a relegation battle against Stargazing and won the series in a sweep. Much credit goes to their goaltender Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes, who had an excellent season and is expected to continue in great form, certainly having the experience to back him even in the Elite division. Reality Check's roster will remain unchanged with the exception for the centerman spot, at which they've now got Jesper @Niskalaukaus Aho instead of Jesse @JesseL2002 Linden, who returned to his former team Project X in the Lite division. The move has stirred up a lot of discussion, but only time will tell how it will work out for the team. 

12.  JANO
This is the rebranded AHJO, that you might remember from ECL '22 Spring Pro. The team pulled an excellent campaign back in that spring season, ending in the semifinals at the hands of Reality Check, who ended up taking home the silver. JANO continued their season into a relegation battle against HV71, who didn't manage to salvage their season and faltered 4-2 in the series. While JANO has players such as Saku @Sakkem Saaranluoma, Markus @Makeaxl Lahti and Jim @SadaPoika Leskinen, who already have made their mark in the Elite division, they have been able to strike fear into their preseason opponents in the way they'd wanted to. Much will rely on Makeaxl quarterbacking their play and starting the rush, and their forwards will just need to find a way to finish on those chances at a high enough rate. 

13.  Falun Coal Miners

After a long absence from the ECL ice, Falun Coal Miners returned for the Spring season with several experienced gamers such as captain Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt, Connor @MartindalexC Martindale and André @Foppatofflan Liljegren in their roster. Back then, we were certainly excited to see the beloved squad and brand return, but our predictions for them were rather grim. Now, while they've retained all of the aforementioned season 1 originals in their roster and added even more experience in the form of Reto @Haldeem Haldemann on loan from ZSC Esports, Falun is still slotting in at 13th in our preview ranking. That is not to say that the Coal Miners wouldn't be an excellent team and we certainly expect them to show some resilience and utilize all that experience in stealing points from younger teams along the way, but it's tough to predict Falun being in the drivers seat in many of their games, and their playbook might have to rely on counter-attacking a bit too much. Keep your eye on rookie goaltender Tomi @Tope0090 (mestari_tikkuuu) Heikkilä, who is coming off of a great eHSM performance with Setelit On Ice.

14.  ISO Esports

The most recent Elite team ISO Esports didn't secure their spot in the European top 16 until Thursday night in the Elite Qualifier Finals against Hanaa HC. With a freshly inked contract with the organization and their recent promotion, these boys are on an impressive upwards trajectory and could be one of the most exciting teams to follow early on. The team has a very deep roster, sporting a total of 10 players, who arguably could all slot in as starters in an Elite team to some capacity. However, they are expected to run with Putte @Putteekiing Unasin & Juha @juhkis96 Katajamaa down low and Kalle @James (Jamechkin) Riihelä, Tuukka @Tukexi (MATILAISKA_) Matilainen and Valtteri @Kaikkien Janoisten Sankari (Goodtobeatonttu) Yli-Olli up front. In net, it looks like Eevertti @Empuuz_24 Viljanen will get most of the starts, but as Reittu @Roisto999 Hynynen has shown in the past, he can take over if need be. 

15.  Unlucky Boys HC

The Unlucky Boys is another brand with a great legacy in the ECL that we welcome with open arms. This is a team that played for YMCA Esports for the past few seasons and have been on a worrisome downward trajectory missing the playoffs in both ECL '22 Winter and Spring. They're one of those teams, that together with Luleå Hockey have managed to retain a rather similar roster for an extended period of time while battling in the very tightly contested mid-table of the European top 16. This season, we've heard rumblings that captain Antti @Anhel_Kuru Kuru might be taking a step back, with Eemil @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli taking the center spot flanked by Joona @jm98II Muona and Miikka @xColeslaww Kolehmainen. Thus far, the burger boys have been able to escape relegation and while we're predicting them to come in at 15th this season, they'll have a chance to prove us wrong or salvage things in the relegation battle. 

16.  Roots Gaming
Roots is one of those teams that everyone has been waiting to take the next step for quite some time already, perhaps also one of the main reasons they originally were signed to the organization in the first place. As of right now, however, it looks like they haven't been able to find their form in NHL 23 and they really seemed to take a step back during the offseason. The team has managed to compile a roster that should be able to be competitive in the tightly contested Elite mid-tier, but they'll be having a very tough go if they take long to find their stride. One of the most interesting players this season could certainly be on Roots' roster with Miika @zMikkeez Kauppila taking a starting role besides Jere @keranee Keränen and Santeri @xleksa35 Levänen. The winger really managed to shine with Setelit On Ice in the eHSM and made himself known for flashy and sometimes even unorthodox plays on the ice.

The ECL '23 Winter Elite season will kick off tonight with the season opening broadcast at 19:15 CET! We'll start things off with Cody @Tougie24 Tougas & Paul @Cyn Anderson doing their own season preview, after which the teams will take the ice. Join us for a night of the best virtual hockey in Europe at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG!

SportsGamers,

The ECL '23 Winter Pro season is seeing an unusually high turnover in teams due to several squads disbanding in the offseason, which means we'll have a lot of interesting new outfits to take under closer inspection! Some of these squads include long-time Lite dwellers Arkham Asylum and Bastu, who will finally be getting a shot at the second highest tier, while we're also seeing the return of Synergy Hockey after their winning ECL '22 Spring campaign where they beat Valco, who also earned a well deserved promotion, in the Finals. 

Season Information

ECL '23 Winter Pro will feature 32 teams in two groups with 16 teams each. Default gamedays are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Eight teams from each group will make the best-of-seven Playoffs. This season, the prize pool for the Pro division is 5500€ with the split pictured below.

Head to the league page here to view the groups and game schedule.

ECL '23 Winter: Pro Schedule

• Regular Season: 12.2.2022-16.1.2023
• RO16: 19.-24.1.2023
• Quarterfinals: 26.-31.1.2023
• Semifinals: 2.-7.2.2023
• Finals: 12.-14.2.2023

Season Preview

Group 1 Written by @jahajaha93

HOT 🔥

 HanaaHC
HanaaHC has been one of those teams that haven't quite been able to get over that threshold and be bona fide contenders for quite some time already. Recently they had their shot at promotion through an Elite Qualifier, but got edged out by ISO Esports in a dominant Qualifier Finals sweep, which indicates that Hanaa perhaps isn't quite ready for Elite competition yet. However, they've got a gruelling Pro campaign ahead of them now, and plenty of time to grow and gel. The desire to succeed is there, and so is the talent, now they just need to find a way to make it all work. The team's most notable additions will be Miro @Rytze_ Perho and Joonas @Jondeezz Tikkanen, who join them on the flanks of captain Jere @Hazard-laser Korte as Mikael @Mikka Alaheikka takes on a new role in defense. The team was able to perform in the Elite Qualifiers with this roster, so the indication is that they should finish among the top teams in their group. 

Player to Watch: @Rytze_

 RCTIC

Several rumors had RCTIC folding at the end of last season, and they had in fact been absent for a while, but now they’re back as a fusion with the former WannaCry, and we’re quite excited about their chances in this one! The team is sporting a deep offense with the likes of @Limbe65 and @yrjoo from the former RCTIC roster with additions @Okke40 (hifk_FANI), @Jjomppa and @IKarkkiI joining them. We’ll have to see where Karkki eventually plays, as she’s been seen both at the center and defense positions in past seasons. Young @Ricco will be their sole netminder.

Player to Watch: @IKarkkiI

 Be a Bro

Be a Bro is back with one of the most experienced rosters in the division. This roster features season 1 originals @Janikka and @imosi, who will hold leading roles despite not belonging to the captain group. The old dogs are accompanied by fringe Elite defenseman  @MCH_98 and the duo @Sanezh and @ESSRV from the former Hokurit. The skill is still there for this team and their experience will certainly push them far in a division where every point will count. @Svone10 will be guarding the net for the squad, and with some decent performances in previous seasons, this could be the one he breaks out properly.

Player to Watch: @MCH_98

 Synergy Hockey

The Swedish roster is back in the Pro division, from which they stepped back at the end of the ECL 11 Pro season. They’ve worked their way back slowly but surely and after the long grind, these highly experienced gamers can now jot down a few more experiences in their journals. @Supremski is a great offensive defenseman that could certainly slot in for some Elite teams too, while their offensive trio @Buffy, @Isindar and @Mumsi- have been around enough to know how to win games. Goaltending is also in excellent shape for this team, with one of the strongest tandems in the league. @Sorsa103 and @DUNZA could end up sharing the responsibilities.

Player to Watch: @Supremski

NOT ❄️

 Mora IK

Mora played their first ever ECL Pro season last Spring and ended up finishing 14th in their group ahead of Almtuna eSport and Pasilan SKA. They had big wins against strong RCTIC and Hokurit teams, but otherwise there weren’t many highlights to their campaign. with one more season of experience in the rearview, the leadership group has heavily overhauled the team and this time it unfortunately looks they might have gotten weaker. Time will tell, but with their recruits mostly coming from Lite squads outside of the Playoff picture, they’ll need to up their level a lot to make things happen this season.

Player to Watch: @andreaskakan

 TTK

The team that once was a finalist in ECL 9 Neo has come a long way in their development over the years, and it’s a great thing to see that their core has done their best to remain intact through some of the adversity they’ve had to face in the Lite division. Now with a step taken to the next level, all of this squad will need to elevate their level very much in order to escape relegation. They’ve traditionally been a good regular season team, which might end up working in their favor this season!

Player to Watch: @juusoskari

 Frolunda Hc Academy

Having earned their spot in the Pro Qualifiers by gaining bronze at the end of the ECL ‘22 Spring Core season, Frolunda HC Academy will be in for a massive challenge leaping over the Lite division entirely. Keep an eye on their early performances that could dictate a trend for their season. This team does have some offense to them and their force up front will be @Gustaf Olsson (gurrao10), who finished 2nd in scoring in the Core Playoffs last season. Now, they’ll need to find that defense too and really work together to make things click.

Player to Watch: @Gustaf Olsson (gurrao10)

  Ace Hockey

There’s no sugarcoating it - the playstyle Ace Hockey have employed in the past will not work against most Pro level squads. They’ve got tremendous skill and speed up the wings, but thus far they’ve been a one trick pony, which unfortunately could end up being costly for them. However, if Ace Hockey finds a way to diversify their game and get those greasy goals whenever needed, they could end up finding a mid-table finish.

Player to Watch: @Dehliiin

Group 2 Written by @Mikka

HOT 🔥

 Björklöven Esport

Coming into their fourth Pro season, Björklöven has been in or around the playoff conversations since day one. Captain @Kallmanius has managed to reel in some exciting reinforcements for the upcoming campaign, with @Demski_, @Rubituss (l-Rubituss-l) and @Tkautto98 (Kautto_) joining from the now defunct HV71, who got relegated from Elite after the Spring season. They now appear to be one of the stronger squads, and should be battling not only for Group 2's top seed, but perhaps even the championship. That's a ways away though, and we'll see what the lengthy grind ahead brings them, despite the premise.

Player to Watch: @Demski_

 Deadly Phantoms

DPH made their Pro debut back in ECL 6, and it only took them two tries to get up to Elite. They made some good runs during their four seasons in the highest division, before getting relegated after ECL 11. Getting back up to where they once were will always be the main target for any former top team, but this German side has fallen short in the first round of the playoffs twice in a row now. Even though the Phantoms haven't met their own expectations for some time, this is always a team who can compete and put up with the best of them. Though most of the old names like stars @Timasy and @PlaymakerSJ remain, the grown squad size leads one to wonder how much of a rotation we'll be seeing. Ehockey is largely based around tight knight team play, so it will be interesting to see how this could affect them. No matter what, Deadly Phantoms have surely earned the status of a frontrunner with their history.

Player to Watch: @xXPsykoSkillsXx

 Herlev Eagles

Another team to have really solidified its status as a high-end Pro team in the recent years is Herlev Eagles. They've played in the division since ECL 10, and have made it to the Quarterfinals for the past two seasons. @Dreamickie was slotted in defense for both of these runs, but now appears to be back in the center spot. With @Spearzz_ also re-joining the squad after an absence of equal length, the Eagles seem to have assembled the same @vibholm10 - Dreamickie - Spearzz_ forward trio they had for their first two Pro seasons! @oSandello's new partner will in turn be @KinQjuusto, joining from the now defunct Fiasko. While Herlev lost some extremely important pieces in @Suth98_ to Örebro Hockey and @keranee to Roots Gaming, the old chemistry seems to have been clicking moderately well in the ramp up to the season. That should bode well for their chances of at least maintaining their past level, even if trophy aspirations might still be too far off.

Player to Watch: @vibholm10

 Nemesis

Rounding out the HOT4 is Nemesis, coming off a surprising eHSM 2022 performance. After topping their group ahead of JANO and HAVU Gaming, they further bested the former with a sweep in the third round before falling honorably 3-1 to Tunnel Vision in the quarterfinals. Even in the ECL, they've gradually moved up ever since their re-emergence last Winter: first they finished 12th, and then 10th in Spring, only two points off a playoff spot. Now is clearly the time to make a leap to the playoffs, at minimum. The only change in Nemesis' starting five compared to eHSM seems to be captain @Miska (Zundeh) stepping back into the defense, replacing Elite loan @Toneee9 as expected. A huge part of their success in goalie @Pasi (Pasi-Fism) is also absent from their roster, though @Viltzup can definitely perform and @JaxonRules93 showed decent results as part of Hawaii Hockey. As the core stays intact, it should take a step towards the top half of the table with the lead of offensive weapon @temppanen.

Player to Watch: @temppanen

 NOT ❄️

 Company of Geeks

The Geeks always seem to end up on the doomy side of these previews, but a testament to their base level is the fact that they remain here to be thrown under the bus – year after year. They are already coming into their 6th consecutive Pro season, though they've only made the playoffs once during that span (in ECL 11), instead having had to fight for their divisional spot more often than not. Captain @Jesus has managed to gather some interesting names, and most notably an old friend in @BlazEm0de- (domiinnn) is making a return after a couple of seasons away. They also appear to have added defenders @Pontinho (xClaughton-) and @MAYZIIX since their shaky qualifier performance, so perhaps COG can show some growth over the season. Regardless, their number one focus once again needs to be avoiding relegation.

Player to Watch: @Jesus

 IK Oskarshamn

Having already been a long time Lite dweller with five seasons under their belt, IKO finally takes the step up to Pro after an impressive Spring season. They had a rough go at the SCL a few months ago, failing to even make it out of the group stage. Plenty of time has passed since then though, and along with a new version of the game, some recruits have arrived. RW @Chevikov (Hikoilija__) looks to finally play a proper ECL rookie season after showing some promise a year ago, while RD @Aunee95 joins after two Core seasons as captain of Guldkallan HC. @snippystatue returns after spending eHSM with Armada Hockey, bringing plenty of Pro experience to this squad which, aside from @JF1891, is desperately lacking from it. While Oskarshamn can show some flashes from time to time, their first season should mostly be about getting used to the rise in level of play.

Player to Watch: @Chevikov (Hikoilija__)

 Team NGU

NGU spent two seasons in Pro under the PENTA banner before getting relegated, and now they've made an immediate bounce back after a single Lite campaign. Their roster seems to have undergone quite a makeover, with only captains @DaMan (Akin_Penta) and @CuteTerminator7 playing games both in the ECL '22: Spring Lite Playoffs and the recent Pro Qualifier. They actually had a decent performance in the qualifier, splitting points with everyone except Lemmenvelhot, who they bested in both games. That may indicate a stronger than bottom of the table contest, but the mostly DACH area side still has a lot to prove they belong at this level. Could these rather unknown names come out of nowhere and surprise us all? Who knows, it's all up to them and their former Pro top ten scorer captain to put on a performance.

Player to Watch: @DaMan (Akin_Penta)

 Valco

One of the longest standing teams in the scene, the legendary former TIKI TALK is back in Pro! Once upon a time bouncing between Elite and Pro, this ECL 1 veteran team took their time to make it back here once facing relegation after ECL 11. Three seasons and a name change later, they made it all the way to the Lite Finals last Spring, though falling just short in the end with a clean sweep loss to another comeback-making veteran team in Synergy Hockey. Why is Valco on this side of the preview then? Well, the Finnish squad led by ehockey icon @itspardytime has always above all had a fairly unique way of playing, which shouldn't remain as effective as the competition gets tougher. Unless, of course, they manage to keep shocking their opponents similar to last season's playoff run, during which they kept on upsetting higher seeds one after another. The distinctiveness does work on their Twitter account at the very least, so there's that to look forward to even if things don't fall to place on the ice.

Player to Watch: @itspardytime

The season for these clubs kicks off already today, but tomorrow you'll be able to watch some of them in our weekly ECL Pro broadcast at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG! Stay tuned for the broadcast announcement on our social media channels. 

SportsGamers,

To clear up any confusion with the start dates of the ECL '23 Winter season, we'll revisit the start dates mentioned in each of our season information articles. Schedules for each division to follow:

 ECL '23 Winter: Elite Schedule

• Regular Season: 12.12.2022-18.1.2023
• Quarterfinals: 25.1-1.2.2023
• Semifinals: 5-8.2.2023
• Finals: 24.2.2023 (Live in Helsinki)

 ECL '23 Winter: Pro Schedule

• Regular Season: 12.12.2022-16.1.2023
• RO16: 19.-24.1.2023
• Quarterfinals: 26.-31.1.2023
• Semifinals: 2.-7.2.2023
• Finals: 12.-14.2.2023

 ECL '23 Winter: Lite Schedule

• Regular Season: 13.12.2022-18.1.2023
• RO32: 22.-25.1.2023
• RO16: 29.1-1.2.2023
• Quarterfinals: 5.-8.2.2023
• Semifinals: 12.-15.2.2023
• Finals: 19.-22.2.2023

 ECL '23 Winter: Core Schedule

• Regular Season: 13.12.2022-19.1.2023
• RO32: 22.-26.1.2023
• RO16: 29.1-2.2.2023
• Quarterfinals: 5.-9.2.2023
• Semifinals: 12.-16.2.2023
• Finals: 19.-23.2.2023

  ECL '23 Winter: Neo Schedule

• Regular Season: 14.12.2022-18.1.2023
• RO64: 22.-25.1.2023
• RO32: 29.2.-1.2.2023
• RO16: 5.-8.2.2023
• Quarterfinals: 12.-15.2.2023
• Semifinals: 19.-22.2.2023
• Finals: 26.2.-1.3.2023

This means that the season kicks off tomorrow night with the ECL '23 Winter Elite and Pro divisions, and other divisions will follow in the coming days. Groups and schedules will be released the day before the first gameday by the latest.

Sign-ups for the Neo and Core divisions of ECL '23 Winter are closing on December, 8th! Now new players without a team can also register to find a beginners club with assistance from seasoned veterans.

There's still time to join in on the action in the ECL's 15th season! The Winter season kicks off on Sunday, December 11th, but sign-ups for the Neo and Core divisions are still open until Thursday, December 8th 23:59 CET.

New player without a club - We got you!

This season, we'll be introducing a few newcomer clubs to the ECL Neo division! These clubs will be reserved for new players looking to get their first taste of ECL action, but haven't found a club yet. The newcomer clubs will have mentors in the form of experienced ECL players, who will be tasked to help running the team and helping out the captain with questions that might arise over the course of the season. 

If you are a player looking to play this season, but haven't found a team yet, fill in this form for a chance to be selected for one of out newcomer squads!

If you are a free agent looking to be picked up by an already established team, please head over here and let teams know you're available.

ECL Neo

The ECL Neo division is the fifth ECL tier and is for new teams looking for their first taste of the ECL framework, or squads that otherwise want to play at a more relaxed schedule. However, SportsGamer reserves the right to move teams deemed to have an exceptionally high skill level to the Core division. The Neo division features a full regular season and best-of-five Playoffs. Participation in ECL Neo does not require a team of player license. Thus, ECL Neo doesn't feature a prize pool.

ECL Core

The ECL Core division is the fourth ECL tier and is the first competitive division with prizes and involvement in the divisional promotion structure. The division is aimed at teams already familiar with the NHL game series and competitive play. ECL Core features a full regular season with best-of-seven Playoffs and a prize pool totalling up to 3500€. Participation requires purchase of a team license costing 100€ (one-time payment by team captain) and a player license of 20€ (Valid for both the Winter and Spring season). ECL Core currently has 26 teams signed up, so this is a great opportunity to get familiar with the competitive setting and have a good chance to earn a share of the prize pool!

ECL Legacy

ECL Legacy will be hosted for teams playing on PlayStation 4, and with 14 teams currently signed up, there's still room for more squads to challenge! In addition to the inaugural Wilhelm eHockey Tour winners Hc Raitti, we've got lots of other interesting names, such as Jurvan Liekki, Elusive Avengers and Ice Wolves esports signed up. ECL Legacy doesn't require a team license to participate, only the 20€ player license (Valid for both the Winter and Spring season), and thus doesn't feature a prize pool. The format of the league will be determined once sign-ups are closed.

The first two Qualifiers of the ECL 1v1 '23 Winter season are in the books and with that, we've not got half of the top 128 filled! There's still two chances left to Qualify, so if you've missed out thus far, now is your chance to prove yourself by joining one of the remaining Qualifiers. Lots of games left to be played, so sign up, play hard and have fun!

Here's a list of qualified players from the first two Qualifiers:

Quote

Note: These players have already qualified for the top 128 and won't be eligible to participate in further Qualifiers. 

1    patee___
1    sisu33
2    Artuzio
2    temppanen
4    ITemeI
4    Koljinge
4    LaxenHD
4    tkantola
8    I_Saarinen_I
8    Indjulla
8    JesseL2002
8    juusoskari
8    Laiitinen
8    PedroFIN_
8    Wilgoat3
8    wpaananen
16    CPT_DirtyDangler
16    Eeemill_
16    eken45jr
16    Harlowi-
16    Mehukatti10
16    Mikkaah
16    Naatti__
16    Pikkarii
16    RealTuffe
16    SadaPoika
16    Sakickin
16    Searaider21
16    Sluibaaja_88
16    snipeLVcelly8
16    xSaski_
16    Youtube_Azzez
32    amadee21
32    bystrom_37
32    Danyyy452
32    darkoovski
32    EkiOriginal
32    Emppa98_
32    House_Pro
32    J-_-Jamaltheman
32    JakePlay77
32    JanEerikBanan
32    KenuFHR
32    KEVlNATOR_
32    Komir_90
32    kriketsi17
32    Krisutus_
32    Kungenkirwa
32    Maalitohtori
32    Mesimaki94
32    NiQLaSSS
32    No_Style39
32    Ose1688
32    pappeen-
32    PumPaDaDa_
32    Sagee95
32    santeerii
32    Sportage14
32    Teemuyy
32    Teroe94
32    tomboo-_-
32    Tontokar98
32    Tumpp1A
32    xTubsi

Description

ECL 1v1 is for players who want to test their skills against the best of the best in competitive play. The ECL 1v1 Winter season features four qualifiers, leading to group play with the top 128 players of these qualifiers involved. The top 64 of the group stage will continue to determine the best of the best in the best-of-three playoffs with a prize pool totaling 2500€. Taking part in the ECL 1v1 seasons requires the purchase of the ECL '23 Player License.

Format

The league is played in three stages:

Stage 1: Qualifier stage (BO1, single elimination) - Four qualifiers open to anyone, the top 32 players from each Qualifier advance to stage 2, with seeding baskets for stage 2 being determined by qualifier rank.

Stage 2: Group play (BO1) - The top 128 players will be seeded into eight groups with 16 players each, the 8 best will advance to the playoffs from each group.

Stage 3: Playoffs (BO3, single elimination) - The Semifinals and Finals will be played live at the SportsGamer offices in Espoo, Finland January 13th, 2023.

ECL '23 Winter: 1v1 Schedule

Qualifier 3

• Sign up period
  • 15.-9.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 10.12.
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 11.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 27.11. 16:30CET

Qualifier 4

• Sign up period
  • 15.11-16.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 17.12
    • RO512: 16:00CET
    • RO256: 17:00CET
    • RO128: 17:30CET
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 18.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 16:30CET

TOP 128 Group Play (BO1)

• Tuesday 27.12.
  • R1: 18:00
  • R2: 18:30
  • R3: 19:00
  • R4: 19:30
• Thursday 29.12.
  • R5: 18:00
  • R6: 18:30
  • R7: 19:00
  • R8: 19:30
• Friday 30.12.
  • R9: 18:00
  • R10: 18:30
  • R11: 19:00
  • R12: 19:30
• Tuesday 3.1.
  • R13: 18:00
  • R14: 18:30
  • R15: 19:00

Playoffs (BO3)

• Friday 6.1.
  • RO64: 18:00CET
  • RO32: 19:30CET
• Sunday 8.1.
  • RO16: 15:00CET
  • Quarterfinals: 16:30CET
• Friday 13.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland
  • Semifinals: 18:00CET
  • Finals: 20:00CET

ISO Esports is a gaming organization hailing from Ulvila, Finland with teams in CS:GO and now NHL. Their new NHL roster is currently battling in the Elite Qualifiers with hopes of gaining an open spot in the European top 16.

Otukset eSports emerged seemingly out of nowhere in the summer of 2021 and made an impressive FCL Playoffs push with a roster very few expected to stand a chance against the big dogs. The squad, then featuring players with experience mainly from mid-tier ECL Pro teams or below, immediately took the community by storm with their cheeky social media strategy and great performances on the ice. Sadly, the summer project didn't continue into the ECL, as several players were recruited to new opportunities, but Otukset were to make a return again in the 2022 eHockey SM. 

This time, the squad won't be parting ways for the ECL, but rather they'll be getting stronger. By joining forces with ISO Esports, the new roster is looking to focus their energy on first and foremost establishing themselves in the Pro division, but also pushing as quickly as possible for the European top 16.

Jani Männistö, CEO of ISO Esports has the following to say about their new acquisition: "We had the great opportunity of signing a new team, and at the end of the day, the decision was easy. Our NHL team is a dedicated group, hungry for success. The atmosphere within the team is excellent and an open and active dialogue between the team and organization will be a key factor in our development. ISO Esports has established themselves in the Finnish esports scene and now our will to develop and succeed is bigger than ever."

"Absolutely we'd want to see our team reach the highest of prizes right away, but a more realistic approach for our debut season is making the Playoffs. We are looking for longevity from our team and eventually they could reach that synergy that takes to the highest level."

Valtteri @Kaikkien Janoisten Sankari (Goodtobeatonttu) Yli-Olli is excited about the future for his team, especially with some of their new signings and their new partnership with ISO.

"Our past few campaigns in the FCL and eHSM have been successful mainly due to the fact the fact that we are thinking the game in very similar ways, and that's what we've been trying to keep in mind when signing new players to our squad around the Otukset core. We're excited to keep our momentum going into the ECL and ever since the first contact with ISO, I had the feeling that both us and the organization have very similar objectives, the cooperation has been smooth and we're looking good moving forward."

"One of the main reasons for signing with an organization was obviously getting support and sponsorship, but we also felt that this is the right time to take the next step. Our game has been in good shape for some time already and we are now ready to make an impact."

Currently the squad is fighting for an open position in ECL '23 Winter Elite together with HanaaHC, RCTIC and Renascor in the Elite Qualifiers. Their prospects are looking rather good with a 4-1-1 record in their six qualifier games.

We're coming full circle by returning to the ECL's first ever cover gamer for the upcoming '23 Winter season!

ECL 8 was our first season featuring a Cover Gamer, and since then we've taken a lot of big steps forward as a league and as a community. Over the course of that time, there's one player that has above everyone else managed to maintain a high competitive level and even more importantly, managed to act as an ambassador for the entire sport. That is why we're coming full circle and announcing Erik @Eki (EkiOriginal) Tammenpää as the ECL '23 Winter Cover Gamer.

After some experience back in the PlayStation 3 days with good friend Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala in Carlsberg HC, and a few seasons of ECL competition in various teams, in early 2018 the youngster @Eki was recruited to a very strong and experienced MUKIMIEHET side for ECL 4 Elite, the first season in our divisional framework. MUKIMIEHET were set on a championship push with season 1 originals Ville @MuKiMaisteri Luukkonen and Atte @Aze (Atte91) Aho in their roster, combined with throwbacks Lasse @Lage (Lagezickarno) Pennola and Ville @Piri (a_n_t_a) Pirttilä and a fresh influx of talent with Eki joining the already powerful forward core. Despite their campaign not really getting the end that they so had hoped for, this season set into motion an era of competitive success at the very top level that we've yet to see an end to. 

A list of Eki's biggest wins 🏆: 

1v1

• NHL GWC European Champion 2018
• NHL GWC World Champion 2018 
• IS Cup 3 Champion 2018 
• NHL GWC European Champion 2019 
• IIHF Esports Fan Championship 2020 
• eLiiga Season 1 Champion 2020 
• NHL GWC European Champion 2021 
• NHL GWC European Champion 2022 
• IIHF eWorld Champion 2022 

6v6

• IS Cup 3 Champion 2018 
• ECL 7 Champion 2018
• SCL Champion 2019
• ECL 9 Champion 2020
• eSHL Season 1 Champion 2020
• FCL Champion 2020
• ECL 11 Champion 2020
• eSHL season 2 Champion 2021
• FCL Champion 2021

The accolades and trophycase that Eki has managed to build over the past four years is unmatched, and while four years seems like a rather short time in any other sport, in NHL esports, especially with the yearly release cycle of the game and ever changing meta, that is an eternity. Even when Eki hasn't been winning, he's still managed to be right there, breathing down the neck of his toughest competitors. 

Who are some of the toughest opponents that you've faced through the years?
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie is without a doubt the best opponent I've ever faced. He's the only player that I've never had the edge on completely, even when I've been at my very best. Plee is also one of those players who always seem to elevate their game in big tournaments and that's why my respect for him is so high. Internationally, Justin @Regs84 Reguly has to be one of the better players I've faced. We've played each other once on LAN in 2019 and remember that his game was so different from anyone else. He's tough to get a read on. We'll be playing each other in New York next week also!

Who are some of the players you've looked up to over the course of your gaming career, not only because of their skills but perhaps their personalities?
Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala is my #1. We played together for the first time in 2012 when we were neighbors and I was just a kid. I consider him to be one of my best friends and respect him very much both as a player and a human being. We'll definitely be playing together for as long as Joonas will have me in his team. Other guys I've looked up to in terms of streaming and content creation are definitely Risto @Dominointi Järvi and Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen. These are the guys I watched while on the comeup and they really were the first ones to show what that side of the game is all about along with teaching me lost of tips and tricks on the 1v1 game.

Your skill and grind are certainly big reasons that have put you in the position you are now, but what other attributes do you think a true professional needs to succeed?
Success is definitely a combination of small factors and a tiny bit of luck and chance. I wouldn't even be here without the likes of Patzlaf and Mika @mikaasi Heikkilä, who managed to spark my interest for the game and made it fun for me. With that, came some timely success, which allowed me some of the opportunities I've got to this point. A tip for any player out there looking to go pro is definitely creating content centered around the game. NHL is such a small game that you'll have to generate value outside competition in order to interest sponsors and organisations. Also, keep your head cool. One tournament win will not last or get you anywhere, success will follow those who grind, so put in your hours and practice.

Last but not least, a couple of thoughts on the upcoming season, who do you think will be contenders? Any interesting new outfits to look out for?
The upcoming season is going to be very, very interesting personally. Our own team has seen more changes than ever before and you could almost call this squad something of an old school FILA x Written In The Stars mashup. I'm taking on a defensive role, so it'll be a learning experience at least early on. With all the changes to our own squad, it'll definitely be an exciting experience and we're definitely hungry for success after a failure to win any trophies in NHL 22. It'll be interesting to see how the standings will start to shape up. hREDS has been great as always, Tunnel Vision is right there and we're doing all we can to challenge them. One team I think will surprise is Växjö Lakers, who will be in their first Elite season, look for them to be in the Playoffs.

On the 1v1 side the level is higher year by year. The young guns who have been on the comeup for some time already will definitely have success. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström represent the young and talented group of players to keep an eye on. Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund is another player I expect to do just as well as before. 

List of previous ECL cover gamers:
ECL 8: Erik @Eki Tammenpää
ECL 9: Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen
ECL 10: Casper @ICappeI Lundgren
ECL 11: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha
ECL 12: Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen
ECL '22 Winter: Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann & Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt
ECL '23 Spring: Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen

You'll be able to see Eki in action in the upcoming ECL '23 Winter season with his Frölunda HC, where he will be playing as a defenseman alongside new recruit Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto, who has recently been recruited from the disbanded HAVU Gaming. The season starts December 11th, so there's still some time to get geared up and prepare for some of the best virtual hockey around. 
 

Sign-ups are also still open for our ECL '23 Winter Neo and Core divisions, so here's your chance to get your career started in some competitive action! ECL 1v1 also still has two more qualifiers to go until the top 128 stage, so join that too! Read more about the ECL '23 Winter season here.

The first Qualifier of our inaugural ECL 1v1 '23 Winter season was held last weekend, and with that the first 32 players have now paved their way into stage two and the top 128 players that will be competing for the European Championship. Now we've got three more Qualifiers to go, so there's still plenty of chances to gain your pass to the Group Stage!

Here's a list of qualified players from the first Qualifier:

Quote

Note: These players have already qualified for the top 128 and won't be eligible to participate in further Qualifiers. 

1 sisu33
2 Artuzio
4 ITemeI
4 tkantola
8 Indjulla
8 juusoskari
8 Laiitinen
8 wpaananen
16 CPT_DirtyDangler
16 Eeemill_
16 eken45jr
16 Harlowi-
16 Mehukatti10
16 Naatti__
16 Pikkarii
16 Sakickin
32 bystrom_37
32 ENCEKI
32 JakePlay77
32 JanEerikBanan
32 KEVlNATOR_
32 Kungenkirwa
32 Maalitohtori
32 NiQLaSSS
32 Ose1688
32 pappeen-
32 Sportage14
32 Teemuyy
32 Teroe94
32 tomboo-_-
32 Tumpp1A
32 xTubsi

Description

ECL 1v1 is for players who want to test their skills against the best of the best in competitive play. The ECL 1v1 Winter season features four qualifiers, leading to group play with the top 128 players of these qualifiers involved. The top 64 of the group stage will continue to determine the best of the best in the best-of-three playoffs with a prize pool totaling 2500€. Taking part in the ECL 1v1 seasons requires the purchase of the ECL '23 Player License.

Format

The league is played in three stages:

Stage 1: Qualifier stage (BO1, single elimination) - Four qualifiers open to anyone, the top 32 players from each Qualifier advance to stage 2, with seeding baskets for stage 2 being determined by qualifier rank.

Stage 2: Group play (BO1) - The top 128 players will be seeded into eight groups with 16 players each, the 8 best will advance to the playoffs from each group.

Stage 3: Playoffs (BO3, single elimination) - The Semifinals and Finals will be played live at the SportsGamer offices in Espoo, Finland January 13th, 2023.

ECL '23 Winter: 1v1 Schedule

Qualifier 1

• Sign up period
  • 15.-25.11.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 26.11.
    • RO128: 16:00CET
    • RO64: 17:00CET
    • RO32: 17:30CET
  • Sunday 27.11.
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • RO8: 15:30CET
    • RO4: 16:00CET
    • RO2: 16:30CET

Qualifier 2

• Sign up period
  • 15.- 3.12.2022 12:00CET
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 3.12.
    • RO64: 17:00CET
    • RO32: 18:00CET
    • RO16: 18:30CET
    • RO8: 19:00CET
  • Sunday 4.12.
    • RO4: 16:00CET
    • RO2: 16:30CET

Qualifier 3

• Sign up period
  • 15.-9.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 10.12.
    • RO512: 16:00CET
    • RO256: 17:00CET
    • RO128: 17:30CET
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 11.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 27.11. 16:30CET

Qualifier 4

• Sign up period
  • 15.11-16.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 17.12
    • RO512: 16:00CET
    • RO256: 17:00CET
    • RO128: 17:30CET
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 18.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 16:30CET

TOP 128 Group Play (BO1)

• Tuesday 27.12.
  • R1: 18:00
  • R2: 18:30
  • R3: 19:00
  • R4: 19:30
• Thursday 29.12.
  • R5: 18:00
  • R6: 18:30
  • R7: 19:00
  • R8: 19:30
• Friday 30.12.
  • R9: 18:00
  • R10: 18:30
  • R11: 19:00
  • R12: 19:30
• Tuesday 3.1.
  • R13: 18:00
  • R14: 18:30
  • R15: 19:00

Playoffs (BO3)

• Friday 6.1.
  • RO64: 18:00CET
  • RO32: 19:30CET
• Sunday 8.1.
  • RO16: 15:00CET
  • Quarterfinals: 16:30CET
• Friday 13.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland
  • Semifinals: 18:00CET
  • Finals: 20:00CET

SportsGamers,

With the new ECL '23 Winter season at the doorstep, we are happy to announce the first-ever ECL 1v1. In true ECL fashion, this league is for all the best European gamers to test their skills against their peers, and ultimately compete for a great prize pool and the European Championship League title. 

Description

ECL 1v1 is for players who want to test their skills against the best of the best in competitive play. The ECL 1v1 Winter season features four qualifiers, leading to group play with the top 128 players of these qualifiers involved. The top 64 of the group stage will continue to determine the best of the best in the best-of-three playoffs with a prize pool totaling 2500€. Taking part in the ECL 1v1 seasons requires the purchase of the ECL '23 Player License.

Format

The league is played in three stages:

Stage 1: Qualifier stage (BO1, single elimination) - Four qualifiers open to anyone, the top 32 players from each Qualifier advance to stage 2, with seeding baskets for stage 2 being determined by qualifier rank.

Stage 2: Group play (BO1) - The top 128 players will be seeded into eight groups with 16 players each, the 8 best will advance to the playoffs from each group.

Stage 3: Playoffs (BO3, single elimination) - The Semifinals and Finals will be played live at the SportsGamer offices in Espoo, Finland January 13th, 2023.
 

ECL '23 Winter: 1v1 Schedule

Qualifier 1

• Sign up period
  • 15.-25.11.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 26.11.
    • RO128: 16:00CET
    • RO64: 17:00CET
    • RO32: 17:30CET
  • Sunday 27.11.
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • RO8: 15:30CET
    • RO4: 16:00CET
    • RO2: 16:30CET

Qualifier 2

• Sign up period
  • 15.- 3.12.2022 12:00CET
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 3.12.
    • RO64: 17:00CET
    • RO32: 18:00CET
    • RO16: 18:30CET
    • RO8: 19:00CET
  • Sunday 4.12.
    • RO4: 16:00CET
    • RO2: 16:30CET

Qualifier 3

• Sign up period
  • 15.-9.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 10.12.
    • RO512: 16:00CET
    • RO256: 17:00CET
    • RO128: 17:30CET
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 11.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 27.11. 16:30CET

Qualifier 4

• Sign up period
  • 15.11-16.12.2022
• Qualifiers (BO1)
  • Saturday 17.12
    • RO512: 16:00CET
    • RO256: 17:00CET
    • RO128: 17:30CET
    • RO64: 18:00CET
    • RO32: 18:30CET
  • Sunday 18.12
    • RO16: 15:00CET
    • Quarterfinals: 15:30CET
    • Semifinals: 16:00CET
    • Finals: 16:30CET

TOP 128 Group Play (BO1)

• Tuesday 27.12.
  • R1: 18:00
  • R2: 18:30
  • R3: 19:00
  • R4: 19:30
• Thursday 29.12.
  • R5: 18:00
  • R6: 18:30
  • R7: 19:00
  • R8: 19:30
• Friday 30.12.
  • R9: 18:00
  • R10: 18:30
  • R11: 19:00
  • R12: 19:30
• Tuesday 3.1.
  • R13: 18:00
  • R14: 18:30
  • R15: 19:00

Playoffs (BO3)

• Friday 6.1.
  • RO64: 18:00CET
  • RO32: 19:30CET
• Sunday 8.1.
  • RO16: 15:00CET
  • Quarterfinals: 16:30CET
• Friday 13.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland
  • Semifinals: 18:00CET
  • Finals: 20:00CET

SportsGamers,

Before we get underway with the main part of the season, we have some qualifying ahead of us and with that, let's get right to it with the info to follow below:

Firstly, ECL '23 Winter Pro and Lite Qualifiers will start officially on Thursday, November 24th.

The Qualifiers will be completed at an intensive pace and here are the schedules for the respective Qualifiers:

• Pro Qualifiers:
  • Round 1: Thursday 24.11., Sunday 27.11., Monday 28.11., Tuesday 29.11.
  • Round 2: Thursday 1.12., Sunday 4.12., Monday 5.12.
  • BO5 series (where needed*): Wednesday 7.12.
• Lite Qualifiers:
  • Group Play: Thursday 24.11., Sunday 27.11., Monday 28.11., Tuesday 29.11., Wednesday 30.11., Thursday 1.12.
  • BO3 series (where needed*): Sunday 4.12., Monday 5.12., Tuesday 6.12., Wednesday 7.12., Thursday 8.12.

* The final number of open spots will be determined on 30.11. by 23.59 CET when registrations close for Elite, Pro and Lite series levels.

In our Lite & Pro Qualifier registrations article, we stated the following logic as a basis of filling potential open spots in divisions and Qualifiers:

Quote

• Teams will not be promoted directly and all open spots will be filled through qualifiers (excluding automatically relegated/promoted teams). If there happens to be more open spots than anticipated (e.g. from teams disbanding which would have been invited to play in the qualifier) spots are filled as follows:
  • Pro Qualifiers
    • Pro relegated teams
    • Lite #10-16
    • Wildcard teams #5-8
    • Lite #17-32
    • Core #5-8 

Based on that logic, to fill the available spots after sign-ups, the following ECL '22 Spring teams have gained the right to participate in the Pro Qualifier:

• Company of Geeks
• Venom (HC SHH)
• Sodertalje SK
• Six Sticks Misfits (Linköping HC)
• Ace Hockey
• Lemmenvelhot
• TTK
• RoKi Esports
• PunaKala

Due to us having only one Pro Wildcard applicants fulfilling the requirements for a Pro Qualifier Wildcard spot, The Wildcard Battle was not played this season.

Below is the Wildcard team:

• Örebro Hockey

Quote

 ECL Pro Qualifier Teams

1. Hawaii Hockey
2. Djurgården Hockey
3. Leksands IF Esport (Prima eSport)
4. Mora IK
5. Memento (Spirit)
6. Lulea Hockey academy (Tadpole)
7. Bastu
8. Arkham Asylum
9. Team NGU
10. Frolunda HC Academy (Frolunda HC Region)
11. Orebro Hockey
12. Company of Geeks
13. Venom
14. Sodertalje SK
15. Six Sticks Misfits
16. Ace Hockey
17. Lemmenvelhot
18. TTK
19. RoKi Esports
20. PunaKala

The Expansion of the ECL '23 Lite Qualifiers will come into effect immediately. Here, we'll be increasing the Qualifier size to a total of 64 teams, consisting of 15 Lite teams, 28 Core teams and 4 Neo teams from the previous season. The remaining 17 spots in the qualifiers will be filled by Wildcard teams, and these Wildcard spots will be open for application to every team without restrictions. Wildcard spots will be filled in order of registration. In the case of eligible teams not signing up, the amount of Wildcard spots will automatically increase.

Teams that applied for an ECL '23 Winter Lite Wildcard spot:

• Alliance HT
• Bad to the Bone
• BIG Mistake
• Chiefzz HC
• Davemiehet
• Golden Sticks
• Gunners HC
• HC VADELMA
• Karmadillos
• Lions Academy
• Lulea Hockey Region
• Nurnberg IceTigers eSport
• Prestige
• Skelleftea AIK
• Sunne IK Esport
• Timra IK Esport
• TROJANS
• Unique
• xBOTS backup

 Lite Qualifier teams:

Quote

 ECL Lite Qualifier Teams

1. SCB eSports
2. HC Lugano eSports (EiSKALATiON)
3. United Front
4. Lutunilkat
5. Remparts de Tours eSport
6. Herforder Ice Dragons
7. Turkunummi
8. Wildcats esport (EPINAL HC ESPORT)
9. KH Torun Esports
10. Gleumes Hockey Krefeld
11. Finnish Hockey Legends
12. DEG eSports
13. Blessed Suedis (UnderRated)
14. Shameful Knights
15. Nordic Nosebleed
16. Saucer Hockey
17. Eisbaeren Lauf Gaming (Eisbaeren Lauf)
18. Ghost (HC Ghost)
19. Woodhands (Woodhands HC)
20. Gunners HC
21. Unique
22. Karmadillos
23. Lions Academy
24. Lulea Hockey Region
25. Nurnberg IceTigers eSport
26. BIG Mistake
27. Bad to the Bone
28. Alliance HT
29. Timra IK Esport
30. HC VADELMA
31. Davemiehet
32. Skelleftea AIK
33. Chiefzz HC
34. Golden Sticks
35. Prestige
36. xBOTS backup
37. Sunne IK Esport
38. TROJANS

The Lite Qualifier teams will be played in two stages, here is a breakdown of the structure:

1. Six groups, six or seven teams - the Top 3 out of each group will gain direct promotion to Lite
2. The remaining teams will clash for best-of-three series to determine the who will gain spots in the Lite division. The exact format will be determined later.

Reminder about licenses

The team participating in the qualifiers must have at least six players who have purchased a player license. Each team can get up to 3 free backup player licenses (outside of the primary 6) that can help the team out and play up to 10 games without having to buy the player license (more detailed info coming soon). The ECL ‘23 Player License can be purchased during the season if a backup wants to play more games than expected.

The team license will be issued after the season's league spot has been decided in the qualifiers.

Special rules for Qualifier teams

• To prevent teams from taking advantage, specifically recruiting players to bolster your chances in the qualifier that have no intention of remaining in the team beyond that, we have decided to enforce a soft roster lock post qualifier play.
  • If a former Elite player wants to participate in a qualifier for a Wildcard, Pro or Lite team, then they will be locked into that division at where the team ends up throughout the season
    • Transfer to a lower division is possible
  • If a former Pro player wants to participate in a qualifier for a wildcard, Pro or Lite team, then they will be locked into that division at where the team ends up for 2 weeks (starting from the first game played in Pro that season)
    • Transfer to a lower division is possible
• Lite & Pro Qualifiers are part of the ECL '23 Winter season
  • Only one transfer is allowed during the season
  • The backup player's free games decrease when playing qualifiers

Otherwise, the ECL '22 Spring rulebook will be used in the qualifiers.

We wish all participating good luck in the Qualifiers, play hard, play fair and most importantly have fun!

Lots of news are here along with the new ECL season, as always - bigger and better than ever before. This season we will also be able to realize a long-time community dream by organizing the first ever 6v6 World Finals!

The ECL is back, and this time we’re in for a wild ride, leading up to the World Finals! Yes, you read that right - this season, we’ll have our ECL ‘23 Winter Champion go head-to-head with the NACL Champion in a World Finals event live at Assembly Winter 2023 in Helsinki. The event hosted in Messukeskus of the Finnish capital is the same venue where so many legendary moments have taken place. FILADELPHIA hoisted the trophy to cap off the unbelievable IS Cup 3 Finals, whereas HAVU Gaming celebrated their FCL 2019 victory at the very same spot. Who will be the next team to hoist the trophy in Helsinki and are you ready to ramp things up to the next level? 

The ECL has established itself as the superior European NHL esports league and the objective is to continue solidifying that position with even bigger and better things in the future without forgetting our trademark quality. The new season ramps up the heat in several ways and we're extremely happy to announce a new record high prize pool of up to 28 000€ for only the Winter Season spread out across the divisions. Let’s also take a look at some of the other news our next season brings.

Introducing ECL 1v1

The first and most visible change will be the introduction of the all new 1v1 European Championship League. This is the new 1v1 league to rule them all in the European market, with the ultimate prize being the 1v1 European Championship. The format is designed to follow the true and tested format of our national 1v1 competitions, and as this falls under the ECL umbrella, you can also expect big production and a hefty prize pool to go along with it. 
 

Changes to licenses

The ECL has been on a steady growth trajectory over the past few years and we’re keen on continuing that trend. In order to help with that ambition, we will be introducing player licenses, and increasing team license fees for the upcoming ECL. 

The new ECL Player License will cost 20€ and allow for participation in both the ECL 6v6 and 1v1 leagues for the full ECL ‘23 year including both the ECL '23 Winter and Spring seasons. This license will grant you access to compete in the most prestigious and biggest competitive NHL esports league in Europe. An ECL season spans over the course of two to three months and guarantees a minimum of roughly 20 games of competition on the 6v6 side*, whereas the 1v1 league adds - at the very least - the opportunity to participate in four single-elimination qualifier events that are used to qualify the top 128 players that move forward to the group stage.

Starting this ECL Winter season, ECL Neo will continue being available at no license fee for teams wishing to get a taste of competitive virtual hockey, whereas all other divisions are subject to a team license fee. The license is exponentially higher at higher levels of competition, given the increased spotlight and additional content around the divisions in question.

Each team can name up to 3 backup players (outside of the primary 6) that can help the team out and play up to 10 games without having to own the player license.

The ECL ‘23 Player License can be purchased during the season if a backup wants to play more games than expected.
ECL Neo will remain free to play, with no player license required to compete, however

• To uphold the integrity of ECL Neo as the beginner level, we reserve the right to deny teams to participate in cases where they are clearly above the amateur level, as it could significantly impact the experience of what ECL Neo is intended for.
• The ECL ‘23 Player License can be purchased by an ECL Neo player if they want to participate in ECL 1v1, benefit from the additional advantages that come with the license (more on this later), or simply as a form of supporting the league.

License fees will be allocated to fund prize pools and developing operations, such as our broadcasts, live productions and promoting the league.

*Based on the minimum amount of games played in a starting role in the ECL '22 Spring: Core regular season.

ECL Legacy for PlayStation 4

As the ECL is moving over to new generation consoles, we realize that a number of teams have still chosen to continue playing on the previous generation. In order to satisfy their need for competitive action, we will be hosting an ECL Legacy league that will be based on our ECL ruleset. ECL Legacy will be open for all PlayStation 4 teams, only requiring a player license. 

Taking the next steps for the ECL into a more professional direction has been a long time coming already, and it has been an inevitable step to take in our journey to developing the league and platform as a whole. The league has been active since 2015 and ran without profit every season. Since the start, we’ve grown from a 50 team single division into a five division league with around 300 active teams, which has led to the requirements of the team increasing. These changes allow us to focus on core operations and develop even further, with the first step being the all new ECL 1v1.

The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports  - a league where all the best European NHL gamers compete against each other in both EASHL (6v6) and Online Versus (1v1) for the European Championship title. ECL 6v6 currently features five divisions, so action is guaranteed for everyone regardless of skill level and experience!

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. In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players.
   
• 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 ‘23 Winter team licenses in order to play. In addition, every player needs to have a valid ECL ‘23 Winter Player License before taking the ice.
   
• Rules: The ECL ‘23 Winter ruleset will follow the same foundation as the previous season. The updated rulebook will be available before the season.
   

The divisions framework for the ECL ‘23 season will follow the same logic as for previous seasons. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 64 teams, Core 128 teams and Neo 32+ teams.
 

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

Wildcard teams: 14.-19.11.2022 ⚠️
ECL Lite Qualifier: 14.-22.11.2022  ⚠️ 
ECL Pro Qualifier: 14.-22.11.2022  ⚠️ 
ECL Neo: 14.11.-8.12.2022
ECL Core: 14.11.-8.12.2022
ECL Lite: 14.-30.11.2022
ECL Pro: 14.-30.11.2022
ECL Elite: 14.-30.11.2022

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

Schedule

Qualifiers: 24.11-7.12.2022   ⚠️ 
Season duration: 11.12.2022-1.3.2023

Signups are open right now, so now is time to brace for that final push in building your teams! Get your team together and sign up for the biggest event of the year!

For our North American members who are eagerly waiting for the NACL announcement, we can reveal that it is in the works and will be dropping within the coming days. 

Read more about specific division schedules, prize pools and more:

ECL '23 Winter Wildcard
ECL '23 Winter Lite & Pro Qualifiers
ECL '23 Winter Neo
ECL '23 Winter Core
ECL '23 Winter Lite
ECL '23 Winter Pro
ECL '23 Winter Elite
ECL '23 Winter 1v1
Purchase Licenses

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.
 

Did your team sign with an organization that is represented in the game and needs in-game unlocks?

Fill in this form. (Only if your organization has unlockables available in NHL 23)

SportsGamers,

As we're closing in on the start of a new competitive season, let's take a look back and remind ourselves how the ECL '22 Season finished. Here's the current ECL ranking, showing at which position each team will be entering the ECL '23 Season. Please refer to this article when checking your team's divisional eligibility for ECL '23 Winter. If you haven’t read our general information yet, we suggest you head over to our ECL ’23 Winter information article.

Please note that this ranking only includes teams that have secured divisional eligibility by participating in the ECL '22 Spring season. If your team is established after the season, you will need to enter through qualifiers or obtain a divisional spot of a defunct team in a way that complies with the ECL ruleset.

Teams are sorted based on Playoff wins, with Playoff seeds being tiebreakers. 

Updated ECL Lite Qualifiers

For the ECL '23 Season, ECL Lite Qualifiers will be expanded, whereas Core teams will no longer have spots in the ECL Pro Qualifiers from the ECL '23 Pro Spring Qualifiers onwards. These changes will better ensure that all teams will be playing at their correct level in the future. Here's the gist of the changes we'll be making:

Expansion of ECL Lite Qualifiers

The Expansion of the ECL '23 Lite Qualifiers will come into effect immediately. Here, we'll be increasing the Qualifier size to a total of 64 teams, consisting of 15 Lite teams, 28 Core teams and 4 Neo teams from the previous season. The remaining 17 spots in the qualifiers will be filled by Wildcard teams, and these Wildcard spots will be open for application to every team without restrictions. Wildcard spots will be filled in order of registration. In the case of eligible teams not signing up, the amount of Wildcard spots will automatically increase.

SportsGamers,

As we told you, this weekend was truly a celebration of hockey in all forms. It was also the end to a great ECL '22 Spring season and simultaneously our first ever two-part ECL season. We're proud to be able to make history in such great company and with that, we're crowning hREDS the ECL '22 Spring Champions and the ECL '22 Grand Champions! After two very strong seasons that we thought were dominant by the predators, they came back yet a level stronger and absolutely dismantled all opposition this season with excellent performances throughout. Goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri continued on his crazy run claiming his third title in as many campaigns with hREDS, and only his fifth competitive ECL season!

We caught up with the towering defenseman Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen in the midst of the celebrations:

You made history earlier this spring but still continue to succeed and become even better. What drives you to be even better every time you take the ice?
It's the fact that we've got six great guys put together. We're constantly getting to know each other even better, growing chemistry and coming up with new tricks. We've got a very wide variety of plays and for example in this Finals series we had to dig very deep and pull some stuff out of the archives.

How was it for you playing in this environment and what challenges did it bring?
It was awesome and the atmosphere was great. All around I think the experience was good. No bigger challenges I think despite the weather. I mean, you need to practice so you can perform regardless of the circumstances. 

The Finals series was surprisingly tight and very entertaining. What were some of the feelings you went through during the series and what did the team discuss in between games?
It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. First of all, we lost three games in a Playoff series which is something we simply don't do. Quite frankly we're not used to losing, so we were kind of rattled even. That's something we went over and tried to get over just being down about it and found new ways to win and play our own game. The decisive goal was something different though, we've celebrated hard before but that goal felt so much better than the ones before.

What made SAWO ESPORTS such a great opponent in this series?
I think the weakness was ourselves here. We didn't reach our best level at times and whenever SAWO scored the first goal, their defense was stellar. 

hREDS is now cemented in ECL history as one of the greatest teams to compete in the league. What's next on your radar?
It's a difficult announcement to make, but we're actually turning a new page as our captain @Beniittto is leaving for the army so we'll be forced to find a replacement for him. It'll definitely be a learning process and it gives us the chance to even find some new stuff and some exciting additions to our game. Obviously he's such a hard player to replace, but we'll take our time to scout the market for a suitable guy. I don't want to give an inside scoop yet, you'll find out on social media.

Finally, how will the win be celebrated?
We're going to party like never before. The clock is almost midnight at the time of this interview so we'll have to find a place soon, but it's a fact that no one has ever done anything like this before and we'll celebrate accordingly.

hREDS' road to the championship:

• #1 seed with the record 26-2-2
• Quarterfinals: vs Conquer Gaming (8) 4-0
• Semifinals: vs GOONS (5) 4-1
• Finals: vs SAWO ESPORTS (3) 4-3

The winning roster:
GOALTENDERS
#91 Filip @Faze91- Azri

DEFENSEMEN
#27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen
#94 Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) (A)

FORWARDS
#23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (A)
#89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen
#96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (C)

If you happened to miss the broadcast, you can rewatch the action from Saturday here.

Thanks for tuning in and congrats to the champions!

After six months of unforgettable moments we have finally arrived at the big Final. The ECL '22 Spring journey really couldn't get a better ending. This weekend, we will crown an ECL '22 Spring Champion and our first ECL Elite Grand Champion. Will it be hREDS who have dominated the league for a couple seasons or will it be the young hungry SAWO ESPORTS who will play in their first ECL Finals.

(1)  hREDS vs SAWO ESPORTS  (3) 

TOP SCORER (Playoffs) 
Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 9 GP, 12+9=21 vs Jere @jxrska Laukka 13 GP, 11+6=17 

GOALTENDER (Playoffs) 

Filip @Faze91- Azri 9 GP, 8 W, 86,9 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 3 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 13 GP,8 W, 77,78%, 2.00 GAA, 1 SO 

REGULAR SEASON RECORD 
26-2-2 vs 21-7-2 

REGULAR SEASON SERIES 
3-0, 3-2OT 
 

Once again, we get to watch hREDS in the ECL Elite Finals. By winning the ECL 22 Winter season they already punched their ticket to the Grand Finals but now they practically have two opportunities to win the ECL Grand Finals. In the Semifinals, hREDS didn’t get the start they wanted as the first game went 4-0 for GOONS but like we have seen before, the back-to-back champions won't let it get to them when things don’t go in their favor. They bounced back by winning four straight on their way to the 4th consecutive Finals for them. The upcoming finals are the first time for the predators were they aren't playing against Frölunda HC. Right now it feels like it's impossible to stop these guys as they have so much power and skill all around the ice. Once again many different guys have been stepping up whenever needed and there is no reason why that wouldn't continue when we arrive at the biggest games of the season. All three of their forwards can be found in the top 5, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen keeping the number one spot. This club really has shown no weaknesses.

If you have to choose one team which really has bumped up their game it would definitely be SAWO ESPORTS. Their ECL '22 Winter playoffs disappointment has really been forgotten for these guys and they have made their way to the Finals for the first time ever. In the Quarterfinals they were able to close the series against HAVU Gaming nicely but in the Semifinals they got the next level. SAWO was able to beat Frölunda HC in a thrilling game 7 overtime. If you talk about this season's biggest surprises that was one the biggest ones because it also ended Frölunda's magical streak of consecutive Finals appearances. Before the Semifinals, we speculated about SAWO's firepower and how that nearly always comes from the wingers. That thing changed as when the goal was needed we saw both Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila and Tomi @tombo_02(tomboo-_-) Laitinen taking a big role. @tombo_02 scored the overtime game winning goal in game 6 as his defensive pair did the same in the legendary game 7. Winning his old team in the Semifinals made it extra tasty for @Teemuyy and with that goal he continued his own Finals appearance stream. His battles against old clubs won't end there for him as he started his streak in the hREDS jersey. 

Many doors are closing with this Final series. For the first time in ages there are no HAVU or Frölunda in the final two and we are witnessing the back-to-back Champion going against the young hungry talents for the European Championship. SAWO has now gained that much needed experience from being able to seal the deal in a tough spot. Winning Frölunda was already an amazing performance but is there enough hunger left to climb an even bigger hill than their Semifinal opponent was. The goaltending battle will once again play a huge part. We saw how Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen was able to keep up his level in the overtime games against Frölunda but in the finals he is facing Filip @Faze91- Azri, who has so far in his career always played even better in the Finals than in normal games. If we imagine that SAWO would win the ECL '22 Spring Championship they would have momentum going to the Grand Finals because there is only one day to reset in between. The Grand Finals would be incredible to see but hREDS is looking as strong as ever right now and there should be no challengers able to stand up to them. The predators will win their third ECL title in a row and become first Grand Champion in ECL history in 5 games. 

When?
Friday, June 17th 19:30 CEST (Games 1-2)
Saturday, June 18th 18:45 CEST (Games 3-7)
Sunday, June 19th 20:30 CEST (ECL '22 Grand Finals)*

Where?
Helsinki, Finland - Narinkkatori
www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG

You'll find us at the SportsGamer truck parked at Narinkkatori, the event is hosted in cooperation with St Hockey and besides their St Hockey Tour opening weekend event. Entry is free.

With the upcoming ECL '22 Spring Finals, we thought it would be suitable to take a look at what has gone down throughout ECL history before. Join us for a short recap of some monumental ECL events.

So, this show has been running for 14 seasons now and we've gone from 50 teams signed up in ECL 1 to almost 250 at this point. The first ever ECL season on this platform started in mid-December of 2015 and at the end of the inaugural season, we crowned Nordic Blizzard the Champions. A lot of players who were on that first ever championship team are still around and competing at a high level today, and while we appreciate to an endless extent all the hard work they've put in over the years, we're also glad to have all of you newer players join us over the course of the years.

As we're counting down the days to the ECL '22 Spring Elite Finals, we thought it'd only be right to take a trip down memory lane and go through some of the monumental events in ECL history.

List of ECL Champions
ECL 1: Nordic Blizzard 🏆
ECL 2: MUKIMIEHET 🏆
ECL 3: X Factor 🏆
---DIVISIONS FRAMEWORK APPLIED---
ECL 4: Laser HT 🏆
ECL 5: Aapon Taikasauva 🏆
ECL 6: Carlsberg HC 🏆
ECL 7: FILADELPHIA 🏆
ECL 8: Written In The Stars 🏆
ECL 9: Linköping HC 🏆🏆
ECL 10: HAVU Gaming 🏆🏆
ECL 11: FILADELPHIA 🏆🏆🏆
ECL 12: hREDS 🏆
ECL '22 Winter: hREDS 🏆🏆
ECL '22 Spring: -

As signified in the list above, Frölunda HC (formerly known as FILADELPHIA or Linköping HC) are the winningest team in ECL history, but none other than hREDS have been able to pull off the historical feat of a back-to-back. Obviously one of the turning points for the entire league was when the divisions framework was introduced in early December of 2016. The introduction of the divisions framework was certainly a hot topic back then and while everyone wasn't on the same page about things, we worked out in the end and partially as a result of that, we've been able to grow as a community to the point we are at today. 

The divisions framework was proven in practice as in ECL 4, Carlsberg HC were able to gain promotion by winning the Pro division, followed by Evolution in ECL 5. Both of these squads performed well in their inaugural Elite campaigns and Carlsberg HC managed to hoist the cup at the end of ECL 6 Elite, becoming the first promoted team ever to work their way to a championship, a feat that only hREDS has managed to repeat. 

ECL 7 marked the start of an era in ECL competition where two teams seemed to be far above the rest. The battle raged hard between FILADELPHIA (Linköping HC/Frölunda HC) and Written In The Stars (HAVU Gaming), as the two seemed to go head-to-head in almost any finals we were hosting, be it the ECL, FCL or the IS CUP. The two also clashed at the first ever live ECL Finals, that were hosted at the end of the ECL 8 season at LanTrek '19 in Tampere, Finland. ECL 8 was a big season in general as the European Championship had a major partner joining the Championship as sponsor and the Finals were available for betting. 

(Photo from the ECL 8 Elite Finals at LanTrek '19 in Tampere, Finland - taken by Samuli Seila)

The reign of FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming would continue for quite some time and ECL 9 was no different. The season itself was one of the more eventful we've seen from an organizers standpoint and we also introduced a new division to the mix with the entry level ECL Neo. The season started in late 2019 and carried over to the next year. This was also a time where several leagues were running side-by-side and while some of these may have been in direct competition with our product, SportsGamer has always strived towards bringing the best possible experience for the gamers. Scheduling and the start of the pandemic not only postponed the Finals, but also led to the Finals event being taken off the table, reverting us to the online experience. As you'd have it, also these finals were a clash between the big two of this era. 

The big two, they continued their dominance for quite some time. You guessed it - also the ECL 10 Elite Finals featured HAVU Gaming and the team then known as Linköping HC! As stated, these two teams seemed unbeatable at the time and they really proved it any chance they got. The pandemic was still running rampant and while it seemed like no Finals event was going to happen, HAVU Gaming had taken things into their own hands, gathering their players at Game Cave in Espoo for the finals - a move which seemed to pay off for them!
 

ECL 12 saw the addition of ECL Core as the largest division in our competitive divisions framework and also a very controversial new qualifier system due to the transition period. While the change was difficult to accept, it was inevitable in order to continue growing the community and the competitiveness of the game. As we've seen now a few seasons later, the few added divisions and the expanded qualifier system has allowed teams like Stargazing this past season to test their wings at the highest level despite not having a lot of history behind the team. 

The ECL 12 Elite Finals were the time for hREDS to pull through and shine. The young guns were stepping up against FILADELPHIA, who had won almost everything you could imagine at that point. In late July of 2021, hREDS hoisted the cup for the first time with the lead of captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen and started what would become a new kind of dynasty in ECL history.

(From left to right Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen, Niklas @NikkeDangles (NikkeNHL) Tukiainen, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen. Missing from the picture is goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri)

To start the '22 Winter season, we announced the new two part season system with the all new Grand Finals and a Grand Champion to be crowned. hREDS have already made history by clinching the back-to-back when taking home the Winter season championship, but now could be their time to go both for the triple and becoming the first ever ECL Grand Champions, etching their names into the history books forever. Will that happen though, we'll have to wait until the weekend to find out!

What?
The ECL '22 Spring Finals and The ECL '22 Grand Finals (If needed)
#3  SAWO ESPORTS vs hREDS  #1

When?
Friday, June 17th 19:30 CEST (Games 1-2)
Saturday, June 18th 18:45 CEST (Games 3-7)
Sunday, June 19th 20:30 CEST (ECL '22 Grand Finals)*

Where?
Helsinki, Finland - Narinkkatori
www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG

You'll find us at the SportsGamer truck parked at Narinkkatori, the event is hosted in cooperation with St Hockey and besides their St Hockey Tour opening weekend event. Entry is free.

It's been a long road for both teams in the Finals and now it's finally time to determine the champion once and for all. Valco is coming into the Finals after an incredible run, taking down some of the top seeds along the way, whereas Synergy Hockey has been on a dominant path throughout the season. Who will hoist the cup?

 Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

A long season sees its end once again and the only games left are the Finals. These teams have all certainly earned their right to direct promotion for next season. Synergy Hockey has been a solid team throughout the season and is a less surprising team at this point, whereas Valco has trodden a more rocky path, finding their form at the best of times. Many predictions I have put them to the losing side but the experience and the whole team playing together has shown their strength. The third direct promotion spot was decided this week between IK Oskarshamn and Spirit in the Bronze games and Oskarshamn walked away with a sweep in that series.

(10)  Synergy Hockey vs Valco  (26)

Synergy came through the Lite qualifiers for the Spring season, most likely as no surprise to anyone. Synergy Hockey continued their good form throughout regular season and maintained their level in the playoffs. Winning their first two series with a clean sweep and only losing one game to Destiny is a real show of power. However, their semifinals against IK Oskarshamn was another story. IK Oskarshamn defended firmly and used their scoring chances clinically. It ended up being a seven game saga where Synergy Hockey were down for the count 3-1 and were able to “reverse sweep” to the series victory with a game seven OT winner from @J-Foppa. A seeing-eye wrister from the point with a little luck clinched the victory for Synergy Hockey.

Then we've got Valco. In the mid-season report, the writer (me) didn’t believe this team could even make it to the playoffs and the doubting and naysaying continued in the playoffs. However, here they are and no one can take that away from this team. Probably one of the hardest routes to the final. Facing TTK in the first round, Arkham Asylum in the second and TadPole in the third. Even Spirit couldn’t break the tight defence and goal scorer, by god’s grace @itspardytime, pushed his forces through to the finals. 

Look for an exciting battle where two different game styles will clash.

You can follow the entire series through Valco's Twitch-channel at www.twitch.tv/Samila87 starting on Thursday, June 16th at 20:30 CEST. On Thursday, we will see at least three games of action, stay tuned for more information through the social media channels of the teams.

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

SportsGamer hosts the ECL '22 Spring Elite Finals and possible Grand Finals in Helsinki this upcoming weekend and regardless of what transpires in the games, it will be a historical outcome. We've got two young and hungry teams clashing at an event unlike anything we've seen before, so we're happy to invite you to join us either live at the scene or in our stream!

We've come a long way from the announcement of our reimagined ECL framework - "A Song of Winter and Spring" back in late 2021 and since then we've seen the likes of hREDS pulling off the historical back-to-back, the uprise of several interesting contenders such as SAWO ESPORTS and even the decline of some dynasties we once thought would never fade away. Now we're in for the finale of the ECL '22 season, as we'll first crown our Spring Champion and possibly even get to see a Grand Final on Sunday for the ECL '22 title. Both of the squads who have paved their way to the finals are hungry to get things going, but we'll need to hold them back for just a bit longer, as the Finals don't start until Friday evening. Until then, we'll be taking you through some details for the action packed weekend.

What?
The ECL '22 Spring Finals and The ECL '22 Grand Finals (If needed)
#3  SAWO ESPORTS vs hREDS  #1

When?
Friday, June 17th 19:30 CEST (Games 1-2)
Saturday, June 18th 18:45 CEST (Games 3-7)
Sunday, June 19th 20:30 CEST (ECL '22 Grand Finals)*

Where?
Helsinki, Finland - Narinkkatori
www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG

You'll find us at the SportsGamer truck parked at Narinkkatori, the event is hosted in cooperation with St Hockey and besides their St Hockey Tour opening weekend event. Entry is free.

"It's been a blast, however there's obviously so much work that goes into an event like this just behind the scenes. This time is going to be quite different from what we've ever done before with it being outside and all the challenges coming with that, but I think we've managed to tackle them well. Combining our event with both the St Hockey Tour and the Wilhelm eHockey Tour also adds to the experience of it all, it's definitely going to be a celebration of hockey in all forms", says SportsGamer COO Kenneth @Kenu Lehtinen. 

Stay tuned as the week progresses for more info about the Finals and everything we've got coming up! We'll also drop the extensive Finals preview later in the week.

SportsGamers,

This season, our ECL Elite Player Awards will feature an open vote, where all of you will have the opportunity to impact who will receive the individual awards at the end of the season. We have six categories in total with five nominees in each category. While some nominees have been selected due to their statistically superior performance, there has been space for a slightly more subjective approach too. We've had a jury pick out two of the five nominees in all five categories based on their votes.

Voting will open effective immediately and we're asking you to cast your votes by Wednesday, June 15th at 23:59 CEST. The awards will be presented in the ECL '22 Spring Finals broadcasts on Friday, June 17th and Saturday, June 18th. Make sure to cast your vote in order to support your favorite player!

Here's a list of all the nominees in all the different award categories. You'll find a link to the vote at the end of each category, so make sure to click through and cast your votes!
 

Top Forward
The Top Forward award is awarded to a player that has excelled above the competition in their forward position.

Paul @PleeMaker Arontie, Frölunda HC 
The long-time Frölunda HC left winger has been a terror for defensemen around the league since he was just a small kid. He's a guaranteed 20-goal scorer every season and when not scoring, he is always a dangerous option, making space for his linemates to succeed. The ECL '22 Spring Top Scorer.

Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, hREDS 
Perhaps the best centerman in the game is able to elevate players flanking him while simultaneously being very reliable defensively. An unusually high scoring centerman, who finished #2 in the scoring race this season.

Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen, SAWO ESPORTS 
A newly emerged talent, who has lead SAWO ESPORTS to the brink of greatness together with his partner Jere @jxrska Laukka. A "shoot first, ask later"-kind of player who tends to convert at a very high percentage. 

Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, Frölunda HC 
The former HAVU Gaming captain found an offseason transfer in looks to spark his career into new heights, which seemed to work well. Despite not quite reaching career high numbers, the right winger was a factor for his team all season long and managed to continue where he left off with his old team. 

Jere @jxrska Laukka, SAWO ESPORTS 
Another young and exciting talent for SAWO ESPORTS, who as mentioned together as a dynamic duo with Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen are able to dismantle just about any defense in the league. High skill player with a propensity to also play the body at an unusually high rate.

Vote for the Top Forward of ECL '22 Spring here!


Top Defender
The Top Defender award is awarded to a player that has excelled above the competition in their defenseman position.

Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen, hREDS 
Has developed into arguably the best defenseman around since his first season with hREDS back in ECL 12 and now managed to become the Top Scorer (T-1) among defensemen for the second season in a row. Very patient and skilled with the puck.

Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila, SAWO ESPORTS 
Really blossomed after completing his transfer to SAWO ESPORTS and managed to stand out from the competition especially early on in the season. Tied for highest scoring defenseman.

Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen, hREDS 
One of the success stories in terms of forwards turning defensemen and it's evident in his confidence with the puck that KingOfApes has played up front before. In a class of his own when it comes to confidence and scored the most goals (10) among defensemen in the regular season.

Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala, Frölunda HC 
Switched to a defensive position from his centerman role and did that extremely well. Slotted in nicely alongside long-time teammate Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta and helped his team in both ends of the ice consistently.

Tero @Terodee Dahlström, Örebro Hockey 
Örebro Hockey emerged as one of the bigger dark horses of the season and while captain Terodee has always been a great offensive defenseman, the team has struggled with the actual defensive duties at times. This season, they seemed to be firing on all cylinders and the captain had an excellent campaign.

Vote for the Top Defender of ECL '22 Spring here!

Top Goalie
The Top Goalie award is awarded to a player that has excelled above the competition in their goaltender position.

Filip @Faze91- Azri, hREDS 
Statistically pulled ahead of everyone by quite a margin over the course of the regular season. Accomplished a career high in both SV% with 87.86 and shutouts with 10.

Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen, SAWO ESPORTS 
The cover gamer continued where he had left off in the winter season, putting forth a very consistent campaign throughout, and while not quite reaching the highs he did last season, this season had no lows either. Cemented his status as one of the best in the league.

Casper @ICappeI Lundgren, Frölunda HC 
Has been reigning supreme at the top for a long time and is such a consistent performer. That being said, he had no off nights this season either and was right up there with the best of them statistically too. 

Johan @McSavid Rundqvist, Färjestad BK 
McSavid has grown into one of the best goalies in the division along with the great performances throughout the years by his team. Has a bit of an unconventional more aggressive style of play, which divides opinions. 

Christoffer @Tiipponenii (Coffelainen) Eriksson, HV71​​​​​​​ 
As last season's newcomer HV71 has been trying to gain a foothold in the Elite division, their goaltender Coffelainen has been a great cornerstone for them. Could have been flying a bit under the radar for some, but this season's solid performances have elevated his stock.

Vote for the Top Goalie of ECL '22 Spring here!


Rookie Of The Season
The Rookie Of The Season award is awarded to a player in their rookie ECL Elite season, who has excelled above the competition regardless of position.

Miikka @xColeslaww (Koleslaav) Kolehmainen, Stargazing 
After spending several seasons in various top Pro outfits in very productive roles, the talented winger finally took the step up together with the almost full rookie squad of Stargazing. Koleslaav didn't slow down production and despite his team not performing as well as they would've wanted, he stood out as their best performer.

Niklas @Bobiraataja (Nikhaa27) Haataja, Stargazing 
A highly talented defenseman that has been on the radar of several Elite teams before. Especially known for an excellent defensive stick, but showed in his rookie Elite season that points production is something he can also do.

Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg, ZSC Esports 
The former noRex Gaming winger signed with the Swiss outfit in the offseason and has really exhibited a fast rise to the top, as he has made a step up in each of the past two seasons and done so in successful fashion. Slotted in very well with ZSC and should continue improving from there. 

Miro @Flopper71 Heikkinen, Stargazing 
Another Stargazing forward, who made the step up to Elite after spending a some time in Pro in very productive roles. Didn't quite reach the production levels of linemate Koleslaav, but is notorious for coming up clutch and scoring those much needed goals when the team is in a tough spot. 

Kalle @James (Jamechkin) Riihelä, Stargazing 
An extremely skilled defenseman with great puck possession, had a decent entry into the Elite division despite a non-favorable outcome for his team. 

Vote for the Rookie Of The Season of ECL '22 Spring here!


Comeback Player Of The Season
The Comeback Player Of The Season award is awarded to a player that after one or more seasons away from ECL Elite competition, makes an impactful comeback to the highest level.

Väinö @Pikkardz (Pikkarii) Pikkarainen, Örebro Hockey 
Spent last season in Pro with the former Dynastia and was one of that teams most important forces. Decided to take on the Elite challenge with Örebro this season and while there were many doubters, Örebro proved to be one of the big dark horses this season. Played a very mature two-way game at the center position.

Väinö @vSilenttio (vee_SILE) Pietilä, JYP Jyväskylä 
As the Winter Pro season Champions, JYP Jyväskylä gained promotion back to the European top 16 and vee_SILE together with his teammates proved that they belong there. Took on a big leading role in the team together with his more experienced squadmates Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen and Santeri @indi969 Pendolin.

Toni @Pirtsa89 Pirttimäki, Stargazing 
Having formerly represented IQUE at the Elite level, Pirtsa decided to join Stargazing for their Pro Championship push last season. You're always in for a tough challenge when in net for an underdog like that in their first Elite season, but Pirtsa handled his job and seemed comfortable in net.

Samu @xKeskitalo Keskitalo, GOONS 
The long-time GOONS player completely skipped the Winter season and played his last competitive games back in late 2021 as a right defenseman. Now, returning for GOONS at the centerman position, xKeskitalo put forth a great effort certainly earning him some prestige as a bona fide centerman at the Elite level.

Rony @rGinnu Kinnunen, Conquer Gaming 
Another player that hadn't played since FCL in late 2021 and in fact only had one season as a starter in Elite under his belt prior to this one, back then as a right defenseman, and that was in early 2019! Who would've guessed rGinnu will slot right in at center for Conquer and carry the team to the playoffs with excellent performances throughout. 

Vote for the Comeback Player Of The Season of ECL '22 Spring here!

Transfer Of The Season
The Transfer Of The Season award is awarded to a player who after a transfer is deemed to have been the most impactful player for their new team.

Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, Frölunda HC 
Perhaps one of the biggest transfers in ECL history. The long-time captain and founder of HAVU Gaming switched sides to their main rival Frölunda HC in the offseason and didn't miss a beat, continuing his dominant play on the virtual ice. 

Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila, SAWO ESPORTS 
After a disappointing loss in the ECL '22 Winter Finals, Teemuyy made a controversial departure from Frölunda HC and for some time it seemed like we weren't sure where he would end up. Having finally signed with SAWO, the youngster really elevated his level of play and was cornerstone for their success.

Ville @Supreex Korhonen, GOONS 
Has been one of the most highly sought after goaltenders in the scene for a long time, but has remained loyal to his guys back in Northern Ascendancy until the start of this season. Shared responsibilities with the experienced Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu and seemed to be a great addition for GOONS.

André @Foppatofflan Liljegren, Falun Coal Miners 
Known as one of the better playmakers around, and always seems to have an ace or two up his sleeve. Made the transfer from Färjestad BK to Falun Coal Miners and despite his team struggling a bit, he still managed to better his point totals with a whopping 14 points from last season. 

Connor @MartindalexC Martindale, Falun Coal Miners​​​​​​​ 
Made the move from Northern Ascendancy to Falun Coal Miners in the offseason and alike his teammate Foppatofflan, while his team struggled a bit from time to time, he still managed to improve on his own production, besting his last seasons totals by 16 points.

Vote for the Transfer Of The Season of ECL '22 Spring here!

As stated, the voting will be open until Wednesday, June 15th at 23:59 CEST, so make sure to cast your votes before that and tune in to the finals broadcasts on Friday & Saturday June 17th and 18th for all the action and the voting results!

SportsGamers,

It's time for the second finals series of the Spring season as we're winding down towards the end of the Neo season. Only two teams remain at this point, and those are #2 seed EPINAL HC ESPORT and Turkunummi. These two have came a long way and pushed through so many opponents along their journey. It'll all come down to a final best-of-five series. The ECL '22 Spring Neo Finals will be played in full on Sunday the 12th of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

(2)  EPINAL HC ESPORT vs Turkunummi  (3)

The full series will be broadcasted at www.twitch.tv/wildcats_esport.

Good luck both teams!

SportsGamers,

After a gruelling finals series, where one team had to face disappointment once again, we have a new ECL Pro Champion! Växjö Lakers were on a mission to redeem their glory after a disastrous Winter campaign and in the finals, they got the better of Reality Check, who were on their second straight finals run, once again coming up just short. Reality Check will be facing Stargazing in a relegation series to determine their fate for next season.

Växjö Lakers' s road to the championship:

• #1 seed from group 2 with the record 23-5-2
• Round 1: vs Geekz Energy eSports (8) 4-1
• Quarterfinals: vs Herlev Eagles (13) 4-2
• Semifinals: vs HanaaHC (3) 4-0
• Finals: vs Reality Check (1) 4-1

The winning roster:
GOALTENDERS
#38 Erik @MrAllsvenskan Rotsenius
#86 Toni @hulkamaania (zeukki_) Panagopulos

DEFENSEMEN
#27 Samuel @EDHOLMEN3 Edholm (C)
#88 Johannes @Hockeyjohannes Hultmark (A)

FORWARDS
#4 Mikkel @Birkedal96 Birkedal (A)
#61 Adam @dzouvi Mensik
#91 Fredrik @Kattenj Jansson
 

Congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community, and a warm thank you to all participants!

The last four teams are left and we move to the Semifinals stage of the Lite division. A long season sees it's end when the best teams face each other for a place in the Finals. Who will gain a straight Pro spot for next season? Will someone be able to find another gear or pull an ace from their sleeve? 

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.3 ECL Lite

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 15.06 – 16.06 (BO7)

The teams that are left aren't that surprising after all, but especially Valco came all the way through seed #26 and won the seeds #1 Arkham Asylum and seed #2 Tadpole with the lead of goal scorer by God’s grace - captain @itspardytime, who has found a new level with the whole team. Among the goalies, @Misantti and @DUNZA have been on their own level. 
 

(6)  Spirit vs Valco  (26)

In this one, we're looking at two pretty different teams, with some striking similarity at the same time. Both teams trust their right side like a rock. Valco plays many situations through their captain @itspardytime. Also @Toivonen_ from Spirit seems to be their main guy for attacking. So the winner of the series will probably be the team who can change their playstyle during the series because the two main guys will be marked men. Follow @NuariJamal and @VesKuLiNe.

(7)  IK Oskarshamn vs Synergy Hockey  (10)

Swedish clash. While Synergy Hockey have been marching their way to this stage of the playoffs, IK Oskarshamn have had a bit more of a bumpy road. Two game seven wins still shows that they deserve to be here and the team holds that certain resilience. IK Oskarshamn looks a bit like last season’s winner Mora IK. A strong five man unit and their wingers score at a very high rate. @snippystatue leads his teams scoring and will be battling with the experienced @Supremski throughout the series. Follow that clash, it might be the series decider. 

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

As the season has rolled on already to the semifinals, we're now in for a couple of very exciting matchups, where younger underdogs are challenging the proven top teams. Both hREDS and Frölunda HC are clearly hunting for the title, whereas GOONS and SAWO ESPORTS are the young guns around trying to have their say in the eventual winner. 

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.5 ECL Elite Playoffs

In ECL Elite, 8 out of 16 teams will make the playoffs. Teams that finish in places 9-12 will neither play in the playoffs nor be subject to relegation. Teams that finish in places 13, 14 & 15 will each play the ECL Pro semifinalists, as well as the Pro runner up – these matchups will be BO7 series wherein the winners stay in / proceed to ECL Elite for the next season. In addition to this, the 16th placed team will be instantly relegated to ECL Pro for the next season.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.1 ECL Elite

Playoff Schedule

• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 17.06 – 18.06 (BO7)
• Grand Finals: 19.06 (BO7) [If necessary]

The previews were written in cooperation by @jahajaha93 & @ose16.
 

(1)  hREDS vs GOONS  (5)

TOP SCORER (Playoffs)
Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 4 GP, 7+6=13 vs Samu @xKeskitalo Keskitalo 5 GP, 4+9=13

GOALTENDER (Playoffs)
Filip @Faze91- Azri 4 GP, 4 W, 93,94 SV%, 0.5 GAA, 2 SO vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen 5 GP, 4 W, 83,33 SV%, 1.6 GAA, 1 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
26-2-2 vs 20-8-2

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
3-0, 4-0

hREDS dominated in the first round against Conquer Gaming. Their 18-2 goal differential against the regular seasons biggest dark horse tells that the back-to-back champions are getting warmed up just in time for the bigger games. Starting the playoff run with an 8-0 win is a statement of it's own, that's for sure. Once again the predators showed that their ability to defend patiently when it's needed is also a big strength in this team. Even though sometimes their defense would slip up there is still a big hill to climb when scoring goal against hREDS as their goalie Filip @Faze91- Azri once again leads all the goalie stats and was the only goaltender to record two shoutouts in the first round. There is still no signs for hREDS' momentum dropping and they have more than a solid chance to make it three in a row this season. 

GOONS managed to win Örebro Hockey in 5 games on their way to the semifinals. A crazy coincidence is that just like their coming opponent hREDS, also this black and red team started their playoff campaign with a 8-0 blowout win. The series between GOONS and Örebro was expected to maybe be a little tighter than it was but the numbers don't lie and they were the much better team in that series. It's interesting to see if they could find some keys to break hREDS' insane momentum. 21 scored goals in the opening round of the playoffs definitely boosted their goal scoring confidence, which is a good thing because against a top team in Europe you have to capitalize on every chance you get. 

Last season we saw this same matchup the quarterfinals as hREDS were able to sweep GOONS. Among the top 10 point producers in the playoffs you can find 9 players from these teams. The first game of the playoffs of course is the biggest factor for that but it doesn't take away the fact that both of these teams include a lot of firepower. Young guns Arttu @laitineen64(Laiitinen) Laitinen and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström have already proved their scoring ability in the playoffs also. You can find a lot of similarities when you compare these two to hREDS' Niklas @NikkeDangles(NikkeNHL)Tukianen in being first a very skilled forward but now being great on the defensive side of things also. In the goalie battle Ville @Supreex Korhonen is ready for the matchup against the best goalie in the league as he made 40 saves in the first round which was most among the goaltenders whose team made to the semifinals. This season has had many positive signs for GOONS but it's not yet their time to advance to the finals. HREDS will go hunt their third straight championship to the finals by shooting GOONS down in 5 games. 
 

(2)  Frölunda HC vs SAWO ESPORTS  (3)

TOP SCORER (Playoffs)
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 4 GP, 7+3=10 vs Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 6 GP, 5+3=8

GOALTENDER (Playoffs)
Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 4 GP, 4 W, 84,62 SV%, 1.00 GAA, 0 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 6 GP, 4 W, 75,00 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 1 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
23-4-3 vs 21-7-2

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
2-1 OT, 3-2

Frölunda HC managed their first playoff test with their new lineup very well. Still, a sweep against Roots Gaming was only a start and they will definitely want more from this season, and their semifinal opponent will be tougher to beat. Erik @Eki Tammenpää is in the look for his first goal of the playoffs as surprisingly, he wasn’t able to get one in the Quarterfinals. Like the regular season showed, Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has a hot stick as now in the playoffs he has been able to light the lamp 7 times which is leading the league. Defense also worked well as the Indians surrendered only 1 goal in every game. Frölunda HC are now looking to get to the finals for the eighth season in a row. 

SAWO ESPORTS was able to get the monkey off their back by winning HAVU Gaming in 6 games after last seasons huge disappointment in the playoffs. HAVU managed to even things up after being 2-0 down in the series but perhaps that only strengthened the SAWO squad - they were put in a tough spot, which they handled very well. Putting away the series after a couple of tough losses will bring experience to the future in similar positions. Against Frölunda they will likely need more goal scoring power than only their wingers, who scored 10 out of SAWO's 12 goals in a 6 games series. Like the whole lineup, Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen had a tough time in the second night of the series against HAVU, but were able to bounce back in games 5 and 6. In this matchup those kind of off games aren't possible if SAWO wants to make it to the finals. 

This series you could expect to be tighter than the other. SAWO has a very talented team with great ability to defend well and at the same time make incredible plays in the offensive zone. Both of these teams are looking to get all their players involved in scoring. One of the key points will be how well Frölunda will be able to contain Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen. These teams started their season against each other so we will see which team has developed their game more during the season. It all will come down to the fact that Frölunda's scoring power is more well rounded. Frölunda will continue their hunt to get back to the top with a 4-2 series win. 

See all of these teams in action tonight at the SportsGamer Twitch-channel! Our broadcast is starting with the Pro Finals already at 18:15 CEST!

The Finals are here and we're expecting some fireworks between two excellent virtual hockey teams. Both squads have proved dominant on their campaigns throughout and it's looking like these two will match up for a very tough series. May the best team win!

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.2 ECL Pro

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-16: 08.05-12.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 15.05-25.05 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 30.05-02.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 05.06-06.06 (BO7)

Preview

(1)  Reality Check vs Växjö Lakers  (2)

Both of these teams are coming into the finals off of very similar campaigns, and to no one's surprise, these two are the teams that managed to dominate their respective groups in the regular season too. While Växjö had a very disappointing Winter season and are now proving themselves in an incredible bounce back effort, Reality Check is heading to the finals for the second time in a row. They've been a fringe Elite team for a very long time, and maybe this is going to be their turn to shine?

Reality Check is 12-1-1 thus far in the playoffs and they've been in very convincing form throughout. Most of their games have been rather tight and we've seen several one goal differentials, but the main thing for this team is that they seem to be able to turn almost every game in their favor in one way or another. Usually this entails stringing together solid decisions and managing to limit high danger scoring chances for the opposition, which also statistics support for this team. They've been excellent throughout their lineup and their goaltender @FINSeRe has been a beast. The team has allowed a bit over 9 shots per game against and the goalie stops pucks at a rate of 86,05%, which surely indicates that opponents will have a rough go scoring against this squad. 

Just like Reality Check, Växjö Lakers have been very impressive all season without too much of a slip-up at any point. The fact that their forward trio @Kattenj, @Birkedal96 alnd @dzouvi are topping the scoring statistics between the tree of them is a pure show of their scoring power and the dominance they've been able to exhibit thus far in the playoffs especially. Due to their high offensive drive, Växjö Lakers is also a bit more probable to allow more shots, and they've been fine with that since they've been able to trust their goaltending and match the scoring whenever needed. Regardless of who will take this series in the end, it's guaranteed we'll see a great fight and some fireworks in the series coming up.

Prediction: Reality Check wins 4-3

The Finals will begin today and the first games will be featured on the SportsGamer Sunday broadcast starting already at 18:15 CEST! If you are interested in any individual statistics, visit the league page or reach your preferred team's page by clicking their name in this article.

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.

• Discord
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• Twitter

SportsGamers,

It's been a long road to travel for teams in the Core division thus far, and now we're down to the top four! Through four playoff rounds, these teams have defied odds and bested their opponents, now only eight wins away from the trophy. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The Semifinal round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 5th of June 2022 and end on Thursday the 9th of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

(1)  Rögle BK vs Chiefzz HC  (7)

A quick glance at the rosters puts Rögle BK in the favorite position in this series by a landslide and they've consistently plowed through opposition throughout the season at convincing pace. Chiefzz HC will be in for a challenge unlike anything they've seen thus far this season. While Rögle is surely looking to crush their opponents with scoring explosions like only they've been able to do this season, Chiefzz HC will benefit from trying to keep the score low for as long as possible. It's tough to imagine this series going past five games. 

Prediction: Rögle BK advances, 4-1

(3)  Frolunda HC Region vs Etelan Vetelat  (6)
This one could turn out to be a very interesting series. Frolunda HC consists of several up-and-comers and some very talented players with lots still to learn, but great potential, whereas Etelan Vetelat holds some very experienced gamers in their roster, with several seasons at higher levels under their belts. Statistically, Frolunda HC has a tendency to play a bit more offensive compared to their opponents, who you could imagine want to utilize their experience and chemistry in order to overcome this challenge. 

Prediction: Etelan Vetelat advances, 3-4
 

Good luck for everyone!

SportsGamers,

We're closing in on the grande finale of the Neo season, but first - the Semifinals! Last round, the #1 seed London Lightning were trampled in a surprising sweep by HC KOROBKA, who seem to be on a mission to take down the big dogs. Quite interestingly we've also got the FIFA extraordinaire team Turkunummi paving their way this far into the postseason, going up against KH Torun Esports! The Semifinal round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 5th of June 2022 and end on Wednesday the 8th of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

Click here to view the matchups for the Semifinals of the ECL '22 Spring Neo Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

It's time to drop the puck also for the Elite playoffs! We're in for a multitude of exciting series and as last time, hREDS have the opportunity to extend their historical run even further. Everyone else is here to spoil their party, and to get their own shot at glory.

Structure & Prize Pool

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5.5 ECL Elite Playoffs

In ECL Elite, 8 out of 16 teams will make the playoffs. Teams that finish in places 9-12 will neither play in the playoffs nor be subject to relegation. Teams that finish in places 13, 14 & 15 will each play the ECL Pro semifinalists, as well as the Pro runner up – these matchups will be BO7 series wherein the winners stay in / proceed to ECL Elite for the next season. In addition to this, the 16th placed team will be instantly relegated to ECL Pro for the next season.

Schedule

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10.6.1 ECL Elite

Playoff Schedule

• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 17.06 – 18.06 (BO7)
• Grand Finals: 19.06 (BO7) [If necessary]

The previews were written in cooperation by @jahajaha93 & @ose16.
 

(1)  hREDS vs Conquer Gaming  (8)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen 29 GP, 28+35=63 vs Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho 30 GP, 17+23=40

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Filip @Faze91- Azri 25 GP, 22 W, 87,86 SV%, 1.00 GAA, 10 SO vs Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck 30 GP, 15 W, 80,79 SV%, 2.27 GAA, 6 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
26-2-2 vs 15-12-3

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-2 OT, 0-1 OT

We'll be the first ones to admit we were dead wrong about Conquer Gaming, as our season preview ranked them at 15th in a relegation battle spot. Now we're all glad to see them fighting in the playoffs in a very interesting battle against the back-to-back champions hREDS, who as expected, had a great run throughout the regular season gaining them the top seed. The reigning champions are on a run unlike anything else ever seen before in the ECL, with a chance of extending their streak even further, cementing themselves as the sole dynasty above anyone else in European virtual hockey history, but this is just the beginning of the journey and as everyone else at this point, they're still 12 wins away from ultimate glory. We've raved on for what seems like years about how good of a team hREDS are and the fact has hardly escaped anyone at this point - the stats speak for themselves, but one thing above everything else is their special teams excellence. hREDS' combined special teams is by far the best in the leagueand their 97.44% penalty kill leaves no room for the opposing power play to succeed. 

Despite the dominant performance throughout by hREDS, quite surprisingly, Conquer Gaming really had their number in the regular season managing to win both of the matchups between the two in overtime. In those games, Conquer goaltender Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck stood on his head but perhaps even more impressively, Conquer managed to defend as a unit, keeping hREDS away from the high danger zones. Winning two regular season games is very different from taking home an entire seven game series though, and we'll eagerly be waiting to see what new tricks Conquer might have up their sleeve. One could imagine that Conquer will need to try securing a bit more possession play, which starts by winning faceoffs - this puts centerman Rony @rGinnu Kinnunen in a crucial role against his counterpart Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. 

Although Conquer managed to secure two wins in the regular season, we don't expect hREDS to be rattled by those mishaps and they'll make life very difficult for their opposition in this series. It's hard to imagine Conquer sneaking away with any more than one win in the series. hREDS advances, 4-1.

(2)  Frölunda HC vs Roots Gaming  (7)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 29 GP, 33+36=69 vs Linus @Limu95 Christiansson 30 GP, 20+25=45

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 29 GP, 22 W, 82,8 SV%, 1.48 GAA, 6 SO vs Tomas @Mehiiss Laitinen 16 GP, 9 W, 80.3 SV%, 2.44 GAA, 3 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
23-4-3 vs 15-9-6

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-2, 4-2

Before the season there were speculation about how the new Frölunda HC lineup would work but now it is safe to say it was a good change for them. Now it's time to see how their game will work in the playoffs. It was great to see Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala getting his game going in the defensive position after playing as a center for this team before. Their newcomer Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha brought good things to their offense as Frölunda scored 94 goals in the regular season which was most in the league by any team. That was probably one of the reasons why Paul @PleeMaker Arontie was on fire with 33 goals and 69 points making him the best goal scorer and point producer. We will see how Frölunda's playoff journey will go but for sure Indians have only one thing in their mind and it's winning the ECL Elite title after a couple of disappointing seasons. 

Roots Gaming finished their first season in 9th place but this season which was their second in the Elite division, they managed to catch the second last playoff spot. Roots have taken great and steady steps forward so it is interesting to see where this team is heading in the future. Their scoring power is well balanced and every player is able to take a leading role when it is needed. Defense is a really big part of the offense as you can see from Niko @vVoDee Vottonen's and Joonas @LE1PAKONE(NordZman_) Nordman's combined 21 goals. The first one won the leagues defense goal scoring title with 14 goals. One of the biggest keys in Roots' development is that their offensive trio has played together from the start. 

This series will be a good first test for the new Frölunda HC. One of the key factors will be the goaltending game like always in the playoffs. Tomas @Mehiiss Laitinen will face one the best goalies this league has had with Casper @ICappeI Lundgren between the pipes. Roots' defense have to maybe get a little bit away from their offensive interests when they are protecting the net against Frölunda. Winning one game in the regular season will bring confidence to Roots' game but there is just too many factors against them. Frölunda will start their playoff journey with 4-1 series win. 

(3)  SAWO ESPORTS vs HAVU Gaming  (6)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 30 GP, 32+28=60 vs Wille @willekunq Juntunen 30 GP, 25+14=39

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 30 GP, 21 W, 83,33 SV%, 1.8 GAA, 4 SO vs Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen 30 GP, 15 W, 80,00 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 3 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
21-7-2 vs 15-9-6

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-0 OT, 4-0

SAWO ESPORTS had a second great regular season in a row. This season, their young group is looking for success in the playoffs too. Last season SAWO was sent out of the playoffs in 6 games in the first round. That boosted their hunger even more coming to this season and they are now a more experienced team. Their new player for this season Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila has been a great fit for their game style. Like last season, dynamic duo Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen has been really powerful and both finished in the top 5 among point producers. Sawo's game hasn’t had any weak points as they scored the third most goals in the league but also let in the third least goals. This lineup has a huge amount of potential but now they have the chance to take that next step and show their best game in the big games also. 

HAVU Gaming's start for the season was a little difficult. They were below the playoff line for a long time and also tried different combinations in the lineup. At the end of the day they got their game going with their longtime goalie Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos being in defense and defender Wille @willekunq Juntunen stepping up to offense. Their comeback player from JYP Jyvaskyla, Ilmari @Buantso(Puantso) Lehkonen didn’t have the best season in terms of scoring and hasn't really brught what we're used to seeing from him - yet. Only 11 goals in the regular season is a new low for him and he has played since the first ECL. That and many other things can be turned around here in the playoffs by HAVU. One of the most or maybe the most experienced playoff teams needs to find a way to succeed in the playoffs as old every season finalist has had couple of tougher seasons in last years. 

This series is going to be a battle of young hungry talents going against experienced many time champions who are looking to get back to the top 4. Havu was only 9th when it comes to goal scoring and that will not get easier in this series as they are facing Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen who once again had a great season being 2nd in the league on saving percentage. Fact is that these two has played 4 games against each other in the last two seasons Sawo winning them all and Havu only scoring 2 goals total in those games including 3 shoutouts for Sawo. Havu´s experience will make this series tough for Sawo but at the end of the day karelian´s goal scoring power will be too much for the old champions new defense and Sawo will make to the second round in 6 games. 

(4)  Örebro Hockey vs GOONS  (5)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Jussi @JaKurrii Koivuniemi 30 GP, 20+27=47 vs Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 30 GP, 27+29=56

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Elie @eliekamel87 Kamel 30 GP, 20 W, 81,65 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 6 SO vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen 18 GP, 11 W, 79.61 SV%, 2.33 GAA, 2 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
20-8-2 vs 18-9-3

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-5, 4-3 OT

These two opened the season against each other back in early April, and that is quite a while ago. Even some changes have happened since then on the GOONS side, as the team elected to bring in Veeti @Wenger (re_Wenger) Paloneva from FILADELPHIA ACADEMY as they chose to sit high profile defenseman Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen after a somewhat troubling start to the season. If GOONS were expected to finally have a breakout season, Örebro were one of those teams that had some clouds on the horizon to start the season, at least in the minds of several doubters including us. The outfit lead by defenseman Tero @Terodee Dahlström had acquired Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen to center their squad and whereas they seemed like a potential roster, no one could have expected them to perform in the way they did. 

While both of these squads are already rather experienced teams, they hold some of the games most exciting talent in their rosters and they're known for flashing some of that top end skill from time to time. However, they can equally have an off game and fluctuate in form quite heavily, which could indicate some high scoring games ahead for us. One thing that is certain is that the goaltenders will have their work cut out form them, and Örebro will be icing Elie @eliekamel87 Kamel, who has solidified himself among the best in the league and can earn his team a win on any given day. GOONS, on the other hand, have an interesting choice to make. They have two very experienced goalies to pick from in Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu and Ville @Supreex Korhonen. They can't go wrong with either one and most likely the choice could come down to availability or a predetermined 50/50 split. 

In this series, the winner will be the team that can string together the most consistent performances and do that at their highest level. Örebro is coming into the playoffs in excellent form and in my books, have a slight edge which is why they're my pick in six games.