Tohtorit are your ECL '26: Winter – Elite Champions!

After a seven-game Finals series that had overtime drama, a stunning blowout, and a Game 7 for the ages, Tohtorit have been crowned Elite division champions for the ECL '26: Winter season, defeating vNexs I 4-3 in the Finals.

But to understand just how much this title means, you have to start with the team they had to go through to get there.

The Elephant in the Room: vNexs I and the FINSeRe Story

HAVU Gaming entered this season as the heavy favourites. Formed from the merger of Parasite and Last Dance — two of the most decorated clubs in ECL history — they were widely considered a superteam, and their regular season backed that up: first place in the Elite division with 67 points.

Standing in their way in the Semifinals was a 6-seeded vNexs I side that, on paper, had no business being there — but whose playoff numbers told a very different story. @dippen04 and @AntonLxnd would finish the postseason as the two highest-scoring players in the entire division, while @pappeen- led all defencemen in points. This was not a team that got lucky. And adding a deeply personal dimension to the matchup was their goaltender @FINSeRe — a man who had spent the previous four seasons with the very club he was now trying to eliminate, winning two ECL Elite titles and a Finnish Championship along the way. This was the club he helped win in the past. And in a 4-3 Semifinal series, he and his new teammates sent them home.

It was one of the great individual storylines of the ECL season, and it set the stage for a Finals run that captured the imagination of the whole community.

The Road to the Final

Tohtorit, seeded second after an 18-win regular season, had their own business to take care of. They swept KUUSAMO.gg 4-0 in the Quarterfinals and then dispatched GOONS 4-1 in the Semifinals — efficient, clinical, and giving away very little. While vNexs I were making headlines with their upset run, Tohtorit were quietly doing what they do.

The two teams met in the Finals as, arguably, the most deserving pairing left standing.

A Finals Series to Remember

The series opened with back-to-back overtime games. @Ojala16 won Game 1 in extra time for Tohtorit after Dippen04 had put vNexs I ahead, and Pappen and Dippen04 combined to take Game 2 back for vNexs I. Two nights in, one game each, and the series already felt like it could go anywhere.

Tohtorit then took control with back-to-back wins. Game 3 ended with @Kkarkass burying a gut-punch winner with one second left on the clock, and Game 4 saw @Harlowi- score twice as Tohtorit pushed to a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Then vNexs I did what good teams do. Game 5 was a statement: Dippen04 completed a hat trick, AntonLxnd had a four-point night, and Pappen added four assists in a 6-3 demolition that made it clear this series wasn't over. Game 6 was another overtime classic — AntonLxnd scored a powerplay equaliser with under a minute left in regulation and then won it in overtime to force a Game 7.

Game 7: Ojala's Night

When the dust settled, it came down to one man.

Ojala16 scored all four of Tohtorit's goals in Game 7. He opened at 2:38 of the first, made it 2-0 in the second, and added two more in the third to close it out 4-1. @Stammer70 was immovable in net with a 94.12% save percentage. When the final buzzer went, Tohtorit were Elite champions for the first time in the club's history.

Over the full seven-game series, Ojala16 was the best player on either side. Across the entire playoffs he finished among the top scorers in the division with 30 points in 16 games at a remarkable +16. As the captain and one of the founders of Tohtorit, his overtime winner in Game 1 set the tone. His Game 7 wrote the final chapter.

ECL '26: Winter – Elite Champions Roster

🇫🇮 #10 Timi @Kkarkass Kärkäs

🇫🇮 #16 Tuomas @Ojala16 Ojala (C)

🇫🇮 #70 Stan @Stammer70 Adamus

🇫🇮 #86 Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala

🇫🇮 #88 Jere @Harlowi- Paloranta (A)

🇫🇮 #91 Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha

🇫🇮 #96 Juuso @TheSpeedo Sirkola

Winner Interviews

Tuomas @Ojala16 Ojala, Captain, Left-Wing

Q: Four goals in Game 7 of a Finals — take us inside that game. Were you feeling it early, or did it just happen?

A: I enjoy high-pressure situations and I know I can handle them. So I just went into the game relaxed and confident. I wasn't thinking about scoring four goals. I was only thinking about winning. I believe a captain has to be able to help his team in tough moments. But I have to admit that when I scored my second goal, I started to feel like this was just the beginning. From that moment on I just wanted the puck.
 

Q: vNexs I pushed you to 3-3 after you were up 3-1. How did the team respond mentally going into that deciding game?

A: We were still very confident even after they tied the series. We knew it's pretty hard to beat us three times in a row. Our team had experience that the opponent didn't have, and players who have proven before that they perform well in big moments even outside the NHL.
 

Q: You've been with Tohtorit for almost your entire career, working your way up through the divisions together. What does it mean to finally lift the Elite title with this club?

A: When we started, hardly anyone would have believed we'd make it this far. A few seasons ago we decided that instead of forcing ourselves to chase a championship, we'd rather focus on having fun. Now we had fun and we won the championship. We didn't practice that much during the season, so I think our great team spirit was one of the key factors behind the title. And I have to admit, it feels pretty good to win it with your own club.

Stan @Stammer70 Adamus, Goalie

Q: Two overtime games, a 6-3 blowout against you, and then a Game 7 — that's a lot of emotional swings for a goalie. How do you stay locked in through a series like that?

A: Staying locked in doesn't require anything special. When you play as a goalie, the most important thing is always the next situation and the next opportunity. Even though I faced one difficult game, I knew the whole time that I'm the best goalie at the moment, which gave me calmness and confidence between the pipes.
 

Q: Game 7, 94% save percentage, 4-1 win. What was going through your mind when that final buzzer went?

A: When the final buzzer went, my head was full of different emotions. The strongest feelings, however, were pride in our team and the six-year journey of Tohtorit to reach this point. In Game 7 I made a few good saves, but an even greater performance was shown by the five players in front of me. Especially Ojala — absolutely mental game from him.
 

Q: Both you and FINSeRe put up near-identical numbers across the playoffs. What was it like going up against him in the Finals, and how do you reflect on the goaltending battle in this series?

A: For me this was maybe the most fun goalie matchup I have ever played. In my opinion, the Finals delivered a goalie battle worthy of them. Both of us were required to make big saves at crucial moments, and I think both goalkeepers managed to do that. I truly think that without FINSeRe, vNexs I wouldn't have been anywhere close to the Finals, so they should be really pleased with how things went.

We would like to congratulate Tohtorit — Elite champions for the first time in the club's history, built from the ground up by the people who believed in it from the start. And to vNexs I, what a run. A 6-seed that toppled the division's superteam before pushing the champions all the way to Game 7. See you next season.