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The ECL Spring 24 season came to a close on Saturday in the Elite Division, as Tunnel Vision defeated Valokuitunen Esports in a four-game sweep to win the ECL Elite Championship. This championship is Tunnel Vision's third ECL title in club history, with all three being won over the past four seasons. This also ranks them second all-time in Elite Division titles won by a club, as they now trail just Valokuitunen Esports (formerly hREDS) who have four. Tunnel Vision's ECL 24' Spring Elite championship roster pictured from left to right: @jxrska @benuh_ @Laiitinen @wengerii @tomboo- @Laiitinen @Pikkarii @pelkonen- This trophy not only cements Tunnel Vision's place amongst the best clubs in ECL history, but it also could be a "happily ever after" ending to the club's amazing story and journey in the ECL. The team has referred to their playoff run as their "last dance", meaning that this could be the last time we see this group on the ice together for the foreseeable future. Tunnel Vision debuted in the Pro Division in ECL 11 and qualified for the Elite Division in ECL 12 after winning a relegation series against Team LEISURE (now Deadly Phantoms). The team has competed in exactly 700 ECL games as of this writing, compiling a record of 494-145-61. In the Elite Division, they've earned six playoff appearances, five finals appearances, and three Elite Division championships. Their most notable campaign came in the ECL '23 Winter Season, where they finished the regular season with a 27-0-3 record (57pts), becoming the first-ever Elite Division team to finish the regular season without a regulation loss. They would later that season win the club's first Elite Division title in a seven-game series against Frölunda HC and would go on to represent the ECL in the 2023 World Finals at Assembly Winter '23 in Helsinki. After their championship-clinching victory against Valokuitunen on Saturday, Connor @MartindalexC Martindale and I got to speak with Tunnel Vision RW Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and LW Arttu @Laiitinen Laitinen to get their thoughts about the series, their championship, and why this third championship is such a special one for this tight-knit group of friends. Interview with Laiitinen: Interview with Vattuyy: Tunnel Vison's Road to the Championship: Regular Season: 15-3-5-7 (56pts) - 3rd in Elite Division Quarterfinals: 4-1 series win vs (6) Bjorkloven Esport Semifinals: 4-3 series win vs (2) Straikers Finals: 4-0 series win vs (1) Valokuitunen Esports Tunnel Vision's ECL 24' Spring Championship Roster 🇫🇮 Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen (CAPTAIN) 🇫🇮 Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen (CAPTAIN) 🇫🇮 Veeti @wengerii Paloneva (CAPTAIN) 🇫🇮 Väinö @Pikkarii Pikkarainen 🇫🇮 Arttu @Laiitinen Laitinen 🇫🇮 Ben @benuh_ Rinnet 🇫🇮 Jere @jxrska Laukka 🇫🇮 Petri @pelkonen- Pelkonen If you weren't able to catch the Elite Finals live but want to catch up on all of the action, you can watch the highlights of each game during the series in the video linked below:

(1) Valokuitunen Esports vs (3) Tunnel Vision After outlasting 14 other teams in the deepest ECL Elite season in recent memory, just two sides remain to decide a champion Valokuitunen Esports and Tunnel Vision square off in the Finals for a second straight season and for the third time overall. However this season's matchup means little bit more than usual, as while Valokuitunen is hoping to continue to cement their place in ECL history with a record-setting fifth Elite championship, Tunnel Vision is looking to win its third title in the last four seasons, cementing their place as an official dynasty in European NHL esports, and doing so in what has been said to be viewed the team's "last dance" with this group. So how did the teams get here? Who has performed? How do they matchup and what are the big storylines? We've got everything covered here that you need to know as we get ready for another exciting championship matchup. Valokuitunen Esports How They Got Here Regular Season: 20-2-2-6 (66pts) - 1st in Elite Division 4-3 series win vs (8) The Black Jacks 3-2 OTW, 1-2 L, 4-1 W, 1-3 L, 1-0 W, 1-2 L, 3-1 W 4-1 series win vs (5) EXEN 2-1 OTW, 2-0 W, 1-2 OTL, 4-1 W, 5-1 W Season Summary It's honestly not surprising to see Valokuitunen Esports back at this stage. After all, they are four-time Elite Division champions and the defending champions this season for a reason. They dominated the regular season and came into the playoffs as the overwhelming favorites to repeat as champions. However, Valokuitunen faced their first bit of adversity in the form of The Black Jacks, who pushed them to a full seven-game series during the quarterfinals. During this series, Valokuitunen looked out of sorts to their standard, making uncharacteristic mistakes and even at times letting their frustrations get the best of them during this series. You could argue that the group was lucky to get past this series, but you can't always win pretty in these playoffs and no opponent is an easy foe, and Valokuitunen did what they needed to do to get past the pesky eighth seed. In the semifinals, the orange and white looked like a different team. They controlled the possession game, forced EXEN out of their comfort zone, and dominated the game throughout most of the series, dropping just one game in the series, a 1-2 double-overtime loss in Game 3. This makes me believe that their performance against The Black Jacks was a mere blip; an outlier from a team that has put up masterful performances countless times over the past few years, now the question is whether they can repeat those successes against a hungry Tunnel Vision team that has tested them mightily over the years. Projected Starting Lineup LW - Roope @pikkuroger Bergström - (11 GP, 17 PTS, 8 GOALS, 9 ASSISTS, 23.5% SHOOTING PERCENTAGE, 3 GWG) C - Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen - (12 GP, 14 PTS, 7 GOALS, 7 ASSISTS, 54.1% FACEOFF WIN PERCENTAGE) RW - Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen - (12GP, 17 PTS, 11 GOALS, 6 ASSISTS, 63 SHOTS) LD - Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen - (12GP, 12 PTS, 12 ASSISTS, 43 TAKEAWAYS, 88 INTERCEPTIONS) RD - Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila - (12 GP, 10 PTS, 10 ASSISTS, 66 HITS, 34 TAKEAWAYS, 18 BLOCKED SHOTS) G - Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes - (12 GP, 89.12% SAVE PERCENTAGE, 1.33 GAA, 147 SHOT FACED, 3 SHUTOUTS, 27 SHUTOUT PERIODS) Notable Finals Storylines This is Valokuitunen's 6th ECL Elite Finals Appearance (They are 4-1 in Finals series' in the Elite Division) Defending ECL Elite Division champions, defeated Tunnel Vision in the Finals in 7 games last season A series victory would make it the first time that a team has won back-to-back championships multiple times A series victory will extend Valokuitunen's record for the all-time lead in ECL Elite Division championships (5). The next closest teams are Straikers and HAVU Gaming (3 each). Tunnel Vision How They Got Here Regular Season: 15-3-5-7 (56pts) - 3rd in Elite Division 4-1 series win vs (6) Bjorkloven Esport 1-0 W, 5-1 W, 3-2 W, 0-1 L, 5-2 W 4-3 series win vs (2) Straikers 3-4 L, 4-3 OTW, 3-1 W, 3-5 L, 0-4 L, 2-1 W, 1-0 W Season Summary The peaks and valleys of Tunnel Vision's Spring campaign can be tracked all the way back to the beginning of the season. This team was quite simply not up to their standard during the regular season, as though they were still one of the best teams in the division offensively, their defensive play and goaltending took a significant step back. Not only this, but their 12 overall losses (7 in regulation and 5 in overtime) was their highest number since the ECL 12 season, where they lost 19 total games (14 in regulation and 5 in overtime) and missed the playoffs after an 11th place finish in the standings (I think people often forget how far this team has come over the last few years). Because of all of these things, there were genuine discussions about whether or not this team could make it back to the top as they came into the playoffs in below-average form and just simply didn't look like the dominant unit that the Elite division has come to know. But in the fashion of any true champion, Tunnel Vision hit its stride once playoff time came around. They took down a feisty but inexperienced Bjorkloven Esport team in the Quarterfinals and made a statement in doing so with their dominant play on both ends of the ice. This set up another classic matchup between them and Straikers in the semifinals. This series was pretty much the perfect encapsulation of what Tunnel Vision's season has been. Mired with inconsistency. Moments of brilliance, mixed with moments of question. Quite frankly, Tunnel Vision looked dead in the water after Game 5 of this series, but just like they did going into the playoffs, Tunnel Vision stepped up their game when they needed it most, stealing Games 6 and 7 to clinch their spot in the Finals. Tunnel Vision's championship hopes will depend on which version of the group will show up for each game. The team that has been mired by defensive woes in the regular season, or the high-octane team that has emerged as one of the best teams in the world in its dominant run over the past two years. Projected Starting Lineup LW - Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen - (12 GP, 22 PTS, 13 GOALS, 9 ASSISTS, 60 SHOTS, 0:00 PIMS) C - Väinö @Pikkarii Pikkarainen - (12 GP, 16 PTS, 8 GOALS, 8 ASSISTS, 50.9% FACEOFF WIN PERCENTAGE) RW - Arttu @Laiitinen Laitinen - (12GP, 22 PTS, 10 GOALS, 12 ASSISTS, 44 SHOTS) LD - Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen - (12GP, 8 PTS, 8 ASSISTS, 61 HITS, 15 BLOCKED SHOTS, 97 INTERCEPTIONS) RD - Veeti @wengerii Paloneva - (12 GP, 12 PTS, 2 GOALS, 10 ASSISTS, 36 TAKEAWAYS) G - Ben @benuh_ Rinnet - (12 GP, 80.95% SAVE PERCENTAGE, 2.00 GAA, 126 SHOTS FACED, 2 SHUTOUTS, 23 SHUTOUT PERIODS) Notable Finals Storylines Tunnel Vision are making their fifth-consecutive ECL Elite Division Finals appearance (2-2 in Finals series) Won back-to back ECL Elite Championship in ECL '23: Winter and Spring, including representing Europe in the 6v6 eHockey World Finals in 2023 A title victory will give Tunnel Vision its third Elite Division title, this would also tie them with Straikers and HAVU Gaming for the second-most Elite Division championships in ECL history. This would also make them just one shy of Valokuitunen's current record of four Elite championships Tunnel Vision is 1-2 against Valokuitunen all-time in ECL playoff series. They are 0-2 in Finals series' against them The Regular Season Series (both games were played on May 6) 2-1 Tunnel Vision W Tunnel Vision Notable Stats: - @Vattuyy and @Laiitinen each had a goal in the 2nd period, both at even strength - @benuh_ made 18 saves on 19 shots for Tunnel Vision, earning a 94.74% save percentage - Tunnel Vision's only goal allowed came on the penalty kill - Three Tunnel Vision skaters (@tomboo-, @Laiitinen and @Vattuyy) were credited with six or more interceptions Valokuitunen Notable Stats: - Valokuitunen outshot Tunnel Vision 19-13; and had 9:12 time on attack compared to Tunnel Vision's 7:35 - Valokuitunen's skaters combined for 34 giveaways, Tunnel Vision's combined for just 20 - @Beniittto scored Valokuitunen's lone goal in 3rd period - @FINSeRe earned an 84.62% save percentage despite the loss, making 11 saves on 13 shots 3-0 Valokuitunen Esports W Valokuitunen Notable Stats: - @Beniittto scored the game-winning goal in the first period at 13:37 - @Beniittto (2 goals) and @pikkuroger (1 goal and 1 assist) were the only players who had at least a point in this game - Valokuitunen's skaters combined for 45 giveaways, Tunnel Vision's skaters combined for 32 - @FINSeRe stopped all 10 shots that he faced. This win was one of 10 shutouts that he earned during the regular season, which led all Elite Division Goalies Tunnel Vision Notable Stats: - Tunnel Vision outshot Valokuitunen 10-8, and also had 10:16 of time on attack compared to Valokuitunen's 8:53 - This game was 1 of only 2 games in the regular season in which Tunnel Vision was shutout (2-0 L vs Straikers on May 15) - Allowed two goals in the last 30 seconds of the game (at 59:44 and 59:53) - @tomboo- registered 7 takeaways and 10 interceptions in this game Stat of the Series: In each of their last three playoff meetings, the series was decided in a Game 7. Each Game 7 was decided by one goal, and two of the three were won in overtime. Prediction I promise that I don't mean to dramatize or overstate things, but this feels like one of the biggest Finals matchups that we have had in the Elite Division over the past few seasons. What makes this different? Well, history. Valokuitunen Esports are looking to cement their place as the top team in the history of the ECL, something that some could argue they have already done. However, by beating Tunnel Vision in another Finals series and earning a record-extending fifth Elite title, their spot as the top dogs in Elite history feels like it could be set in stone for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Tunnel Vision has epitomized what it means to climb the ranks of the ECL. They earned their way from the Pro Division into the Elite Division after winning a relegation series in ECL 11 against Deadly Phantoms (then known as Team LEISURE). They missed the playoffs in their first Elite season during ECL 12, but have made it to the postseason every season since, and have emerged as one of the top squads in Europe with two Elite Division trophies to back it up. However, times could soon be changing for this group, as there has been word around the community that the team is treating this playoff run as "the last dance". What this means for the future of the club is unknown to the public, but it seems like considerable changes could be coming for this team after this game cycle. This means that this is potentially Tunnel Vision's last chance to further cement their legacy and even more importantly, this could be the last chance to play on this stage with this same group, or at least for the time being. It's history book vs storybook, and only one can prevail in this series. I think that Tunnel Vision has as good of a chance as anyone to beat this Valokuitunen side. They know what it takes to do it as they have done it before in the playoffs, and the motivation of wanting to end this era at the top of the ECL mountain will be something that you'd think can give them a good boost. However, the inconsistencies in their game this season leave me concerned, and though Valokuitunen did struggle against The Black Jacks in their quarterfinal series, that felt like more of an outlier than Tunnel Vision's struggles have. These two teams are as closely matched as it gets, so I have zero expectation of being right or wrong on this prediction. However, I think that consistency has to mean something, and Valokuitunen has been as consistent as it gets. Valokuitunen in 7 FOLLOW THE ECL ELITE PLAYOFFS LIVE You can watch live coverage of EVERY GAME of the Elite Division playoffs on Twitch, YouTube and X Tune in on Friday, June 14th at 20:00 CEST for games 1-3 and on Saturday, June 15th at 19:00 CEST for the rest of the best-of-7 series! Who do you think will win each series? Are there any key points or factors that I may not have covered? Let me know in the comments!

MATCHUP 1 (1) Valokuitunen Esports vs (5) EXEN Regular Season Results: 7-1 Valokuitunen Esports W 3-2 Valokuitunen Esports OTW Valokuitunen: Phew, well that was close. Despite punching their ticket to another Semifinals last week, their series probably ended up being a bit too close for comfort, as the defending champs were pushed to a Game 7 against (8) The Black Jacks last week. Some could maybe even argue that Valokuitunen was fortunate to escape the series, but they did escape, and in the playoffs that is all that matters. Valokuitunen were led by many of the usual names during their Quarterfinals victory. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen led the way for the group with 9 points, putting up 3 goals and 6 assists in his six games played. They also saw major contributions from their captain and center Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, who pitched in 8 points with 4 goals and 4 assists in seven games, while also posting a 53.8% face-off percentage. Roope @pikkuroger Bergström was held to just 6 points during the series, but 5 of those were goals, so he was still able to step up in a big way, continuing to show his abilities as a goal-scorer. Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes also carried over his regular season success into the postseason, backstopping Valokuitunen with an 86.75% save percentage and 1.57 GAA in seven starts. He also had 14 shutout periods and made the second-most saves of any goalie in the Quarterfinals with 72, while also facing the second-most shots (83). Now they will turn their attention to EXEN, a team that they were able to get the best of in both regular season meetings. The regular season series was a tale of two games for Valokuitunen despite getting the win in both contests. In the first meeting, Valokuitunen outshot EXEN 21-7, had 9:42 of time on attack (4:22 more than what EXEN had), and scored 5 goals in the second period alone. The second matchup however was very different. They continued to find offensive zone time, earning 9:53 of time on attack, but they only posted 11 shots on net. Their five skaters also combined for 48 giveaways in the second game; a massive increase from their 21 giveaways in the first game. Valokuitunen will need to hope to find some of the same magic that they saw in the first matchup between these two teams compared to the second, especially in terms of winning the possession game and not hesitating to shoot the puck when at all possible. Valokuitunen Player To Watch: Roope @pikkuroger Bergström (Left Winger) In Valokuitunen Esports' two regular season meetings against EXEN, @pikkuroger had 9 points with 5 goals and 4 assists. He also took 15 shots in those two games, including 12 in their 7-1 win. He's established himself as one of the best goal scorers in Europe over the past few years and he's going against a team that he played very well against earlier this season. Expect him to be a big factor in this series. EXEN: After earning the only sweep in the Quarterfinals against Tohtorit, EXEN finds themselves back in the Semifinals for the first time since the ECL '23: Winter season. They were rather dominant and were possibly the most impressive of the teams that made it into the next round, especially on the offensive end. Each of EXEN's five skaters tallied 6 points or more during the four-game series and four of their five skaters scored at least 2 goals. Though EXEN has plenty of talent at forward, I would argue that it was the defense that led the charge for this group offensively. Aapeli @Lxndstrom Landström tied with forward Aaro @xAaro89x Aarvala for the team lead in points with 9, including 3 goals to go along with 6 assists. His defensive partner Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen contributed 8 points in the series, with all of them being assists. The most impressive thing about the pairing? Each of them possessed the puck for over 27 minutes during this series, an average of just under 7 minutes per game. When you combine these numbers, that makes for almost 25% of the total game where one of them has the puck on their stick, so their importance to this team cannot be understated. Someone else to keep a close eye on in this series would be V-V @cTunkeilija Lampela, who in my opinion has been one of the most underrated centers in the Elite Division for a few seasons now. He'll be matched up with one of the best at his position, making for an intriguing position matchup in a series that is going to be filled with them. He also had 21 takeaways in the Quarterfinals against Tohtorit and contributed a point on each of EXEN's 3 goals against Valokuitunen during the regular season series. Keep an eye on him. Focusing now on their upcoming matchup, EXEN is going to have to prioritize playing the possession game and making their time in the offensive zone count. Though they lost both regular season meetings against this team, the quality of their play in both losses highly contrasted. In that second game, EXEN nearly doubled their offensive production and also saw drastic improvements in their defensive play, which is what I feel was the biggest difference between the two contests. In the first game against Valokuitunen, EXEN allowed 21 shots on net, in the second matchup they allowed just 11. They also forced Valokuitunen into many more mistakes with the puck, forcing 17 takeaways in the second game after only forcing 6 takeaways in the first matchup. EXEN will need to remember the lessons that they learned in their regular season series against Valokuitunen, while also carrying over the success that they had in the Quarterfinals. If they can, it could make for the perfect storm. A storm so perfect that it could lead the team to its first-ever Finals appearance in the Elite Division. EXEN Player to Watch: Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen (Left Defense) There are lot of different options that I could go with here, but considering the fact that he played for this team last season as a forward and has played against them in the ECL Finals and Semifinals multiple times, I think that @Mozjayh has to be the pick here. He has been a perfect match with this EXEN group and his experience in the playoffs as a three-time Elite champion, as well as his history and knowledge of their opponents will be invaluable in a critical series like this. Prediction This series has a lot of different storylines with a lot of different angles. These two teams are two of the most experienced in the division but in a completely different way. Valokuitunen Esports have cemented themselves as one of the best teams in Europe over the past few years and have the pedigree and history to back that up. They've won four championships, are the only team in ECL history to win three straight titles, and are the defending champs in these playoffs after winning the trophy last season(formerly under the hREDS brand). Meanwhile, at the same time that their opponents were dominating the European scene, EXEN went through a rollercoaster experience. This team had to completely rebuild itself from the ground up, going from being the Elite's top seed in the ECL 11 playoffs to being relegated to the Pro Division not long after. They then won the Pro Division title in ECL '22: Winter in their first season there to earn their way back into Elite; and now they are back to competing for championships in the ECL's top flight (all formerly as JYP Jyväskyla). They've built well over the years and have grown significantly, but in their entire time in the Elite Division, they have yet to make it to the Finals. Is this the season they can get it done? This team certainly has a different feeling than its past teams did and we've already seen Valokuitunen get pushed to the brink in these playoffs, narrowly escaping against the ECL's eighth-seeded team to get here. There were moments in that series where they felt hesitant, made uncharacteristic mistakes and at times even seemed to let their frustrations show and get the best of them. I'd expect this group to step up their game in the Semifinals and be much better than what we saw two weeks ago. It's what they have always done and they've had a 10-day break to regroup as a team, which I think will benefit them after a series that I highly doubt that they were happy with, even despite advancing. I think this series will be close and that EXEN has a true shot to potentially pull off the victory, but I'm not going to go against this Valokuitunen team. It rarely goes well when you do. Valokuitunen Esports in 6 MATCHUP 2 (2) Straikers vs (3) Tunnel Vision Regular Season Results: 2-0 Straikers W 5-2 Straikers W Straikers: In what was another close call in the Quarterfinals, Straikers were able to avoid the upset against Unwanted for a second straight season. Straikers' experience in clutch situations again helped them in this series, and their big moment players were the ones that really stepped up and led the way for them when things began to look questionable in that series. Offensive production was distributed rather evenly in their series, as all five skaters score a goal in the series and each of them contributed at least 4 points during the series. Erik @Eki Tammenpää led the way for the group with his 8 points, which included 3 goals and 5 assists. He was huge for Straikers in pretty much every phase of the game and showed why he's seen as one of the top players in the league regardless of what position he plays. He also had 32 takeaways and won 57.9% of his face-offs; all while being the only Straikers skater to not take a penalty during the series. Not only this, but all three of his goals in the series came in Game 7 alone. That's clutch factor if I've ever seen it. Along with him was fellow-veteran forward Ilmari @Puantso Lehkonen, who posted 6 points in the series with 4 of them being goals. His long-time teammate and goaltender Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen was also critical to the series victory, as he stepped up between the pipes with an 82.86% save percentage and a 1.71 GAA. Two of his four victories in the series were shutouts, blanking a strong Unwanted offense in a critical victories in Game 2 and in Game 5. Focusing now on their Semifinal matchup, Straikers have reasons for optimism but also showed that they have some room to improve from their Quarterfinals performance. On the positive side of things, they will match up against a Tunnel Vision team that they beat twice in the regular season. Additionally, Tunnel Vision has some similarities stylistically to Unwanted, as both teams love to utilize counter-attacks and can create quick offense. This is something that could help Straikers, as they just went against this for seven games last week at a more extreme level. However, Tunnel Vision is a more experienced side and is also a better offensive team than what Straikers' faced in the Quarterfinals (with all due respect to Unwanted). Tunnel Vision plays a high-octane style that will see them have more offensive zone time than Unwanted did and they'll also shoot the puck significantly more. Not only this, but they even showed significant signs of improvement in their defensive play last week; something that was the team's biggest weakness coming into the postseason (something that we will talk about further in a bit). To win this series, Straikers will have to be smart and cohesive. They will also need to be more opportunistic on the power play. After sporting the league's best power play at 36.84% during the regular season, Straikers was held to just 1 power play goal on 10 attempts; that's 10% against a penalty kill that ranked at just 10th in the division during the regular season. We all know what this team is capable of when they are firing on all cylinders and they know that last week was far from their best work. I'd expect them to look better than what we saw in the Quarterfinals. Straikers Player to Watch: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (Right Defense) I wanted to stray away from what could be viewed as the more obvious pick in @Eki and I think that @FlyerKungen has served as one of the most reliable two-way defensemen in the league since moving from RW to RD last season. During the regular season series against Tunnel Vision, he was able to contribute 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist) while also racking up 7 takeaways and 11 interceptions defensively. He's the definition of reliable and rarely makes any big mistakes on either side of the ice. Exactly what you need when going up against a familiar foe and a fellow former champion. Tunnel Vision: Right when it seemed fair to doubt them, Tunnel Vision responded by turning in its most complete effort of the season last week They defeated a scrappy sixth-seed in Bjorkloven Esport team in five games; reminding the ECL world of who they are in the process. Two-time Elite Division champions and finalists in each of the past four seasons. Their offensive production continued to thrive as it did in the regular season, as Tunnel Vision scored a total of 14 goals in its five games (an average of 2.8 per game). This included two games in which they scored five goals in Games 2 and 5. All of these goals came from their forwards, as Arttu @Laiitinen Laitinen, Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and Väinö @Pikkarii Pikkarainen each had at least 8 points and 4 goals in the series. However, this offensive production was to be expected. After all, Tunnel Vision dominated on the offensive end during the regular season and have been doing so for years. Where people's concern lied was in their own-zone play and they were able to put many of those concerns to rest in this series. As I mentioned in the Quartefinals preview, Tunnel Vision allowed 2.7 goals against per game during the regular season, which ranked third-worst in the Elite Division. During the Quarterfinals it was a completely different story, as they allowed just 6 goals throughout the entire five-game series, that's an average of 1.2 goals against per game. To cut your goals against in half in such a short time is a remarkable turnaround, and it's something that Tunnel Vision deserves credit for. They also allowed just an average of 8.2 shots per game, so they didn't even allow for many chances. Similarly to Straikers, Tunnel Vision has reasons for both optimism and caution. For optimism, Tunnel Vision should look like a much different team than what Straikers saw in the regular season. For starters, their usual starting winger @Laiitinen was out of the lineup in those two games, forcing @Vattuyy to move out of his usual winger position to play at the center spot. Though this sounds like a small change at face value, the differences between a winger and a center can sometimes be drastic depending on the player's style, so it's not an easy transition to make on short notice. It also means more when playing against a top-end team like Straikers; especially when you are matched up against one of the league's best centers on the other side. Not only this, but this seems to be a different Tunnel Vision team in terms of effort and focus. During an interview that was featured on our broadcast during their Quarterfinals series, I asked Tunnel Vision's captain Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen about the improvements in their defensive play and he immediately mentioned the team's increased efforts with it being the playoffs. This difference was immediately noticeable when watching them and quite frankly, it makes Tunnel Vision a totally different team from the one that we saw during the first 30 games of the season. However, they will be going up against an opponent in Straikers that has gone far too long without hoisting the ECL Elite trophy. Bjorkloven's lack of Elite-level playoff experience was a clear advantage for Tunnel Vision in that series and that is something that won't be there for them this time. Also, Straikers were a far better offensive team than Bjrokloven this season, as while Straikers ranked as the third-highest scoring team in the league with 2.87 goals per game, Bjorkloven ranked at 9th, averaging 2.33 goals per game. They have plenty of reason to feel good about things going into this series, but Straikers are a team on a clear mission. It's going to take Tunnel Vision's most complete version of themselves to knock them out. Tunnel Vision Player to Watch: Ben @benuh_ Rinnet (Goalie) After a stellar Winter season that saw him as a Goaltender of the Season nominee, Ben @benuh_ Rinnet took a step back statistically this season, as his save percentage went from 85.19% during the Winter campaign to 78.74% during the Spring. Now obviously not all of this falls on him. A goalie can only do so much and every netminder's success is somewhat determined by the quality of play in front of him; which defensively also took a step back during the regular season. However in the postseason so far, @benuh_ has completely flipped the script like the rest of his team, playing phenomenally in between the pipes. He averaged an 85.37% save percentage in the series victory and a 1.2 GAA. He also had shut out Bjokrloven Esports in 10 of the 15 periods played during that series (that's roughly 66.7% of the entire series). If Tunnel Vision is going to have similar success in the Semifinals, @benuh_ is going to have to be at the level that we saw him at last week and throughout all of last season. Prediction To be quite honest, you could flip a coin to pick this series and have just as good of a reason to make that pick as you would doing hours of research. That is how close these two teams are to each other. Considering this, I'm just going to make a prediction based on what I feel as I am typing this. The drama is palpable and the storylines create themselves. In recent times, Tunnel Vision has gotten the best of Straikers in the playoffs, including in multiple Semifinals and Finals series. They were knocked off of their championship throne against hREDS last season in a 7-game Finals series and now they are on a mission themselves, hoping to remind the ECL that they are still the team to beat in this division. They will feel confident coming into this matchup and they have every reason to do so. Meanwhile, Straikers are on a a mission that trails back a bit further. They were swept in the Semifinals last season by hREDS and they've come so close to touching gold again multiple times over the last few years, but for one reason or another, it hasn't happened. It's been three years since Straikers last won the Elite Division, so they are hungrier than ever. They want to end the talk of their championship drought, and they want to do it this season. Fine, I'll stop stalling and will make my pick. I think that there is something to be said about consistency. Though Straikers were far from their best in the Quarterfinals, they have been the more consistent and complete team between the two this season and I'd expect them to make significant improvements in their game from what we saw last week against Unwanted. These two teams also have different-looking lineups than when they met in the playoffs a year ago, so this series should look a bit different from each of their past series matchups. I'm just going to go with my gut and not have any expectations of being right or wrong on this. Straikers in 7 FOLLOW THE ECL ELITE PLAYOFFS LIVE You can watch live coverage of EVERY GAME of the Elite Division playoffs on Twitch, YouTube and X. Semifinals Sunday 2.6 - 19:45 CET | 2# Straikers vs #3 Tunnel Vision & #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #5 EXEN | Games 1-2 Monday 3.6 - 19:15 CET | #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #5 EXEN | Games 3-7 Wednesday 5.6 - 19:15 CET | 2# Straikers vs #3 Tunnel Vision | Games 3-7 Who do you think will win each series? Are there any key points or factors that I may not have covered? Let me know in the comments!

While eight teams made their way into the playoffs to fight for the ECL '24: Spring - Elite championship, eight other teams have seen their season come to an end, each wondering what went wrong and what could have been. We will take a look at each of these eight teams, why they missed the playoffs and where things stand as they each look towards the future. We will begin with the 16th ranked team in the standings and then work our way up. 16. Gotham Knights (25pts) Why They Missed: Lack of Form All Season After winning the ECL Pro Division championship over Renascor last season, Gotham Knights' time in the Elite Division has come to a quick close, finishing last in the standings and now likely being relegated back down to the Pro Division. Unfortunately, this team just never really found their footing in Elite this season. In their 30 games played, they only managed to collect standings points in 11 of those games and their longest win streak of the season was 2 games. That simply isn't a recipe for success. They did show some glimpses of potential this season, as out of their 9 total wins this season (including OT wins), four of them came against playoff teams. However, this league is all about being able to win consistently and unfortunately, Gotham Knights were never able to find their way there. We'll see what the future holds for this club and if they can find their way back into Elite in the future. 15. Renascor (31pts) Why They Missed: Offensive Woes Last season's Pro Division runner-ups earned promotion to Elite after making it through the qualifiers in April. Not many people expected much of this group in its first Elite season and unfortunately, they finished right around where many had predicted them to before the season. Though Rensacor did seem to find a little bit of rhythm later on in the season, they only won 4 of their first 19 games (including OT wins). This pretty much did them in when it came to being able to secure a Top 8 finish. The biggest reason for this was Renascor's offensive struggles this season. For starters, they had the lowest goals for per game of any team in the Elite Division at 1.67. They also had the fourth-lowest shots per game in the division at 12.1. The Elite division is a big step from the Pro Division and it's not easy to adjust. Now this team will get ready for their relegation series in a few weeks against the Pro Division runner-up, hoping to stay up in the ECL's top division next season. 14. Heimo (34pts) Why They Missed: Not Being Able to String Together Wins After finishing in no man's land last season at the 11th spot, Heimo unfortunately found themselves further down the Elite table and now have to go to a relegation series. What's wild is that last season they had 36 points, so it goes to show that the Division as a whole performed better this season when it came to accumulating points in the standings. Something that Heimo may have suffered from more than any other team this season in terms of their place in the standings. As for where this team fell short, they never really found that consistent form of winning that they needed. This Heimo team would get a win and then follow that up with two or three straight losses. In fact, this team only had two win streaks all season, and their longest winning streak lasted the minimum amount of games to be considered a streak, 2 games. It's just tough to make it in when you aren't able to find a consistent stretch of winning. Add that in with increased performance from the other teams that were outside the cutline and Heimo just happened to find themselves where they are. If they can keep their place in the division for next season, hopefully, they can take that same next step that their competitors did this season. 13. GOONS (34pts) Why They Missed: Allowing Far Too Many Goals It's unfortunate to see how things have trended for this team over the last few seasons. As weird as it seems, GOONS haven't qualified for the Elite Division playoffs since ECL '22: Spring, a season in which they made it to the semifinals. That was two years ago. Since that season, this team lost multiple critical pieces to that core due to transfers and has been trying to rebuild themselves since. And now, they are going to have to win a relegation series just to keep their spot in the division. The biggest reason GOONS find themselves outside of the playoffs again is due to the high amount of goals that they allowed, which ironically is the same thing that plagued this team last season. During the Winter season, GOONS allowed 3.5 goals per game, which ranked third-worst in the Division. This season they allowed 3.1 per game, which though an improvement, still ranked them as the second-worst in the league, only finishing ahead of Gotham Knights. Not only this, but just 8 of their 19 total losses this season were by one goal, and this includes overtime games. On a positive note, they were one of the division's better teams offensively this season with an average of 2.53 goals for per game, which ranked 6th in Elite. They also broke the ECL's record for hits in a regular season with 1163 (across all divisions), so they were also able to make some history despite missing the postseason. However, I have the feeling that this summer could be one with a lot of soul-searching for this GOONS team; especially with their future in the division now being uncertain. 12. Polski Boys (36pts) Why They Missed: Not Improving Offensively From Last Season Polski Boys find themselves in no man's land for a second straight season and the biggest reason for this was their struggles on offense. Interestingly enough, this was exactly what held this team back last season. During their Winter campaign last season, which was their first in Elite, Polski Boys averaged just 2.03 goals for per game, which ranked as the 5th lowest in the division. They also struggled mightily on the power play last season, only converting on the man advantage 14.29% of the time, which was the lowest in the division. Despite having a season of Elite division experience under their belt and returning all six starters from last season's team, the Polski Boys' offense saw minimal improvements in the Spring. They averaged just 2.07 goals for per game which ranked 2nd lowest in the league, only ahead of Renascor. Their power play was also a weakness for them again this season, as their 16.22% on the power play was 4th lowest in the league. One positive thing to note is that they did seem to find some form late in the season, as they collected points in the standings in 8 of their last 10 games of the regular season, though they only surpassed the two-goal mark in 2 of those 10 games. As someone who has had the pleasure of covering this team's rise through the ECL ranks over a few seasons, the potential is there for Polski Boys to be a genuine threat in the Elite division, but that won't happen until they find a way to improve their play offensively. They have yet to find success there at this level, and until they do they're bound to be stuck in the middle of the pack. 11. Vesa Pompa (37pts) Why They Missed: Losing Close in Regulation Games and Not Putting Together A Winning Run Of the teams that didn't get into the Top 8, Vesa Pompa was probably the most surprising. After making the playoffs as a #6 seed and making it to the Elite semifinals last season, missing out on the playoffs altogether this season is a disappointing result for this group. Unfortunately, they just never really found the same form that they had in the Winter season and it ended up costing them dearly in the playoff race. For starters, Vesa Pompa lost valuable points in the standings in close games, as 8 of their 14 regulation losses were decided by one goal. Not only this, but they never were able to find a consistent winning run the way that they did last season. In their Winter campaign, they were able to make the playoffs off of the back of a 12-game points streak, a streak that saw them win 10 of those 12 games. This season, Vesa Pompa's longest points streak lasted just four games. It's unfortunate that this team will have to watch the playoffs from the sidelines this time around, as we've seen this group be able to make some magic happen in the postseason before. On the bright side, they didn't see themselves eliminated from playoff contention until the final day of the regular season, so this team was in the hunt throughout. Unfortunately, the factors that we've mentioned were just too much for Vesa Pompa to overcome in the end. A tough result for a high-quality squad. 10. Roots Gaming (42pts) Why They Missed: Too Many Regulation Losses, Struggling Against Playoff Teams, and Not Finding Enough Offense Before we talk about why Roots Gaming didn't make the playoffs, I want to spend some time talking about the vast improvements that this team made this season. I'll be honest, I think that this season could be considered a success for Roots Gaming, as they arguably improved more than any team in the league this season. Last season they finished 15th in the standings with just 24 points and had to win a relegation series just to maintain their place in the Elite Division. This season however saw a complete turnaround for this team. And the most impressive part about it? All six starters this season were on this team last season; with five of them starting 20+ games during that Winter campaign. Now that we've talked about the good though, we have to talk about why they missed out, and unfortunately, I couldn't pick just one reason to tell the full story. For starters, 14 of Roots Gaming's losses this season came in regulation, meaning that they lost out on potential points that they could've gained by pushing more games to overtime (they went 7-7 in regulation games this season). Second, they had a record of 3-13 against playoff teams and 11 of those losses were in regulation. Lastly, their offense just never really seemed to find itself. They tied with Heimo for the fourth-lowest goals for per game at 2.07. They also took the least amount of shots of any Elite division team at 353 (that's an average of just 11.8 shots per game). I promise you that I don't mean to pile on. This group has a ton to be proud of considering where they were in the standings just a season ago. However considering that they missed the playoff cutline by only 4 points, it feels like they could've made the postseason if they had been able to correct even just one of those three factors. Regardless, Roots Gaming should go into the offseason feeling good about their efforts. The question now is, can they build on it? 9. Purification (42pts) Why They Missed: Their Second Half of the Season Every team has aspirations of making it into the postseason before the season begins, which makes it even more crushing for the group that ends up finishing as the first team outside of the playoff cut line. However, let's give Purification their due credit. This was an impressive debut season in the Elite Division for this group and I don't doubt that they will be back in the playoff conversation in the future. After earning promotion by defeating POGGERS in its relegation series last season, Purification was a group that many people were interested in seeing make the jump to Elite, as they were dominant in the Pro Division and fell one win short of making it to the Finals. Early in the season, they looked like a team that would be well on their way to the playoffs and potentially even a Top 4 seed, winning 10 of their first 13 games this season. After this, things unfortunately fell apart. In their last 17 games of the season, Purification earned just 15 points in the standings. That stretch included a 7-game losing streak that saw them earn just 2 points and a 5-game losing streak that saw them earn zero points. During this stretch, they lost 10 games by one goal (including overtime losses) and had a 1-5 record against non-playoff teams, including two regulation losses to Gotham Knights and a regulation loss to Renascor on May 16 that eliminated them from playoff contention. I know that Purification is going to be disappointed that they aren't playing playoff hockey this season, especially considering that they looked like a lock during the first half of the season. However, I think that they also have a lot to look back on positively, as they've proven that they can truly compete at the Elite division level. This season will be valuable for them to learn from and will be something good to build on for the future. I'm excited to see where they go from here. If you have any feedback or if there is anything that you feel that I missed, make sure to let me know in the comments! If you want to learn more about the teams that did qualify for Elite division playoffs, you can check out my Quarterfinals playoff preview below.

MATCHUP 1 Valokuitunen Esports (1) vs (8) The Black Jacks Regular Season Results: 3-2 The Black Jacks W 3-2 Valokuitunen Esports OTW Valokuitunen: Another dominant regular season from the defending champions (formerly known as hREDS) as they clinched the top seed in their finale against Straikers. The group has been truly elite in all phases of the game so far this season. They finished as the top team in the Division in goals for per game, goals against per game and shot attempts. They also saw each of their three forwards finish Top 10 in points. This includes Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström, who shared the points title this season with 68. Speaking of @pikkuroger, he has filled the void left by Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen admirably this season after transferring from Straikers, posting a career-best season that will likely see him get consideration for both Forward of the Season and Transfer of The Season. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the stellar season that Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes has had in net for the group, posting an 88.24% save percentage, 1.4 GAA and 10 shutouts while starting all 30 games this season. His save percentage increased by nearly 8 percentage points from last season (80.25%). This could very well be considered one of the most impressive regular season campaigns that we've seen in the Elite Division, but this team cares about winning championships more than seedings and flashy numbers. Now is when their true season starts. Stat of The Series: Valokuitunen Esports have yet to lose a game this season by more than one goal. The Black Jacks: Another season, another playoff appearance for The Black Jacks. It feels like this group always manages to find their way into the Top 8 despite the league getting deeper. This marks their fourth straight playoff appearance, as they have not missed the postseason since the ECL '22: Spring season. Though this team returned much of its lineup, they did have a major question mark down the middle after losing its captain and Center in Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi, who departed from the team after being with them since ECL 6 (2018). They filled his place in the lineup with another experienced Center in André @Foppatofflan Liljegren who has been solid for them this season with 35 points in 30 games. The biggest addition for this team however was Johan @McSavid Rundqvist; who after taking a break last season has proven to still be one of the top goalies in the game. The way that this team has been able to find success this season has been through its defensive play. The Black Jacks took massive strides in their defensive play this season, going from allowing 2.3 goals per game last season (which ranked 7th in Elite) to allowing just 2.07 this season (4th best in the league). This number was even lower before their last four games of the regular season, which saw them allow 3.75 per game during that stretch. If they can get back to the defensive play that we saw during the first 26 games, this series should be low-scoring and rightly contested. Stat of The Series: The Black Jacks' played in 17 games during the regular season that were decided by one goal; they had a 9-8 record in these games (this includes overtime games). Bonus Stat: The Black Jacks are 12-3 in home games this season (including OT games). This is important because The Black Jacks are known to play on the Central European server, and it appears they have been able to use that to their advantage in those games this season. Prediction: I truly do like this Black Jacks side. They are experienced, talented and are one of the best defensive teams in the entire ECL. Unfortunately, they are just running into an outright juggernaut in Valokuitunen Esports. I respect them enough to predict them to steal a game and feel like they have had about as much success against this group as any team in ECL, but it would probably be the biggest upset in league history if they were to pull off a series win. I just don't see it happening. Valokuitunen Esports in 5 MATCHUP 2 (2) Straikers vs (7) Unwanted Regular Season Results: 2-1 Unwanted W 5-2 Straikers W Straikers: For the second straight season, Straikers find themselves at the #2 seed after another stellar regular season. The group was balanced and showed their elite form in every way, as they finished Top 3 in the Division in goals for per game, goals against per game, shots, power play percentage and face-off percentage. They also finished 4th in penalty kill percentage. Much of this group's core remains the same from the past season, with the lone addition to their regular season lineup being Teemu @temppanen Karvonen, who scored a career-high 23 goals in his first season with the club. Someone else to look out for will be Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen. The veteran netminder put together another spectacular season with strikers, starting in 20 games and posting an 84.95% save percentage and a 1.55 GAA. Straikers are 14-5-1 in games in which he started in the regular season. As a matter of fact, the last time that @Hansulinho had a save percentage below 80% was in an ECL regular season was in ECL 4 when he played for Laser HT. That was in 2017. if that's not dominance, I don't know what is. Overall, this Straikers team has had plenty of regular season success over the year and even some playoff success, but the reality is that this team is starved for a title. Ever since combining the cores of FILADELPHIA and HAVU before NHL 23, this group has made it to the finals twice, but fell short both times to Tunnel Vision. Last season they were knocked out a round earlier in the semifinals after being swept against hREDS (now Valokuitunen Esports). The last time anyone in their lineup won an ECL Championship was in ECL 11 when FILADELPHIA did it in early 2021. It's been far too long since this group has held gold and they're going to come in with a chip on the shoulder. They'll have a tough path no doubt, but they were the league hottest team down the stretch with an 8-2 record in their final 10 regular season games. This is one of the last teams you'd want to see in a playoff bracket. Stat of the Series: Straikers played in just one overtime game all season, which was 2-1 loss against Purification on April 18. They have an overall record of 8-4 in one goal games this season (including OT games). Unwanted: Though I'm sure Unwanted are happy to be back in the playoffs for a second straight season, they have to feel like they left some meat on the bone during the later stages of the regular season. The wolves wound up as the 7th seed after finishing the season with a 4-5-1 record in its last 10 games. This includes a 7-1 loss to the now-relegated Gotham Knights and a 4-3 loss against Purification in their last game of the season, a game in which they held both a 2-0 and a 3-1 lead in the second half of the game. If Unwanted wins just one of those two games, they would've finished in 5th. if they had won both? They would've been 3rd. Despite the disappointing end though, Unwanted still had a lot to be happy with this season. A nine game win streak from April 24 to May 5 is what pushed this team into the Top 8, as they collected a whopping 25 points in the standings during that time. That streak makes up for 49% of their points all season. Not only this, but Unwanted are the only team in the entire league that can say that they swept Valokuitunen Esports, as they won both games against them in the regular season (4-3 W and 5-4 OTW on April 29). Where this team can be most dangerous is in the offensive zone and that shows in their 2.73 goals for per game, which ranks 4th in the Elite Division. They've seen multiple players step up, as four of their five skaters finished this season with 30+ points. Eetu @Launonexx Launonen was quietly one of the division's top playmakers this season with 33 assists (3rd for all skaters), while Steffen @Suth98_ Sutherland was one of the division's best finishers, finishing tied for 5th in the league goals with 27. Some else to keep a close eye on is Adam @karlssonadam_ Karlsson. In his rookie campaign, @karlssonadam_ had an 85.57% save percentage while making the third most saves of any goalie in the Elite division this season with 350. He also had more desperation saves than any other goalie in Elite with 28. Look out for him in this series. Stat of the Series: Despite finishing with the second lowest shot total (354) and shots per game (11.8) in the Elite Division, Unwanted had the highest shot percentage in the league at 23.16%. They were the only team in Elite to finish over the 20% mark. Prediction: These two team met in the Quarterfinals last season as the exact same seedings. 5 of the 6 games were decided by one goal. Four of these games went to overtime. Straikers would eventually prevail to win the series in thrilling fashion, coming back from two goals down with 15 seconds left in Game 6 to take the series later in overtime. Unwanted was a few plays away from potentially winning this series and they have every reason to feel confident. However, this team has been mired by inconsistencies all season and their recent form is reason for concern in my opinion. I think that we'll see many close games again where the goaltenders will shine and it'll come down to who is able to make plays when their team needs them most. Considering all of this, I'll give the advantage to a Straikers team that has a chip on their shoulder and are hot at the right time winning 8 of their last 10 games. Straikers in 6 MATCHUP 3 (3) Tunnel Vision vs (6) Bjorkloven Esport Regular Season Meetings: 4-3 Bjorkloven Esport W 3-2 Tunnel Vision OTW Tunnel Vision: After failing to win their third-straight Elite Championship last season, Tunnel Vision are back in the playoffs in hopes of recapturing their crown. However, their quest has not come as smoothly as we have seen it in past seasons. Despite still being amongst the best offensive teams in the division, Tunnel Vision's play in its own zone has taken an alarming step back. Don't believe me? Let's look at the numbers: Last season Tunnel Vision allowed just 1.57 goals per game during the regular season, which was the lowest in the league. This season, that number has jumped all the way up to 2.7 goals allowed per game, which is the third worst in the league. The only two teams that allowed more were GOONS - who will have to play in a relegation series to stay in the Elite division - and Gotham Knights who will be relegated down to the Pro Division after finishing last in the standings with just five wins. Not great company to be in. On the more positive side of things though, Tunnel Vision are still a team that can score with the best of them. The group averaged 3.03 goals for per game during the regular season, second-best in the league. Additionally, Tunnel Vision saw all five skaters in their main lineup end the season with 30+ points. They even have the league's leading goal scorer in Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen, who scored a ECL career-high 42 goals during the regular season. He also had the second most points of anyone in the division with 62, just six points shy of his career-high 68 points from last season. Someone that everyone will have to keep their eye on especially for this team will be Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen. The captain and star defender had the most time with the puck of any skater in the Elite Division, controlling the puck for 198:51 in his 30 games played. He also ranked 6th for all Elite division skaters in passing percentage (85.1%) and pass attempts (1052). He is the quarterback of this Tunnel Vision team offensively and specifically on the breakout. He should be busy again in these playoffs. This team has mastered the art of winning tight games and they've made the finals in each of the last four seasons, so you can never count them out. However, this Tunnel Vision team seems to have more holes in the armor than they did in those past seasons. You can blame it on some key pieces departing over the years or you can just chalk it up to a few off performances in the regular season. Either way, it doesn't matter. Tunnel Vision is going to be a title threat, there is no question about it. But they are going to have to find away to stifle opposing offenses better than they did in the regular season if they want to make it back to the top of the Elite division mountain. Stat of the Series: 11 of Tunnel Vision's 15 wins were by just one goal (include OT wins). That equates to 73.3% of their wins this season. For comparison, last season 13 of their 21 wins were by one goal (61.9%). They have a 4-3 record in overtime games. Bjorkloven: A team that many felt would be in the playoff conversation at the beginning of the season, Bjorkloven Esport made a statement by locking in the 6th seed in the Division and posting 52 standings points in the process. The part that is even more impressive? This team was in the Pro Division last season and made the jump to Elite through the qualifier before this season. This group also underwent a significant roster overhaul, as only two playoff starters from last season's team have played a game for the team this season. Not only this but multiple players in their lineup hadn't even played in the Elite division prior to this season. Before the start of this season, the most Elite experience on this team came from Miikka @koleslaav_ Kolehmainen, who had played 64 games across two seasons, Miika @zMikkeez Kauppila, who had played 62 games over three seasons, and Arttu @Thewix93 Harju with 34 games in his lone Elite season in ECL 9. Everyone else on this roster was a rookie other than Oskar @x-_-BoBi-_-x Hautala, who played in eight games with Reality Check in this division during the ECL '23: Spring season. @koleslaav_ (49pts) and @x-_-BoBi-_-x (46pts) were the team's two top point producers this season. Interestingly enough, no one on this team scored 20 goals this season, but five different skaters scored at least nine goals and their 2.33 goals for per game, ranked 9th in the division. What makes this team special is their ability to slow down opposing offenses, as Bjorkloven Esport allowed just 2 goals per game this season, which ranked third in the league. Juspe @Ricco Laakso has also been a big reason for this, flexing his ability as a rookie with a 83.85sv% and a 2.04 GAA, both in which ranked in the Top 10 in the division. This team is balanced, defensively strong and have a goaltender that has proven to have game-stealing ability. All of the qualities that make for a potential upset pick in the playoffs. State of the Series: Bjorkloven Esport tied with Renascor for the least penalized team in the Elite Division this season, only committing 60 penalty minutes. Bonus Stat: Bjorkloven Esport had an 8-10 record in one-goal games this season (including overtime games) Prediction: I'll be honest, I could see this being a popular upset pick. Bjorkloven are a strong squad that are good enough defensively to compete with Tunnel Vision's high-octane offense. However, I have concerns about Bjorkloven's lack of experience, as not a single player on their roster has played a playoff game at the Elite level (not including relegation series games). I know that it's a cliche thing to say, but it means something. There is something to be said about a team that has yet to play in the postseason at this level, going up against a team that has made the Finals each of the past four seasons and are two-time Elite Division champions. As for Tunnel Vision, I'd be lying if I said that they've been playing to their standard. I wouldn't go as far as to say that this team is vulnerable right now, but I would definitely say that they are susceptible. They've just looked off-kilter this season and have yet to find that next level in their game that we have seen from them in the past. However, I think they'll step up and get the job done in what should be a tightly contested series. If they don't, it could be a long offseason with a lot of soul-searching ahead of them. Tunnel Vision in 6 MATCHUP 4 (4) Tohtorit vs (5) EXEN Regular Season Series: 5-4 EXEN W 2-0 EXEN W Tohtorit: The last time we saw Tohtorit in Elite was in the Spring '23 season, where they went 11-15-4 and finished 13th in the league. They beat Deadly Phantoms in 5 games in their relegation series to stay up in Elite, but didn’t participate last season, taking a one season hiatus. This season Tohtorit came back, replacing the Mayhems brand and bringing back multiple players from that Tohtorit team from last year. Considering this, not many people picked this team to make the playoffs, but they did, and now they have a chance to add another chapter to what has been a storybook season for the club. They will feel as if they missed an opportunity to earn a better seeding, as they lost each of their last 4 games in regulation and wound up just two points behind Tunnel Vision for the #3 seed, but a Top 4 finish is still extremely impressive, especially from a team that many didn't even have making the playoffs at all. This team is the perfect example of a group that isn't elite at anything specifically, but they do a lot of different things well and rely on playing a balanced game in all three phases. Their 2.01 goals allowed per game was 5th best in the division and they also had the division's third-best power play at 31.43%. They also averaged 2.43 goals for per game, which ranked right around the middle of the division in 7th. Tohtorit started the same six player for all 30 games this season. Some impact players for the group include Jere @Harlowi- Paloranta, who racked up a team-high 52 points (ranks Top 10 amongst all Elite division skaters), Tuomas @Ojala16 Ojala who tied @Harlowi- for the team lead in assists with 31 (ranks Top 10 amongst all Elite division skaters), and Jere @profiilipakki Kangasniemi who led the team in goals with 26 (ranks Top 10 amongst all Elite division skaters). Another player that you can expect to be active in this series will be Timi @Kkarkass Kärkäs, who compiled 28 points this season with 25 assists. He also had the second-most time with the puck of any player in the Elite division this season with 187:48 of possession time, so expect to hear his name often in this series. Lastly, I wanted to mention Stan @Stammer70 Adamus and the stellar season that he has had, as he's backstopped his Tohtorit team all season with an 83.76 SV% and 2.10 GAA. These numbers are actually very similar to his Spring '23 season with this team and he's truly emerged as arguably one of the more underrated goalies in a division that is stacked with elite goaltending talent. Overall, this team does a lot of things well. The question is whether they can replicate their success in the postseason. Stat of the Series: Tohtorit went 6-8 against playoff teams in the regular season, including 1-7 against teams that finished in the Top 5 of the standings. None of these games went to overtime, and 6 of the 8 losses were by more than one goal. Bonus Stat: @Kkarkass played for JYP Jyväskyla last season and was one of their most impactful players, playing in all 30 games and putting up 30 points in his lone season with them. He was on Tohtorit during the two seasons prior to their hiatus. EXEN: It's hard to not feel like the team has to have a chip on their shoulder, right? You'd be hard-pressed to find another team in the ECL that have gone through as many ups and downs as this EXEN side has over the past three years. Formerly JYP Jyväskyla before rebranding to the EXEN name this season, this group has seen the following things happen since the Summer of 2020. ECL 10 - Earned #1 seed in the playoffs, were later upset by #8 seed Farjested BK in 5 games ECL 11 - Made the semifinals as #4 seed before losing to eventual champion FILADELPHIA ECL 12 - Went 10-17-3 in the regular season and were relegated to Pro Division after losing the relegation series in 5 games ECL '22: Winter - Went 23-5-2 in the regular season and won the Pro Division championship to earn promotion back into Elite ECL '22: Spring - Went 12-14-4 and finished 11th in Elite standings with 28pts, avoiding the relegation series zone by 1 point ECL '23: Winter - Made the semifinals as #5 seed before losing eventual champion to Tunnel Vision in 6 games ECL '23: Spring - Push #2 seed Tunnel Vision to 7 games in Quarterfinals, but lose in game 7. ECL '24: Winter - Earn #3 seed in playoffs, lose to #6 seed Vesa Pompa in 6 games See what I mean? Sure, many of the players from that time have come and gone since, but the history of this team still is there and it deserves a deep playoff run. Turning the focus now to this season, things have been up and down for this EXEN group. The expectation for this team was to make the playoffs, which they did, but it feels like they could've been a little higher in the standings than where they ended up (5th). EXEN ranks in the Top 5 in the league in goals for per game (2.63) and shots per game (15.5). They also sport the Elite division's best penalty kill at 91.87%. Similarly to Tohtorit, EXEN has played the same six players in all of their games this season. 4 of their 6 starters returned from last season's group, but EXEN's two additions have both proven to be great adds for their squad that they are hoping can take them to new heights in the postseason. Aaro @xAaro89x Aarvala returned to the group after spending last season with Heimo. He led EXEN with 55 points (which ranks Top 5 in the division), 24 goals and 31 assists (both rank Top 10 in the division) during the regular season. The addition of Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen on defense as also proven to be a critical one. After helping hREDS win the league last year and helping Tunnel Vision win the title in the two seasons prior, @Mozjayh posted 25 points with 19 assists in his debut season with EXEN this season. He and Aapeli @Lxndstrom Landström have become one of the division's best defensive pairings this season and their impact has been immense. In terms of goaltending, Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt has been stellar once again for this team with an 83.09sv% and a 2.30 GAA. The backend has proven to be the backbone of this team, so these three players will be major factors for EXEN in this series. EXEN has a ton of experience in this league and plenty of skill and chemistry to go with it. The perfect combination for a deep playoff run. Stat of the Series: @Lxndstrom(184:11) and @Mozjayh (171:52) rank 3rd and 5th amongst all Elite division skaters in time with the puck. These two are the straw that stirs the drink for EXEN's offense and much of the team's offensive success will likely involve them in some form. Bonus Stat: Though EXEN went 4-7 in their last 11 games of the regular season, two of those wins came against Tohtorit, who they swept in their regular season finale on May 16. Prediction: This series is so tough to call because these are two teams that do a lot of things well. They are both balanced and have players on both ends of the that can impact the game at any time. However, EXEN went 7-7 against playoff teams and five of those losses were by one goal (this includes overtime games). They also went 5-3 against teams that finished Top 5 in the league. Meanwhile Tohtorit, as impressive as they have been, have yet to prove that they can beat the teams of this caliber consistently, something that is extremely important in a playoff series. They also just lost twice to EXEN on Thursday. None of this is particularly inspiring for them, and when you combine with EXEN's experience, I just don't think that it's a favorable matchup for them. The one thing that I will say though is that this team has been used to being doubted. Just like I am doubting them right now, they have been doubted since the before the season started. Yet every time they have prove these doubted wrong. They are playing against an EXEN team that has disappointed in these Quarterfinals in the past, including just last season. I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if I was wrong, but I think EXEN will just be a little too much for this tough Tohorit team to overcome. Prediction: EXEN in 5 Who do you think will win each series? Are there any key points or factors that I may have not covered? Let me know in the comments! FOLLOW THE ECL ELITE PLAYOFFS LIVE You can watch live coverage of EVERY GAME of the Elite Division playoffs on Twitch, YouTube and X. Week 1: Monday 20.5 - 19:45 CEST | #4 Tohtorit vs #5 EXEN & #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #8 The Black Jacks | Games 1-2 Wednesday 22.5 - 19:15 CEST | #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #8 The Black Jacks | Games 3-7 Thursday 23.5 - 20:45 CEST | #4 Tohtorit vs #5 EXEN | Games 3-7 Week 2: Monday 27.5 - 19:45 CEST | #3 Tunnel Vision vs #6 Björklöven Esport & #2 Straikers vs #7 Unwanted | Games 1-2 Tuesday 28.5 - 19:15 CEST | #3 Tunnel Vision vs #6 Björklöven Esport |Games 3-7* Wednesday 29.5 - 19:15 CEST | #2 Straikers vs #7 Unwanted | Games 3-7* *These dates may be reverse