NACL '23 Winter: Finals Preview

It’s official. Two teams remain in the North American Championship League, but only one can be crowned the winner. The stakes are ground breaking for the scene, with the winner taking a flight to Helsinki, Finland at the end of this month to face Europe’s top team to be considered the “worlds best” for the first time in the community's history. While the stage will be momentous, the teams that will be going head to head are household names in the region, who look to continue their ever growing legacy. Despite the classic upsets and underdogs looking to make a name for themselves, the top 2 seeds from the group stage will face off in the finals on Sunday.

Scary Hours (1)  vs Entourage (2)

TOP SCORER
Harley @Sitballs (Sitful-_-) Sitko 18 GP, 22+22=44 vs Ethan @xDeath (Ethancy) Macdonald  15 GP, 23+26=49

GOALTENDER
Justin @Bardown Beauty Turner 13 GP, 11 W, 83,76 SV%, 1.46 GAA, 2 SO vs Justin @Rampage l79l Horn 15 GP, 12 W, 81,44 SV%, 2.07 GAA, 2 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
20-1-1 vs 17-0-3

It starts with Scary Hours, who came into the playoffs as the top seed after a fantastic group stage performance. With only a single regulation loss in the group stage, they looked as strong as they have ever looked. The new addition to the blueline in @Gwan brought the perfect balance of top end skill, and veteran experience to a team already with a loaded resume. @kcut has rounded into an MVP calibre defenseman in the past 12 months, and combining these two defenders  has created a rock solid defense for Scary Hours. Despite being so close, the team hasn’t hoisted a trophy for a few events, and the group stage dominance proved that this team will be ready to fight for their next bit of silverware.

Their path to the finals hasn’t come without some adversary. Matching 7 game series marathons in both the quarterfinals and semifinals could give outsiders some doubt over how strong this team really looks. However, drawn out series’ against 2 top 10 teams in Instinct and Caps Gaming could be seen as a sign of mental strength shown by the team. These type of nail biting moments can give teams that extra layer of confidence in themselves and their team in critical moments. This core has been enough battles to understand that there will be tough moments. It they truly wish to hoist the trophy, they’ll have to get through yet another strong opponent, and yet another potentially extended series. The team on the other side of the ice is someone they are certainly familiar with, and it’s in Scary Hours’ hands to finish the job. They’ve done it before, will be it their time on Sunday?

Entourage find themselves back in the final 2 after coming up short in their previous attempt, and look as hungry as ever to showcase their skills in Helsinki. Their star power is apparent even before they take the ice. All 3 forwards on this team find themselves 1-2-3 in points for the playoff scoring race. They are able to run up the score if you give them too much room. It’s even more impressive when your center is the leading scorer on the team, with @xDeath leading the playoffs with 49 points in 15 games. This doesn’t even mention their backend performance, with 2 top defensemen in @Doughty x i8i and @Dumoulin65 putting up well over a point per game, and goaltender @Rampage l79l posting an 81.44 save percentage. The team is deep, and has championship caliber talent across all positions.

While their playoff run has been less storied than their counterparts, Entourage has never looked rattled throughout the event. They have always looked in control of each game and each series they have played in. Rarely do you see any signs of nerves from this team, and it shows with how successful they have been as a team. The team is poised to win the entire event, and take their talents global, to truly showcase how good of a team they are.

The stage is set, and the teams, talent, and viewers are ready for what should be an extremely exciting series. I have no doubts that the series will go the distance, and both teams will trade blows en route to victory. It all depends on who shows up best on Sunday. Both teams have the talent and the experience, but only one can win the title and represent their region on the global stage. It all begins this Sunday, and it all starts at twitch.tv/sportsgamergg.