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Happy New Year NHLGamers! The reinvented ECL '22 is just around the corner with several of our divisions about to start within the next few days and the Elite campaign kicking off in a bit over a week. This marks the start for the ECL '22 Winter season, but also for a period of prime NHL esports competition all the way until June. Here we have collected the most relevant information for you in one place. For our newer users, if you have any questions, we suggest you start by taking a look in our Frequently Asked Questions section. If you're unable to find the answer to your question, please contact support. If there's someone reading this, wondering what the ECL is: The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports - a league where all the best European NHL gamers create teams and compete against each other in the game mode EASHL (6v6) for the title of Best EASHL Team in Europe. The league currently features five divisions, so action is guaranteed for everyone regardless of skill level and experience! For a deeper look, read this article. PLEASE NOTE: Below are a few key notes that we wouldn't want any of our players and captains to miss: ⚠️ Due to changes to the EA API, currently only the statistics for the last five games per team can be retrieved for reporting. This means that games should be reported immediately after they have been completed. This also means that any issues with reporting must be resolved immediately. Thus, please contact support immediately if you are unable to report your game. ⚠️ ECL '22 Winter Rulebook is now downloadable and can also be accessed through the link via the league menus. Communicating with your opponents: Teams must, at the very least, attempt to reach out and contact their opponent(s) before a default schedule game. Simply waiting until the time as generated by the schedule, challenging an opponent, then filing for WOs if the opponent does not show will not be deemed acceptable. In addition to this, teams ideally should be in contact 12-24hrs before the default scheduled time, if no reply has been received by the other team despite your best attempts to contact them, then please contact support. Regular Season Dates: ECL Neo 2.1.-3.2. ECL Core 2.1.-3.2. ECL Lite 2.1.-3.2. ECL Pro 3.1.- 3.2. ECL Elite 10.1.-10.2. * All games must be played and reported by 23:59 CET on the last game day. If the games are unreported and there is no support request made on time, no points will be awarded to either team. Playoff Dates: ECL Neo 6.2.-6.3. ECL Core 6.2.-13.3. ECL Lite 8.2.-16.3. ECL Pro 7.2.-1.3. ECL Elite 14.2.-5.3. * Each playoff round must be played according to the period defined in the rulebook. Transfer Deadline: ECL Neo 16.1. ECL Core 16.1. ECL Lite 16.1. ECL Pro 16.1. ECL Elite 23.1. * Transfers must be made by 23:59 CET on the Transfer Deadline date. ECL '22 Winter Gamedays In ECL '22 Winter, Neo will continue acting as the entry level into competitive virtual hockey and with that, will continue at the pace of two gamedays each week. Our other divisions will run at the pace of three weekly gamedays with Elite hosting three broadcasts weekly and Pro one. Gamedays: ECL Neo Wednesday Sunday ECL Core Tuesday Thursday Sunday ECL Lite Tuesday Wednesday Sunday ECL Pro Monday Tuesday -> ECL Pro Broadcast 📺 Thursday ECL Elite Monday -> ECL Elite Broadcast 📺 Wednesday -> ECL Elite Broadcast 📺 Thursday -> ECL Elite Broadcast 📺 The divisions framework for the ECL '22 Winter will follow the same logic as for the previous season. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 64 teams, Core 103 teams and Neo 40 teams. ECL Elite: 16 teams Regular season: One group Playoffs: 8 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Monday Wednesday Thursday Prize pool: 11 000 € (total 33 000 € in ECL '22 Elite) ECL Pro: 32 teams Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams Open spots will be decided based on Qualifiers Regular season: Two groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Monday Tuesday Thursday Prize pool: TBA once licenses have been processed. ECL Lite: 64 teams Regular season: 4 Groups of 16 teams Playoffs: 32 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Tuesday Wednesday Sunday Prize pool: TBA once licenses have been processed. ECL Core: 103 teams Regular season: 8 groups of 13 Playoffs: 64 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Tuesday Thursday Sunday Prize pool: TBA once licenses have been processed. ECL Neo: 40 teams Regular season: 4 groups of 10 Playoffs: TBD Best-of-5 Gamedays: Wednesday Sunday Social media Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, Wilhelm & St Hockey. 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 #ECL22Winter #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Instagram: When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @SportsGamerGG #ECL22Winter #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Note: It is super 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 #ECL22Winter 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. PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season. Discord Instagram Facebook Twitch Twitter

Gamers, the time has come to step into the future. Today, we invite you to join us for “A Song of Winter and Spring” as we introduce the next step in the evolution of ECL. We’ll also walk you through some incoming improvements to the website and the overall EASHL team experience here at NHLGamer. You’ll find all the details below but before we get to the grand reveal, I’d like to take a moment to address the community directly. Introducing something new in the world of gaming comes with a certain responsibility. Especially when presenting it to a group of loyal, passionate consumers. Like you, our 14,000+ members here at NHLGamer.com. How the invention itself is received can be difficult to predict, but for better or for worse the launch itself is often memorable. Who can forget the celebrated Cyberpunk 2077 presentation at E3 2019 when Keanu Reeves set the internet ablaze by shouting “You’re breathtaking!” to the crowd? Memorable, for the right reasons. But like Cyberpunk proved, the introduction itself is nothing without a solid product launch. Today, we aim to deliver on both fronts as we write yet another new chapter in the already storied history of the European Championship League. And, just like when we introduced our Divisional system in ECL 4 or when we hosted our first LAN event in ECL 8 or even when we re-imagined the divisional framework for ECL 12, we welcome your thoughts, opinions and above all – your passion. After all, that is what it’s all about, isn’t it? Now, let’s get to it. INTRODUCING… ECL WINTER & ECL SPRING Moving forward, our ECL leagues will no longer carry the numerical distinctions next to them as before. Instead, NHLGamer will be hosting two annual ECL seasons: ECL Winter and ECL Spring. What’s more, we’ll be crowning an annual ECL Grand Champion – exclusive to the Elite division. The combined prize pools for ECL Winter, ECL Spring and the ECL Grand Finals will be larger than anything seen before here at NHLGamer. Furthermore, the divisional framework as presented in ECL 12 will remain, but we are happy to announce we’ll be adding a license and prize pool for our second-tier division; ECL Pro – and voluntary licenses and prize pools for ECL Lite and Core. Here’s how it will work. ECL Winter ECL Winter takes the place of ECL 13, as it were, and will be played from January through March 2022. This will be the tentatively scheduled slot for ECL Winter in the future as well, but we are open to starting the Winter edition even as early as November – depending on feedback from the community. Knowing ahead of time when the seasons are set to start allows our players and teams to plan ahead in a way that was previously difficult. ECL Spring ECL Spring replaces ECL 14 and will be played from April through June 2022. Just like ECL Winter, Spring will be tentatively scheduled for the same slot next year. Having ECL Spring finish before midsummer allows our players and teams to take the summer off from playing ECL games, as per requests from the community. Annual ECL Champion Come June, we’ll be hosting an ECL Grand Final – with an additional prize pool – to crown the annual ECL Champion. This much-anticipated best-of-seven event will feature the ECL Elite teams who won ECL Winter and ECL Spring, respectively. Should the same team win both seasons, that team will be crowned the ECL Grand Champion in conjunction with the ECL Spring Finals. INTRODUCING… PRIZE POOLS FOR ECL PRO, LITE AND CORE ECL Elite remains the pinnacle of virtual hockey gaming in Europe and will feature our biggest prize pool yet - a total of 33 000 EUR! As our community continues to grow and the competition becomes increasingly tougher, playing in ECL Pro, Lite and Core is more prestigious than ever before. Now, for the first time ever, we are set to further elevate the status of these divisions by introducing the concept of prize pools. ECL Pro will feature a mandatory license fee and prize pool. All the money from the team licenses goes into the prize pool. The top sixteen (16) out of the divisions’ 32 teams will be awarded a share of the prize pool. ECL Lite and Core will feature a voluntary license fee and a prize pool for the teams who choose to acquire a license. The top 16 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Lite (64 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. The top 32 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Core (128 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. ECL Neo will continue as our division for new teams who want to get accustomed to league play on a relaxed schedule. There will be no license or prizing for ECL Neo. INTRODUCING… NEW WEBSITE FEATURES As a community, you’ve been asking us for upgrades to the website infrastructure. You’ve given us feedback; you’ve outlined what you want to see in terms of a competitive esports platform. And we thank you for it. We continue to listen – and ask for – your thoughts and feedback when it comes to the long-term development of the platform. Here’s an outline of what we’re doing to improve the website experience in the short term. We’ll be improving and expanding the admin tools with a singular focus on streamlining the support process. As the community grows, the need for a quick and efficient support system has never been greater – and this is something we’ve put a lot of work into. We’ll be improving and expanding the amount of stats from the EA SPORTS NHL game we’re able to track. As you might have seen in the Player Summary screen, several new statistical columns have been introduced and we’ll be introducing them to our website. The stats in question will be available retroactively for the previous ECL seasons where they were available in-game. We’ll be introducing a social sharing tool for the teams and organizations that make up our user base. No longer will teams need to grab a screenshot of a game report on NHLGamer or an in-game screen grab of a result for posting on social media. Instead, you’ll be able to share results and stats conveniently to social platforms directly from our website. We’ll be eradicating the website bugs that exist today, while also improving our general response time when it comes to fixing them. Above all, we introduce a pledge that this is just the opening salvo in what will be a renewed focus to further develop the platform thousands of you choose to visit on a daily basis. INTRODUCING… SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMS AND ADDED TEAM VISIBILITY More and more esport organizations continue to join the ECL ecosystem and here at NHLGamer, that is something we take great pride in. In order to take further steps towards professionalism and allow all our teams – not just the ones signed to an organization – to attract sponsors and develop their franchise in terms of visibility and competitive efforts, we are introducing the concept of sponsorship programs. We will build and share free of charge sponsorship packages which will include high-class sales presentations, best practices, and other supporting materials for teams to elevate their commercial efforts. We will also set up a sponsorship pool for the community which will be allocated by competition rankings and other community incentives. We will continue to broadcast Elite games with the same passion and intensity as before, while also adding a weekly broadcast dedicated to our second-tier division, Pro. We’ll be introducing the opportunity for added sponsorship visibility during our broadcasts. As an example, an Elite team could be given the chance to have one sponsor visible at a designated area during our wide-reaching league broadcasts. I want to take this moment to thank you all for being on this journey together, we are very excited for the upcoming year and looking forward to share more with you in the near future. So without futher ado, welcome to ECL '22! READ MORE ABOUT THE ECL '22 WINTER SEASON HERE PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season. Discord Instagram Facebook Twitch Twitter

NHLGamers, Last season’s warmup tournament received positive feedback, which is why we've decided to continue the tradition this season as well. The ECL Warmup Tournament is a friendly tournament with three tiers for teams to get into the competitive mindset, without the heavy structure that comes with the actual ECL divisions framework. The difference to last season is that we've added playoffs for each tier and we also decided to add a third level for the Neo and newcomer teams to give new interested teams an opportunity to try out the competitive games in a relaxed environment. What is the ECL? The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports. The abbreviation stands for the European Championship League and it features NHL 6v6 esports in five divisions aimed at various skill levels. Every player, including the goalies, is controlled by a human. League games are played in the EASHL mode and the platform is PlayStation. Before we move on to the details of the ECL Warmup, we want to tackle the big question of when the actual ECL season starts: Registrations for the ECL season will begin in early December Qualifiers are scheduled to be played before the end of the year The ECL season will start in early January 2022 We will share more information about the schedule and other exciting developments early December. With that said, now is the perfect time to register for the warmup tournament and fine-tune the lineups for the upcoming season! ECL Warmup As stated, the tournament will be hosted in three tiers without any major restrictions except for the ones mentioned below. Elite & Pro Only ECL Elite & ECL Pro teams This is a friendly warmup tournament, no need to argue (no League Admin cases) The final format is determined by the number of teams Double-header gamedays Regular season 18.11 – 7.12 Playoffs (BO3) 9-12.12 (RO16) 13-14.12 (Quarterfinals) 15-16.12 (Semifinals) 19-20.12 (Finals) Sign-ups are open until 12:00 CET, November 17 SIGN UP HERE Lite & Core Only ECL Lite & ECL Core teams, and by special request wildcard teams This is a friendly warmup tournament, no need to argue (no League Admin cases) Qualifier teams can participate, but the final rounds of the playoffs may coincide with the qualifiers The final format is determined by the number of teams Double-header gamedays Regular season 18.11 – 7.12 Playoffs (BO3) 9-10.12 (RO32) 11-12.12 (RO16) 13-14.12 (Quarterfinals) 15-16.12 (Semifinals) 19-20.12 (Finals) Sign-ups are open until 12:00 CET, November 17 SIGN UP HERE Neo & Newcomers Only ECL Neo & Newcomer teams This is a friendly warmup tournament, no need to argue (no League Admin cases) The final format is determined by the number of teams Double-header gamedays Regular season 18.11 – 7.12 Playoffs (BO3) 9-10.12 (RO32) 11-12.12 (RO16) 13-14.12 (Quarterfinals) 15-16.12 (Semifinals) 19-20.12 (Finals) Sign-ups are open until 12:00 CET, November 17 SIGN UP HERE Uniform and logo unlocks This form is intended for organizations associated with NHLGamer to request primarily uniform and logo unlocks in order to represent their team appropriately. Here is a link for the unlocks form - please feel free to request for both consoles: https://forms.gle/eGyEQwYqDRLPEMyk7 Rules We hope you all enjoy and remember to play by the ECL rules! Although the Warmup Tournament will not be under as strict scrutiny as the ECL, we want to remind you to respect your opponents and go about the games just as you would when playing real ECL league matchups. The tournament will be played on the NHL 22 PlayStation 4 version If teams are tied in points after the group stage, we will utilize these usual tie-breakers: Wins (including OT-wins) Head-to-head record (points in mutual games) Goal difference (across all games played) Scored goals (across all games played) We hope you're as excited as we are to get back into the action - build your team, sign up and have fun!

NHLGamers, Lately, we've been growing faster than ever which makes us very excited for what the future of the NHL gaming community holds. We have a lot of great people working behind the scenes on a multitude of interesting projects, but in order to do that with greater efficiency, we are reaching out to you for help. We are recruiting staff for several different positions and are looking for new staff members to work both with our European and North American leagues and tournaments. You will find a list of open positions below: DIVISION LEAD As division lead you are in charge of running the day-to-day operations of your assigned division together with your assigned division assistants. This entails making sure the schedule is being followed and games are reported accordingly, fixing possible errors and communicating with teams in order to solve possible conflicts or escalating the issue to League Administration if required. DIVISION ASSISTANT As division assistant you are helping out with the daily tasks of operating your assigned division. This entails making sure the schedule is being followed and games are reported accordingly, fixing possible errors and communicating with teams in order to solve possible conflicts or escalating the issue to League Administration if required. You report to the division lead. GRAPHIC DESIGNER As a graphic designer you'll be working in tight co-operation with the other staff and will assist in various types of content creation. Examples of content include (but are not limited to) stream artwork, images for news stories or even animations or pictures for social media. We're hoping that you have some previous experience in image editing and have a small portfolio to showcase in your application. You will also need to have access to software required for completion of your tasks. VIDEO EDITOR/CONTENT CREATOR We know there's a great deal of talent out there among you gamers! We are looking to take our content creation to the next level by generating more video content in addition to the traditional stuff that we have been doing. You will be free to pitch ideas of what you want to create and will be working together with our streaming crew and other content creators in order to figure out what type of content to push out. As a video editor you know a thing or two about video and audio quality and putting together a video using tools such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro X. You don't have to be a professional, but we would like to see some of your previous work in your application. WRITER/INSIDER You are responsible for producing content as discussed with the editor-in-chief. You are expected to be able to produce coherent text in English by yourself, but your content doesn't necessarily have to be perfect, as it goes through your editor-in-chief before publication. We hope that you have an interest to investigate and dig deep for those juicy stories. Knowledge about players and leagues will come in handy, but is not mandatory. Please send in any articles you might have written previously as a reference. Feel free to sweep us off our feet with your application, in case you don't have previous journalistic references to send in. As an NHLGamer Staff member, you will have a lot on your plate and we expect a certain level of work ethic, but in return you are provided with an interesting opportunity to enter the esports industry and develop your skills in a supportive environment. Several of our long-time members have made great improvements and taken steps towards a career in esports. The positions are unpaid at this time, but offer an opportunity gain valuable experience and a network of colleagues. Contact Please send your application as an email to [email protected]. Please attach an introduction, your resume and a portfolio if you have one.

NHLGamers, We’ve heard the concerns you have regarding the transition to the next generation of consoles (PlayStation 5 & Xbox X/S) and what that entails for NHLGamer leagues in the future. While we haven’t had an answer to give you before today, we feel like we owe it to you, all the passionate gamers, to communicate as clearly and swiftly as possible. With that being said, we are issuing the statement that NHLGamer will primarily continue to host its leagues on gen 4 consoles (PlayStation 4 & Xbox One) until further notice. While we are eager about the advancements that gen 5 (PS5 & XSX) brings us, we want to be realistic with the restrictions to console availability has meant for some of our gamers, and in an attempt of being as inclusive as possible, we will proceed as stated. We are, however, exploring the option of moving over to gen 5 fully during the lifecycle of NHL 22, so we strongly suggest players to acquire the NHL 22 X-Factor Edition due to the fact that it gives you double entitlement (both gen 4 & gen 5 access to the game). FAQs: Q: But wait!? I have the PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X - does that mean I can't participate in the NHLGamer leagues and tournaments? A: The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are capable of running the gen 4 version of the game, meaning the PS5 can run the PS4 version and the XSX can run the Xbox One version. By purchasing the NHL 22 X-Factor Edition, you get access to both versions and thus can take part in our leagues and tournaments no matter if you have the gen 4 or gen 5 console. Q: When will NHLGamer start running leagues and tournaments on the gen 5 version? A: As soon as possible. When the new generation of consoles has good enough availability that anyone can get their hands on them with a little effort, we will make the switch. Q: Gen 4, gen 5!? What? A: Gen 4 is considered PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, while the newer consoles - PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X are considered gen 5. X-Factor Edition - Double entitlement (Unlocks the game for both Gen 4 & Gen 5 consoles) - 3-Days early access - Up to 10 HUT Diamond player choice packs - HUT X-Factor Player choice pack - HUT X-Factor Power-up starter pack - Up to 4 HUT X-Factor Power-up packs - 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks - 5 Unlocked hockey bag - Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points Questions? Thoughts? Discuss below. Related articles:

NHLGamer had an opportunity to chat with EA Sports NHL 22 Lead Producer Clement Kwong prior to today's reveal of the central features of the game. Some topics that were discussed were the transition to Frostbite, Cross-generation gameplay and of course, spectator mode. Check out our video interview to find out! NHL 22 will be available on October 15th, 2021 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information visit www.easports.com/NHL. Related articles:

Having won the inaugural Swedish Championship League back in 2019, Vesa Pompa came back to defend their title in last year’s SCL – crowning a successful campaign by defeating Northern Ascendancy in Game 7 of the 2020 finals. Many assumed the team would be going for the so-called “Threepeat”, but here at NHLGamer.com we can confirm that Vesa Pompa will not be the champions of SCL 2021. But the team is indeed back to try and defend their title. While we’ve had several Swedish sports associations join our ranks in NHL esports, today we welcome our very first Swedish esports organization as Granit Gaming has signed the Vesa Pompa roster for SCL and future tournaments. Abbreviated GG, Granit Gaming was founded in December of 2017 by owner Kim “KMF” Engström. Still owned and operated by Engström, Granit is an international organization with players from all over world that feature teams in games like Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) – and now NHL. “We’ve been involved in around 50% of all competitive games in the last few years and have had several different team outlooks; including female teams, academy teams, “stream teams” and others”, says Engström to NHLGamer.com. “Competitively, our best result is finishing 4th in the world.” With a background in the world of pro sports playing competitive tennis, and with a massive interest in hockey and the National Hockey League, Engström spent a long time looking for the right fit to enter NHL esports with Granit Gaming. He found it in Vesa Pompa. “When I got in touch with Johan (@Lehmannens) and Henrik (@Eken45jr), I immediately felt like I had found the right fit. I know the individual skill these players possess, and I know the roster we’ve put together has potential. My message to all my teams and players is the same; go out there and have fun, knowing you’ll have the full support of our organization regardless of the outcome. As for our first tournament together – the SCL – the players and I agree that a top-4 spot is a reasonable goal to have.” Team captain Johan Lehmann: “It’s a tremendous honor to be able to partner up with such a well-established and professional organization as Granit. It’s been a fun ride under the Vesa Pompa banner, and I can’t imagine a better way to continue that journey than with Granit.” “Our main objective is to establish a solid team foundation and a long-term partnership with Granit. Naturally, we’re competitive people who always want to win – so our goal will obviously be to compete for titles in the tournaments we enter. We’ll do everything in our power to defend our SCL title.” Suiting up for Granit Gaming in SCL 2021 will be three former Farjestad BK players, three players from Vesa Pompa’s ECL 12 roster and a “familiar” netminder. “I’m very happy with our roster composition. We’ve gathered players who share the same mindset, with qualities that complement each other quite well. There’s a bond of friendship, a willingness to grind the game, youthful exuberance, and plenty of experience”, says Lehmann. “My long-time friend, partner in crime and assistant captain @Eken45jr is one of the most skilled forwards around and has proven time after time that he is at the very top of both 6v6 and 1v1. My other assistant captain, @l-Furyan-l, is unmatched in terms of experience – a prototypical two-way defender with an offensive edge.” Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt (A), Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann (C) and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund (A). “Additionally, @antoniomannen004 has come into his own as a top Elite forward through sheer determination, hard work and talent. @dzouvi has exploded on to the scene in recent tournaments with his impressive skill, elusiveness and creativity from the center spot. @Thunborg5 is a uniquely calm goaltender with the valuable trait of being at his best when the games mean the most. @LastMandalorian is back between the pipes and will be an important part of the puzzle with his competitiveness and drive to succeed” Granit Gaming is also set to enter the NHL 1v1 competitive scene, with announcements to follow next week on which players have been added to the organization's 1v1 roster. You'll be able to see the team in action for the first time tonight, as they take on HockeyProfessorn HC tonight at 21:00 CEST, the games will be streamed at www.twitch.tv/eken45jr. If you want to support the latest esport organization to join NHL gaming, you’ll find Granit Gaming in these locations: Twitter (https://twitter.com/granitgaming) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/granitgaming/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/teamgranit) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@granitgaming) Homepage (https://www.granitgaming.com/)

NHLGamers, Both of our biggest regional tournaments are kicking off, so there's lots of action to get excited for! Find out all of the crucial details in this article and have a closer look at the changes made to our eligibility rules. As the summer brings it's heat, it's also time for us to ramp it up when it comes to regional competition! With that, we present to you the third iteration of the SCL! This year sponsored by Svenska Spel and in co-operation with SESF - The Swedish Esports Federation and SIF - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association. We're bringing 100 000 SEK in cash and action in both the 1v1 and 6v6 modes, so gather your friends and register for a blast of a tournament and the chance to win some cash along the way! To cap off the second season of the SCL, Vesa Pompa HC and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund were able to reproduce back-to-back championships. According to the SCL ruleset, both will receive an invitation to join this years SCL as the #1 seed in the playoffs. Prize Pool The SCL prize pool for 2021 will consist of 100 000 SEK in total, where 65 000 SEK will be allocated to prizes in the 6v6 mode and 35 000 SEK is allocated to prizes in the 1v1 mode. Players and teams can choose to invoice SESF through their organization for earnings in form of prize money. Otherwise prize money will be paid as salary and will be subject to taxation and fees incurred for the "employer" - SESF according to Swedish legislation. An invoice should include the entire amount of earnings including VAT. Schedule SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Registrations for SCL 1v1 are open 28.7-15.8 Group stage: 19.8-6.9 Playoffs: 9.9-20.9 TOP 4 Finals: 24.9 (BO3) SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE! Registrations for SCL 6v6 are open 28.7-11.8 Regular season 15.-30.8 Playoffs Round 1: 31.8.-3.9 (BO5) Playoffs Round 2: 5.-9.9 (BO7) Quarterfinals: 12.-15.9 (BO7) Semifinals: 19.-22.9 (BO7) Finals 25.9 (BO7) Eligibility With this being the third edition of SCL, many of you have come to expect rule tweaks as we continue to work towards perfecting the tournament formula here at NHLGamer.com. This year is no exception. The main events for our two largest communities, the SCL and the FCL, have grown increasingly entwined in terms of scheduling over the years – and will look to stay that way, e.g. both being played at the same time, for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, we’ve looked at ways of creating a structure that allows both the Swedish and the Finnish communities to shine, while strengthening each tournament’s own unique identity and sense of national pride. In terms of the SCL, what we’ve seen in the past among teams making deep playoff runs in the SCL is a strong reliance on (temporarily) adding players specifically based in the FCL to further their own cause. Therefore, in the interest of solidifying an identity for the SCL that has a stronger native focus while also avoiding scheduling issues for these two concurrently running tournaments, player participation in the SCL (native and foreign) will now exclude that player from participating in the FCL. 'Player participation' is defined as being listed on the roster of a team participating in the SCL. In short, players can not be listed in the roster for teams in both the SCL and the FCL. What this means in practice is that anyone; Swedish, Finnish or otherwise can participate in either the SCL or the FCL - just not both. Otherwise, our eligibility rule will follow the same format as before, only with more nationalities joining the list with "major community" status. For SCL 2021, two non-Swedish players will be allowed per team on ice in a game – under very specific conditions. Here they are: Outside of the Swedish championship (SCL). The German (GCL), Finnish (FCL) Russian (RCL) and Czech and Slovak (CSCL) communities will be defined as the “major communities” for the purposes of this text. Players hailing from nations that currently do not have a region-based championship to sign up for – one where they are allowed to play free of restrictions and are counted as the main target demographic – will be defined as “minor communities” for the purposes of this text. All teams must always feature a minimum of 4 Swedish players in their on-ice lineup Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if both players are from a minor community (for example: Danish, Norwegian, Latvian) Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if one player is from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) and the other player from a minor community Teams may NOT feature two non-Swedish players on ice if both those players are from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) Below you will find an image to help illustrate this rule clarification: The 1vs1 portion of the SCL is available only for Swedish citizens. License All Swedish and Finnish players require a player license from their respective esports federation, acquire your license by following instructions provided in the links below. For players of other nationalities, a license from their respective esports federation is recommended, but not required. Acquire your license here (Swedes) Acquire your license here (Finns) About us Since its inception, NHLGamer has continuously strived to offer the best possible experience for any and all gamers who have come to enjoy the competitiveness of playing the EA Sports series of NHL games. Created by gamers for gamers, we are very much in touch with the growing community and want to understand the fundamental desires of our end customers fully. The international competitive leagues in Europe (ECL) and North America (NACL) are our crown jewels, which have proven to draw interest from the very best teams and players worldwide. While proud of our achievements and the success we've had in creating and maintaining such a great community of talented gamers, we are not done yet. Our long-term goals include growing the community, hosting larger leagues with prize pools, and working together with organizations at the cutting edge of gaming and esports. About our partners SIF - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association The Swedish Ice Hockey Association is the governing body in Swedish ice hockey and inline hockey. The association is involved in all levels of ice hockey in Sweden and organizes the two Swedish Championship leagues being the men's SHL and women's SDHL. SESF - The Swedish Esports Federation SESF stands for Svenska E-sportföreningen and they are the governing body of esports competition in Sweden at the moment. The objective of the organisation is to develop the Swedish esports scene and shows a constant presence in organising tournaments and events. Currently, SESF provides training for esports referees and licenses for both referees and players. In Swedish esports competition, a SESF license is a quality guarantee. Main sponsor - Svenska Spel Svenska Spel is all of Sweden’s gaming company. We want gaming to be enjoyed by all. Svenska Spel’s operations are divided into three business areas: Sport & Casino with well-known brands such as Stryktipset and Oddset, Tur with Triss and Lotto among other games, and Casino Cosmopol & Vegas with three international casinos and Vegas video lottery terminals in restaurants and bingo halls. Svenska Spel is the largest sponsor of Swedish sports and supports everything from small local sports clubs to some of our most beloved national teams. There are about 1400 employees within the Svenska Spel Group and the main office is in Visby. For more information visit svenskaspel.se

NHLGamers, Yet another action packed year full of virtual hockey has passed, and with that it's been nearly a year since the last FCL was hosted, concluding in a thrilling final series between FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming on the 6v6-side, whereas Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Arttu @Artuzio Mustila clashed in the 1v1 finals. This year, we'll be returning for another great season, and like before, the FCL holds the official Finnish Championship license (eSM 2021) from the Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL). The FCL will be played through August and September and will be completed entirely online (subject to change). The combined prize pool is 10 000 EUR. Like last year, this iteration of the FCL will allow for non-Finnish citizens to challenge for the throne in the 6v6 league. The upcoming league will feature a foreign player quota, which entails that a majority (51%) of the team's roster (and line-up) must be Finnish. In addition, all captains must be Finnish citizens. All players require an eSM 2021 license in order to participate in FCL 6v6 and/or FCL 1v1. The cost of the license is 5 EUR and it can be obtained at esm.gg/pelaajalisenssi/ (click here for instructions in English). The one-time purchase of the license allows you to take part in all eSM 2021 leagues and tournaments (for 1v1 you must be a Finnish citizen). SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Sign-ups for 1v1 are open now and will be open until 17.8: Schedule for FCL 1v1: Group stage: 23.8-6.9 Playoffs: 9.9-26.9 TOP 4 Finals: 1.10 (BO3) SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE! Sign-ups for 6v6 are open now and will be open until 11.8: Schedule for FCL 6v6: Group stage: 16.-31.8 Playoffs round 1: 2.-5.9 Playoffs round 2: 6.-9.9 (BO5) Playoffs round 3: 13.-16.9 (BO5) Quarterfinals: 20.-23.9 (BO5) Semifinals: 27.-29.9 (BO5) Finals: 2.10. (BO5) Prize Pool The total prize pool is 10 000 EUR, split between the 1v1 and 6v6 game modes, as described below: *Prizes are subject to tax as per Finnish law and the tax is withheld before payment. Prizes will be paid out within 90 days of the FCL 2021 Finals. Due to the FCL being played online and cross-platform play not being available, this year FCL will be played only on the PlayStation console. The final formats and schedules for both the 1v1 and 6v6 portions of FCL will be determined based on the number of signups. NHLGamer reserves the right to adjust any details. Invitations FCL 6v6: Reigning Finnish Champion FILADELPHIA will be invited to round 1 of the playoff stage as the #1 seed as per eSM 2021 rules (restrictions apply). FCL 1v1: Reigning Finnish Champion Arttu @Artuzio Mustila will be invited to the playoff stage as the #1 seed as per eSM 2021 rules. The NHL GWC European Champion Erik @Eki Tammenpää will be invited to the playoff stage as the #2 seed. Photo: Arttu Kokkonen / SEUL About us Since its inception, NHLGamer has continuously strived to offer the best possible experience for any and all gamers who have come to enjoy the competitiveness of playing the EA Sports series of NHL games. Created by gamers for gamers, we are very much in touch with the growing community and want to understand the fundamental desires of our end customers fully. The international competitive leagues in Europe (ECL) and North America (NACL) are our crown jewels, which have proven to draw interest from the very best teams and players worldwide. While proud of our achievements and the success we've had in creating and maintaining such a great community of talented gamers, we are not done yet. Our long-term goals include growing the community, hosting larger leagues with prize pools, and working together with organizations at the cutting edge of gaming and esports. About our partners Atria Wilhelm Atria's Wilhelm product range has become a staple in Finnish snack culture throughout the years. Whether you're having a summer night barbeque or need something to go with the big game of the night - Wilhelm has you covered. Check out the full product range here! The Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL) works as the umbrella organization for Finnish competitive electronic gaming. SEUL's mission is to improve and promote electronic sports and the activities of our members. The federation was established in December 2010 to respond to the growing need for an organization to promote esports as a hobby and as a respectable sport. The activities performed by SEUL are divided into the development of esports, protection of player’s interests and communicational work. The development of esports is done partly by utilizing workgroups, which are based on the work of our volunteers. The board is responsible for the day to day operations in co-operation with employees. The federation co-operates with many national organizations such as VERKE, EHYT ry and KAVI, promoting a positive image of gamers and gaming in general. The federation’s participation in the international field is strong, since they represent Finland in the International Esports Federation (IESF). SEUL is also on the receiving end of the yearly grants given out by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for youth programs, and represents Finnish esports as a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee. What are you waiting for? Sign up now for the chance of winning the Finnish Championship and some great cash prizes! We sincerely hope to see as many of you there as possible! Also, since the sign-up period is rather short, we'd appreciate it if you spread the word to everyone!