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SportsGamers, This news story is for you to understand the ECL Ranking for teams at the end of the ECL '23 Winter season. That means that this ranking determines the eligibility for teams entering various divisions this upcoming ECL '23 Spring season.    Below you will find a list of teams that have secured a division spot at the Elite, Pro or Lite league level. If you didn't find your team on the list, don't worry! You can apply for a wildcard spot for your team in the Pro qualifiers or participate in the Lite qualifiers, which are open to everyone this season. Elite 1 Elite 🏆 Tunnel Vision 2 Elite 🥈 Frölunda HC 3 Elite 3 JYP Jyväskylä 4 Elite 4 hREDS 5 Elite 5 Reality Check HC 6 Elite 6 JANO 7 Elite 7 ZSC Esports 8 Elite 8 Nordic Stars 9 Elite 9 GOONS 10 Elite 10 Färjestad BK 11 Elite 11 Falun Coal Miners 12 Elite 12 Roots Gaming 13 Elite 13 Växjö Lakers 14 Pro 🥇 ▲ Tohtorit 15 Pro 3 ▲ Örebro Hockey 16 Pro 4 ▲ Nemesis   Pro 1 Elite 14 ▼ Unlucky Boys 2 Elite 15 ▼ ISO ESPORTS 3 Elite 16 ▼ Luleå Hockey 4 Pro 🥈 Leksands IF 5 Pro 5 Be a Bro 6 Pro 6 RCTIC 7 Pro 7 Golden Nights 8 Pro 8 Djurgården Hockey 9 Pro 9 VISU Gaming 10 Pro 10 Herlev Eagles 11 Pro 11 Renascor 12 Pro 12 IK Oskarshamn 13 Pro 13 Memento 14 Pro 14 HanaaHC 15 Pro 15 Deadly Phantoms 16 Pro 16 Bjorkloven Esport 17 Pro 17 Gifu Hockey 18 Pro 18 Arkham Asylum 19 Pro 19 Lulea Hockey Academy 20 Pro 20 Valco 21 Pro 21 Bastu 22 Pro 22 Venom 23 Lite 🥇 ▲ Pirati Chomutov Esports 24 Lite 🥈 ▲ Project X 25 Lite 🥉 ▲ Gunners HC 26 Pro Qualifiers   27 Pro Qualifiers   28 Pro Qualifiers   29 Pro Qualifiers   30 Pro Qualifiers   31 Pro Qualifiers   32 Pro Qualifiers     Pro Qualifiers 1 Pro 25 Hawaii Hockey 2 Pro 26 Ace Hockey 3 Pro 27 Synergy Hockey 4 Pro 28 Company of Geeks 6 Pro 29 TTK 5 Pro 30 Inter Iceland 7 Lite 4 Six Sticks Misfits 9 Lite 5 Prestige 8 Lite 6 Herforder Ice Dragons 10 Lite 7 Vizio 11 Lite 8 Purification 12 Lite 9 Hunters 13 Wildcard   14 Wildcard   15 Wildcard   16 Wildcard     Pro Qualifier Wildcard requirements Three former Elite starters or four former Pro starters A starter is defined as having played 16 or more games in the ECL '23 Winter season, or 20 or more games in the ECL '22 Spring season If there are more players from the same team that relegated out of the Pro (in the same season) in the team applying for a wildcard, they will be counted as one player What if all Pro Qualifier positions are not filled? Teams will not be promoted straight and all open spots will be filled through qualifiers (excluding automatically relegated/promoted teams). If there happens to be more open spots than anticipated (e.g. from teams disbanding which would have been invited to play in the qualifier) spots are filled as follows: Pro Qualifiers Pro relegated teams Lite #10-16 Wildcard teams #5-8 Lite #17-32   Lite 1 Pro Qualifiers   2 Pro Qualifiers   3 Pro Qualifiers   4 Pro Qualifiers   5 Pro Qualifiers   6 Pro Qualifiers   7 Pro Qualifiers   8 Pro Qualifiers   9 Pro Qualifiers   10 Pro 29 ▼ Team NGU 11 Pro 30 ▼ Mora IK 12 Pro 31 ▼ Frolunda HC Academy 13 Lite 10 Neptune Hockey 14 Lite 11 RoKi Esports 15 Lite 12 Timrå IK Esport 16 Lite 13 Sodertalje SK 17 Lite 14 EHC Kloten eSports 18 Lite 15 NOSTREETSPORTS 19 Lite 16 DEG eSports 20 Lite 17 Lions Academy 21 Lite 18 Stone Age 22 Lite 19 Blessed Suedis 23 Lite 20 Sawolanche 24 Lite 21 Lemmenvelhot 25 Lite 22 Unique 26 Lite 23 BIG Mistake 27 Lite 24 SCB eSports 28 Lite 25 Resurrection 29 Lite 26 TROJANS 30 Lite 27 Technical Disaster 31 Lite 28 Skelleftea AIK 32 Lite 29 Ultimatum 33 Lite 30 EHC Dinamo Riga 34 Lite 31 xBOTS 35 Lite 32 Armada Hockey 36 Lite 33 Oulunsalo HT 37 Lite 34 Sunne IK Esport 38 Lite 35 Wildcats esport 39 Lite 36 PunaKala 40 Lite 37 Bad to the Bone 41 Lite 38 Ghost 42 Lite 39 Including Me 43 Lite 40 Nurnberg Ice Tigers eSport 44 Lite 41 Golden Sticks 45 Lite 42 United Front 46 Lite 43 Woodhands 47 Lite 44 Lulea Hockey Region 48 Lite 45 Saucer Hockey 49 Lite 46 Chiefzz HC 50 Lite 47 Rahinage 51 Lite 48 HC VADELMA 52 Core 🥇 ▲ Cheeky Grinders 53 Core 🥈 ▲ HC KOROBKA 54 Core 🥉 ▲ Hannover Indians eSports 55 Core 4 ▲ Deggendorfer SC Esports 56 Lite Qualifiers   57 Lite Qualifiers   58 Lite Qualifiers   59 Lite Qualifiers   60 Lite Qualifiers   61 Lite Qualifiers   62 Lite Qualifiers   63 Lite Qualifiers   64 Lite Qualifiers   All teams without an Elite, Pro or Lite league spot can participate in the Lite qualifiers without restrictions. The format of the qualifiers will be decided according to the number of participants. Promotion and relegation rules of Lite and Core will be reviewed before the start of the season.

SportsGamers, At the end of the ECL '23 Winter season, Cheeky Grinders have been crowned Champions of the Core division in their inaugural ECL Campaign. The team was dominant from start to finish, pushing into the Playoffs as the #1 seed and claiming the title with a sweep in the Finals against HC KOROBKA. Cheeky Grinders' road to the championship: #1 seed from Group 2 with the record 20-2-2 Round 1: vs Ambri eSports (16) 4-0 Quarterfinals: vs HC Pustertal eSports (12) (8) 4-1 Semifinals: vs Deggendorfer SC Esports (6) 4-1 Finals: vs HC KOROBKA (2) 4-0 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #15 @Lleppanenn #69 @keltainenankka #88 @Leppadinho DEFENSEMEN #23 @tigerrbackwoods #24 @OGPerenzo FORWARDS #27 @tonninen #77 @Yaredhagos #81 @Ekifoukka On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!

SportsGamers, With all of the top tier leagues and tournaments going on at the moment, we are now introducing Novelle Weekend - a casual single day tournament, skill capped with the goal to give new players a feel for competitive NHL esports. Novelle Weekend is produced in cooperation with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association and features cool prizes for top performers from Novelle and Leijonat! Novelle Weekend will be played as a single day tournament on 25.3.2023 and features separate divisions for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Check the full rulebook for all restrictions and the format. Prizes All participants enter a raffle for 1 month worth of Novelle (24 bottles). 1. 6 months worth of Novelle (192 bottles) + Leijonat fan set 2. 3 months worth of Novelle (96 bottles) 3. 1 month worth of Novelle (24 bottles) This is the perfect opportunity for newer players to get a feel for competitive gaming and prove their skill in a low pressure environment. Make sure to sign up and tell your friends, it'll be a fun day of gaming! Sign up here: *Only Finnish residents are eligible to participate in Novelle Weekend. For info in Finnish, head over to sportsgamer.gg/novelle.

Finland completes a successful title defense in the 2023 IIHF eWorld Championship and seals a second onsecutive Championship on the virtual ice. After a thrilling comeback in the Semifinals, Canada was no match for the Finns in the Finals. The second consecutive IIHF eWorld Championships in the revamped format has concluded and with that, Finland has now hoisted the trophy for the second consecutive year. This season, Erik @Eki Tammenpää and Jesse @JesseL2002 Linden represented the Finnish Leijonat and proved excellent teamwork throughout the tournament as both players had their times to shine. In the Finals, team Finland managed to beat Canada, represented by Justin @Regs84 Reguly and Samuel @Canadiens 27 (CadCooks) Landry. As the 2022 Finals were some of the most thrilling action we've got to witness in NHL esports history, these Finals were decided with a wider margin. However, the Finns were in a pickle in the Semifinals against USA Hockey and barely squeezed through with an incredible comeback completed by Eki in game 4 of the series. How did it feel to play today, especially getting used to high ping games? @Eki: "I'd say it felt rather easy to play today 'cause we got used to the ping a bit yesterday in the Semifinals." @JesseL2002: "As Eki said, we had some time to get used to it yesterday and today it felt really smooth and did't go into the red zone at all." Eki, you played some tight games against Regs today, what are your thoughts on his game? "I've said it in previous interviews, and I've played Regs a few times in high stakes games before. He is definitely the best player I've played on the international stage and just levels ahead of the competition. Although they played with a worse team in the Finals, it felt like he had the advantage at times." Jesse, you managed to dominate your games today right from the get-go, what happened? "I don't even know, goals happened, that's for sure. The first game was definitely pretty good, and I managed to set a good tone for the day. I hadn't scouted my opponent and just went into the games with a clean slate. I felt like i had control of the games all along and although my opponent tied it at 3-3 at one point, I just kept scoring and everything seemed to go my way." @Eki: "About Jesse, I have to say he's been a great teammate throughout the tournament and afforded me to play without pressure in the Finals, in the Quarterfinals I also felt a bit off my game and he was excellent then also." Once again, congratulations to both Jesse and Eki for their Championship! 🏆

We’re back with the biggest Finnish eHockey event of the year, big cash prizes and bigger Championship titles in both 1v1 and 6v6 on the line! Sign up now to compete among the very best in the 2023 eHockey Finnish Championship. The competitive NHL 23 season is chugging along nicely and with that the time has come to announce the next season of the eHockey Finnish Championships, licensed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. In the eHockey Finnish Championships, there’s obviously a Championship title on the line, but also some big cash prizes with a 10 000€ prize pool, and great Leijonat prize packages for top performers. This could be your time to shine! For the Finnish landing page, click here. Participation requires purchase of an eHockey Pelipassi (purchases made in 2022 are still valid this season) and payment of a participation fee (5€/player). All participation fees go directly into funding the prize pool. Both the eHockey Pelipassi and participation fee can be paid and acquired in the Suomisport-portal. Starting in late March, this eHockey SM is the second of its sort and one of the cornerstones in the cooperation between SportsGamer and the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. The inaugural season was one full of exciting action and incredible turns of events. In late 2022, Jere @jxrska Laukka was crowned the Champion on the 1v1 side of things, whereas GOONS managed to claim the trophy on the 6v6 side. The reigning Champions will receive invites to the Playoff stage to defend their titles. As in previous iterations of the tournament, we’ll play for the title in both the 1v1 and 6v6 game modes of NHL 23. 1v1 will be played strictly on PlayStation 5, whereas 6v6 teams will be able to participate both with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game. SCHEDULE Signups: 6.3-25.3 Tournament: 27.3-6.5 See the full schedule listed per game mode below. SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE Schedule for the 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championship: Registrations: 5.-25.3. Tournament: 27.3.-6.5. Group stage: 27.3.-6.4. Playoffs Round 1 (64) 9.-10.4. Playoffs Round 2 (32) 12.-13.4. Playoffs Round 3 (16) 16.-17.4. Quarterfinals (8) 19.-20.4. Semifinals (4) 28.-29.4. Bronze & Finals (2) 6.5. * * The schedule and location of the Finals is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Find the 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championship rulebook here! (Finnish) SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Schedule for the 1v1 eHockey Finnish Championship: Registration: 5. -25.3. Tournament: 29.3.-5.5. Group Stage 29.3.-8.4. Playoffs Round 1 (120) 11.4. Playoffs Round 2 (60) 12.4. Playoffs Round 3 (30) 15.4. Playoffs Round 4 (16) 17.-20.4. Quarterfinals (8) 22.4. LIVE Finals (4) 5.5.* * The schedule and location of the Finals is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Find the 1v1 eHockey Finnish Championship rulebook here (Finnish) With more parity than ever before across the sport and some interesting roster movement in top teams, the Championship could be up for grabs for anyone this season. We’ll know at the start of May and we’re as excited as ever to follow the action! Signups are now open and will close on Saturday, March 25th, so make sure to gather your friends and challenge the big dogs in one of the biggest tournaments of the eHockey season! Please note: Information about the SCL and ECL Spring will be available next week.

SportsGamers, After an impressive campaign throughout a long Lite season, we have crowned a new Champion in Pirati Chomutov Esports! The Czech outfit consisting of several Central European top players were unmatched offensively throughout the season and managed to best Project X in the Finals. Tohtorit's road to the championship: #5 seed from Group 2 with the record 23-2-1 Round 1: vs Armada Hockey (28) 4-0 Round 2: vs EHC Kloten eSports (13) 4-1 Quarterfinals: vs Prestige (8) 4-2 Semifinals: vs Gunners HC (3) 4-1 Finals: vs Project X (7) 4-3 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #8 @Deathstrokeris (DeathcoreFace) DEFENSEMEN #88 @JiFi23 #99 @SNIPER_SNAIL_VB FORWARDS #23 @Winci #68 @Adri1_SCP #69 @Kumbik (A) #96 @KB24242 (C) On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!

SportsGamers, Tonight we'll be kicking off the ECL '23 Winter Lite Finals with a banger of a series! Pirati Chomutov Esports and Project X will be battling it out this week with games 1-3 tonight, followed by the rest of the series on Wednesday. A total of 1600€ will be split between both of these teams, who have claimed a spot in the Pro division for next season. Who will hoist the trophy, though?    Pirati Chomutov Esports (5) vs  Project X (7) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) @Adri1_SCP 20 GP, 28+25=53  vs @JesseL2002 21 GP, 23+29=52 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) @Deathstrokeris (DeathcoreFace) 20 GP, 16 W, 80,09 SV%, 2.1 GAA, 4 SO vs @Easygame20 (Torvelajr__) 14 GP, 10 W, 85,95 SV%, 1.86 GAA, 3 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 23-2-1 vs 20-5-1 In the Finals this season we'll be in for a clash of two rather different schools of hockey. The Central European super squad Pirati Chomutov are running a fast style of transition hockey, whereas Project X can do that also, but tend to resort to a more traditional style of buildup play. As a player who went up against Pirati Chomutov Esports in the Semifinals and ended up being outmached, I have to admit, I was unfamiliar with their game. The confidence that team is able to attack with at the moment is extremely difficult to counter, and their ability to utilize a second wave of attackers jumping in on the rush is unlike anything else in the Lite division this season.  Project, on the other hand will definitely be able to match Pirati in terms of production, with a drastically different style as iterated before. @JesseL2002 has been an important cornerstone and definitely one of the biggest transfers ahead of the season. Experience will definitely be a factor in the favor of Project X, and they'll need to utilize that in order to adjust their play according to what Pirati will show offensively early on in the series. At times, @Easygame20 has been able to keep Project X alive in the playoffs, and he will be a player to keep your eye on throughout the series.  Prediction: 4-2 Pirati Chomutov Esports

What a weekend we've had, and what a turn of events in the World Finals, as the NACL Champions Entourage came to foreign soil and shut down the audience, cleaning house in the process. The North American juggernauts of the scene have remained a tthe top of their game for such a long time, and throughout roster changes in various directions, they've alwys been able to remain competitive.  The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #11 Ivan @IvanDelosh (xDelee) Delosh #79 Justin @Rampage l79l Horn DEFENSEMEN #8 Jeremy @Doughty x i8i Gaynor (A) #37 Samuel @Time2shineee Germain #65 Francis @Dumoulin65 Dumoulin FORWARDS #27 François-Xavier @BoilyHP Boily #71 Lucas @hxndry Hendry (C) #86 Ethan @xDeath (Ethancy) Macdonald #93 Matthew @gilly Walters (A) What a fantastic battle, did you guys feel like this was a harder challenge than you expected it to be? "I really feel like that could have gone either way in any of those games, so for it to end in five for us definitely feels great, so shoutout to Tunnel Vision and GGs!" So now that the trophy is yours, are you going to take it easy for a while or will you be going back to the office at the start of the week? "I mean, we came here for a reason and we really only had one job and that job's finished. We got the W like we wanted and from here we'll just keep climbing and hoping for the next one." Finally, what does it mean to you to be the World Champions? "I mean, it means the world. To represent NA well and to represent all of NHL esports well. Shoutout to SportsGamer and everyone involved, this was an awesome tournament and I'm really thankful for everyone here."  

SportsGamers, Today is the day we've been waiting for. Finally, the NACL Champions Entourage have got their worthy opponent with the ECL Champions Tunnel Vision. These two monstrous teams will be going at it tonight in a full best-of-seven series to determine once and for all, who is the best NHL 23 team in the world. The setting is unlike anything else, because how do you really prepare to play a team that you've never faced before, and whose playstyle is based on an entirely different school of hockey? Thus far, these teams have only been able to watch each other on video, and come puck drop tonight at 18:30 CET, sparks will certainly fly. Saturday, February 25th - 18:30 CET/ 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT The NHL 23 World Finals @ Assembly Winter 2023 Entourage vs Tunnel Vision TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Ethan @xDeath (Ethancy) Macdonald 19 GP, 29+28=57 vs Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 18 GP, 14+8=22 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Justin @Rampage l79l Horn 19 GP, 16 W, 83,18 SV%, 1.89 GAA, 3 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 18 GP, 12 W, 87,79 SV%, 1.17 GAA, 7 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 17-0-3 vs 27-0-3 *Stats drawn from both teams campaigns in their respective leagues We're hoping to see as many as possible of you at the event or showing support for your favorite teams in the chat at Twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG, lots of SportsGamer staff and community personalities will be present in both capacities! Let's enjoy the unique atmosphere of the community coming together and make this an event to remember.

SportsGamers, After an intense series against Frölunda HC, we've crowned Tunnel Vision the ECL '23 Winter Elite Champions at Assembly. The young squad hoisted their first ever ECL trophy and are now in for another challenge against Entourage in the inaugural World Finals Saturday evening.  Tunnel Vision's road to the championship: #1 seed from with the record 27-0-3 Quarterfinals: vs JANO (8) 4-1 Semifinals: vs JYP Jyväskylä (5) 4-2 Finals: vs Frölunda HC (3)  The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #7 Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen #86 Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos DEFENSEMEN #24 Veeti @Wenger Paloneva #65 Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen FORWARDS #9 Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen #37 Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen #67 Aleksi @MozjaTG Kähkönen   We managed to reach out to the Tunnel Vision goalie Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen amidst all the celebration: You're the Champions after an imcredibly tough series against Frölunda HC, how does the win make you feel? "It was a good series, and I have a massive respect for the fight that Frölunda put up against us. We had a good chance that we managed to capitalize on in Game 7, which ended up being the decisive factor. Feels great!" The series was a back-and-forth affair throughout, why do you think that is? "That's a thing I was wondering about during play also, I think we just weren't able to stick to our game after a win and lacked a bit of consistency." How do you turn around from here and start prepping for tomorrow? "I don't think we'll spend that much time prepping. We've done our groundwork and scouted Entourage ahead of time and will be riding today's flow with a new focus." On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!

SportsGamers, We are ready for a spectacle at Assembly Winter 2023, where over the course of the weekend, we'll see both the ECL and the WorldFinals trophies hoisted. Tonight, Tunnel Vision and Frölunda HC will start the action with a best-of-seven series in the bright lights of the main stage. The players are excited and there's a certain kind of electricity in the air, so let us set the scene.  Tunnel Vision  (1)  vs Frölunda HC  (3) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 11 GP, 7+9=16 vs Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala 9 GP, 12+9=21 GOALTENDER Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 11 GP, 8 W, 87,13 SV%, 1.18 GAA, 4 SO vs Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 9 GP, 8 W, 89,52 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 4 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 27-0-3 vs 22-4-4 Tunnel Vision has trodden a path of continuous success this season, without the faintest signs of slowing down. The young roster have grown to being a well oiled machine that is now competing at the very highest level, and are aiming to take over the throne from the likes of hREDS and Frölunda, who have been reigning supreme at the top for so long. This season, the prolific scoring winger Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen really underlined the dominance of his team by claiming the regular season scoring title with a career defining performance throughout. Much of his success is attributed to the excellent chemistry and balance that the team has been able to find, with every player chipping in in all situations.  The powerhouse Frölunda HC have made their return to the Finals after one season of absence from the brightest of spotlights. Now with a true NHL 19 dream team, this squad is ready as ever to take on the biggest of challenges. Experience is without a doubt one of the biggest assets that Frölunda HC have on their side, with all of their players holding several titles already and lots of LAN events and Finals under their belts. That is a massive advantage, going into an event where we are expecting record attendance at the big stage. On the virtual ice, the team clearly had a transition period due to several roster moves and position changes, but they've really been able to find their way and have looked unstoppable at times in the Playoffs. Most recently, Frölunda managed to take down the mighty hREDS, who no team have won in a Playoff series for a long, long time. The big, bad reds have been an obstacle on Frölunda's path to the Championship for a long time already, but now that they're out of the way, we'll wait with excitement to see if anyone will be able to stop this Championship train.  We handed the prediction over to our community this time, and here are the end results: You will be able to watch both the ECL '23 Winter Elite Finals and the NHL 23 World Finals unfold this weekend either live at Assembly Winter 2023 in Helsinki, Finland, or on our stream over at Twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG.   Weekend Schedule Friday, February 24th - 18:30 CET/ 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT The ECL '23 Winter Elite Finals @ Assembly Winter 2023 Frölunda HC  (3) vs Tunnel Vision  (1) Saturday, February 25th - 18:30 CET/ 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT The NHL 23 World Finals @ Assembly Winter 2023 Entourage  vs TBD   We're hoping to see as many as possible of you at the event or showing support for your favorite teams in the chat, lots of SportsGamer staff and community personalities will be present in both capacities! Let's enjoy the unique atmosphere of the community coming together and make this an event to remember.

We're in for a historic weekend at Assembly Winter 2023 with two high stakes Finals series, and are very excited for all of you to join us for the action! On February 25th, NHL esports history will be made, as for the first time ever, a North American team will be going head-to-head with an European team in a competitive live setting. The stakes couldn’t be any higher, since in addition to the inaugural World Finals Championship title, there’s also a hefty 6000 € prize pool on the table. Combined with winnings earned in the continental leagues for each Finalist, that means a total of 14 000€ in winnings shared between the two teams. “The World Finals have been a dream of ours for several years already and it’s been a great challenge to make this happen. We’re glad to finally make it happen and etch our names into the NHL esports history books.” - Kenneth @Kenu Lehtinen, SportsGamer COO The NHL 23 World Finals is a historic event in NHL 6v6 esports, and the buildup has been going on throughout the winter. The two teams competing at the big stage consist of the Champions of their respective continental leagues, and while the NACL Champion Entourage have made their way to Finland and are currently plotting their winning strategies, there's still a massive ECL Finals series about to go down on Friday night for Tunnel Vision and Frölunda HC. The winner of the ECL Finals will not only claim the throne as European Champion, but also punch their ticket to Saturday's historic World Finals against the aforementioned Entourage. Of course, you will be able to watch all of the action unfold this weekend either live at Assembly Winter 2023 in Helsinki, Finland, or on our stream over at Twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG. Weekend Schedule Friday, February 24th - 18:30 CET/ 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT The ECL '23 Winter Elite Finals @ Assembly Winter 2023 Frölunda HC (3) vs Tunnel Vision (1) Saturday, February 25th - 18:30 CET/ 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT The NHL 23 World Finals @ Assembly Winter 2023 Entourage vs TBD We're hoping to see as many as possible of you at the event or showing support for your favorite teams in the chat, lots of SportsGamer staff and community personalities will be present in both capacities! Let's enjoy the unique atmosphere of the community coming together and make this an event to remember.

SportsGamers, This season, our ECL Elite Player Awards vote will return and all of you will have the opportunity to impact who will receive the individual awards at the end of the season. We have six categories in total with five nominees in each category. While some nominees have been selected due to their statistically superior performance, there has been space for a slightly more subjective approach too. We've had a jury pick out two of the five nominees in all five categories based on their votes. Voting will open effective immediately and we're asking you to cast your votes by Tuesday, February 21st at 23:59 CET. The awards will be presented in the ECL '23 Winter Finals broadcasts on Friday, February 24th. Make sure to cast your vote in order to support your favorite player! Here's a list of all the nominees in all the different award categories. You'll find the embedded poll at the end of each category, so make sure to cast your votes!   Top Forward The Top Forward award is awarded to a player that has excelled above the competition in their forward position. Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen, Tunnel Vision  The young winger moved from GOONS to Tunnel Vision in the offseason as the replacement of Jere @jxrska Laukka and took off immediately. He has been able to score from anywhere in the offensive zone and with the hot stick, bounces seemed to favor him all season long too! Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, hREDS  Perhaps the best centerman in the game is able to elevate players flanking him while simultaneously being very reliable defensively. An unusually high scoring centerman, who finished #2 in the scoring race this season. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen, hREDS  The hREDS prodigy has cemented his position as one of the absolute top forwards in the Elite division and had an excellent season, earning him 3rd place in the scoring race.  Wade @Wpaanane Paananen, JANO  Ahead of the season, expectations for JANO were somewhere around the no-mans-land, but the team quickly showed that they've been able to gel together, and winger wpaanane had greatly elevated his level of play just in time for his rookie season in Elite.  Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen, Tunnel Vision  One of the most efficient scorers in Elite already last season continued in great form also this season. Now with a different winger duo beside him, Vattuyy looks even more versatile than before.   Powered by Poll Maker     As stated, the voting will be open until Tuesday, February 21st at 23:59 CEST, so make sure to cast your votes before that and tune in to the finals broadcast on Friday February 24th for all the action and the voting results!

SportsGamers, the Player Spotlight series is making its return with the objective of showcasing gamers that would perhaps otherwise fall outside normal reporting, but that we want to get to know better. Our strength is this community, so let's get to know each other! After a longer hiatus, we're now back with another Player Spotlight, and this time we're having a chat with one of the most dominant players in the Lite division this season. Patrik @Winci Wenzel and his team Pirati Chomutov Esports have been tearing up the division with their rapidfire offense and are about to start their Semifinals series against Gunners HC tonight. We're all excited to see how far this team can go! 1. What was your first experience with the EASHL mode in NHL? I think it was in NHL 19, that was the first time I played the game since NHL 07 on the PSP. I started playing with team HC hybridi and jumped into my first season in ECL Neo. 2. What’s the best part of playing for your current club? Definitely the fact that we get huge support from the Piráti Chomutov team. Also I can't forget my teammates, I have known several of them for a long time and I am glad that we managed to get together like this again. 3. What is your greatest NHL gaming memory? So far it would definitely be the season in ECL 11 Lite, where we reached the semi-finals with Grenoble BDL Esport and also the next our first season in ECL Pro, when we managed to reach the playoffs. 4. Describe your perfect breakfast! I dont have breakfast very often, but when I do my favorite is scrambled eggs with toast and bacon. 5. You're GM for a day and get to pick any player for your 6v6 team but none of your current teammates. Who's in your starting six and why? I will choose based on who I had the opportunity to play with or against. @xLeikku- @dzouvi - @Pappen @Mikax222 - @ripKeisari @sumskoy26 6. What was your dream job growing up and what do you currently do? When I was a kid I wanted to be a hockey player, now I work for a company that provides heat and domestic hot water. 7. Do you play or have you played hockey? I played hockey for 10 years, but I injured my leg for a long time, so i quit. 8. What’s your best hockey memory? When my hometown team HC VERVA Litvínov won their first title in the Czech Tipsport Extraliga in 2015. 9. What do you like to do in your spare time besides playing NHL? I also like to play other games like FIFA or F1. I like to watch sports events of any kind and I like to spend some time with my family or friends. 10. Pizza with three toppings, what are your choices? Pepperoni, ham and mozzarella cheese. 11. You're the locker room DJ and get one song to hype up your team. What do you play? Kabát - Dole v dole 12. How did you come up with your PSN ID? My last name is Wenzel, so my friends started calling me Winci. But Winci was already taken as PSN ID, so i just had to add something. 13. Who’s the best player in the ECL according to you? I think @laitineen64 is really fun to watch. 14. Describe your ideal holiday! I would like to travel with my dad to USA for match of NHL. 15. Now it's up to you to suggest who we should interview next. Who do you want to hear from and why? I think @Kumbik would make a great interview.   Feel free to also suggest who you'd want to see in the Player Spotlight-series. Also, if there are any questions you'd like us to add to the arsenal, let us know!