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SportsGamers, We're rolling on with the 2022 eHockey Finnish championships and it's now time for the second playoff round to kick off. Thus far, we've seen several interesting matchups and while most of the higher seeds have been able to secure their spot in the second round, some highly surprising results also came out of the first round. Most notably, 57th seed Ace Hockey took the playoffs by storm by overcoming #8 seed Masin Maansiirto in a thrilling game 5 overtime finish. Another surprising finish to a series was the 3-0 sweep that Hartsport United was able to conduct in their matchup against Hawaii Hockey. These two teams have another big challenge ahead of them in the second round for sure! Some rather exciting mathcups are in store for us in the second round, as the likes of YMCA Esports and JYP Jyväskylä will be clashing already early into the postseason. One of the big names will be out early, it seems. Setelit On Ice will be facing Big Mistake in a series that could go either way and will certainly depend on the form of the night.  Lastly, Reality Check vs Hotbox is going to be a series you'll want to follow along with. There's a lot of familiarity between these two squads and the matchup is a great rivalry for bragging rights going further. The second round of the playoffs (BO5) is to be played between Wednesday, 7th of September and Sunday, 11th of September. Head over to the league page for the playoff matchups!

SportsGamers, We've entered the Playoff stage of the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championships and with that, it's also time for #1 seed and invitee FILADELPHIA to take the ice for the first time in the tournament. They'll have the favorable position of facing off against the 64th seed Tampere Taisto, which should be a soft entry for them into the eHSM action. All in all, it was a rather exciting group stage once again with most of the favorites marching through with ease, while others had to fight harder for their postseason push. One of the most exciting surprises in the group stage must be Setelit On Ice, who made a comeback just before the tournament started and ended up grabbing the #1 spot in their group ahead of other established outfits, such as Roots Gaming, GHETTO FIREBIRDS and GIFU Hockey. Nemesis is another squad that managed to squeak by some great teams to clinch that #1 spot in their group, putting them in a great position for the playoffs, whereas the likes of Golden Nights and Valco finished a bit lower than they perhaps would have wanted. The toughest race to the finish line was seen in group 2, where three teams ended up going for the tiebreakers for the 2nd place finish. Be a Bro, Kouvola Screaming Eagles and Gunners HC all finished with 22 points even, had 11 wins each and split points between the three of them in the group stage, so the eventual tiebreaker ended up being goal differential.  The first round of the playoffs (BO5) is to be played between Sunday, 4th of September and Tuesday, 6th of September. Head over to the league page for the playoff matchups!

At around 20 CEST last night, the NHL 23 Technical test focused around the World of Chel was released and we hope all of you have received your codes in the mailbox by now. This is an exciting time for our community and we hope all of you will have some fun testing out the early build of NHL 23 over the next few days. As always, these tests are early versions of the game and don't show the full finalized product, but are here for the community to get a taste of what's to come and voice their opinions. As one of the biggest NHL gaming sites in the world - not to mention the amazing talent and passion of our community members - we want to help out with this. That is why we're reaching out to you in order to hear what you think. Any concerns and opinions are welcome, both the good and bad. Please let us know in the comments section about anything you run into during your time with the game and expand on the topic as much as possible. If you enjoy something in particular e.g. the passing in the Technical Test, be sure to bring that out also to make sure it doesn't change. If you find any bugs, please let us know as much detail as possible, so that the development team will be able to recreate them as accurately as possible. Please note that the official EA Answers HQ forum is also live and taking feedback and that is the official way of providing feedback of the technical test. You can find it by clicking this text.

NHL 23 is the most connected virtual hockey experience to date and despite all the focus on bringing us cross-play, NHL 23 also brings us some other news! Last Chance Puck Movement Hockey is most certainly a contact sport and one of the most frequent gameplay occurrences is some type of player contact and situations where you’ll end up jostling for position. In previous iterations of the game, these events have led to the offensive player being unable to react, but NHL 23’s Last Chance Puck Movement will address that issue. With over 500 new animations, you’ll now be able to move and shoot the puck more realistically than ever just like the superstars of the NHL do on a nightly basis. The development team has added a new mechanic accompanying Last Chance Puck Movement, which allows players to dive for the puck in a desperation attempt by double tapping the shoot or pass button when skating towards a loose puck. In order to balance out the playing field, desperation moves have been added to defensive play features too. The key factor in puck battles moving forward will be body positioning, and the player with the more favorable position will be able to counter plays more easily. Updated strategies NHL 23 aims to bring you more control of the game than ever before and does so by allowing you to use new strategies. Two new strategies have been added to the game, which are the 1-3-1 power play and the 1-1-2 penalty kill. You’ll now be able to control these strategies by assigning player positioning before and after faceoff draws and utilizing the new X-Factors in order to get the most of your special teams whenever you get the chance! You'll also be able to select player specific roles for your powerplay, so now you're in total control to get the right players on the job. Balanced gameplay With balancing the game in mind, NHL 23 will be improving the ability for defensemen in passing lanes to pick up the puck and intercept passes, again, with the key factor being body positioning and field of view for the player. Offensive players will still be able to play the puck in behind defensemen if their positioning is more favorable. Community feedback about poke checks has also been heard, and with that, the development team has been able to make some improvements mainly in relation to the effectiveness of poke checks when chasing or in a bad position. There will now also be a speed penalty when activating the defensive skill stick. NHL 23 will be available on October 14th, 2022 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information visit https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/nhl-23.

SportsGamers, The group draw for the 6v6 2022 SCL has been completed, and as a result we've got four groups with 7-8 teams each. Out of each group, four teams will make it to the playoffs. This will amount to 16 teams in total. Schedule for the 6v6 SCL: Registration: 11.-26.8. Regular season: 28.8-11.9  Playoffs Round 1: 13.-15.9 Playoffs Round 2: 19.9 & 21.9 Quarterfinals: 26.9 & 28.9 Semifinals: 3.10 & 5.10 Finals: 8.10 Monday, Wednesday and Sunday are the default gamedays. Find the league standings and schedule here! Without further ado, here are your groups:

SportsGamers, We just saw the first footage of NHL 23 with the new reveal trailer and while there’s a lot going on in the minute and 41 seconds of footage, there’s not a lot of concrete information about the game we’re able to take away from it. However, some new additions to the game have been clearly highlighted, we’ll be taking a closer look at everything here. Also, if you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out below! First off, the trailer is very fast-paced and is built to look like a live broadcast. Whether that will have to do with the game looking to support the social aspects of the game and aid streamers and content creators alike in their work with the game, we’ll have to wait and see. The thing that is certain is that this year, there will be a heavy focus on social play, which is evident from the trailer, where cover athletes Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse are joined by TSN’s Marissa Roberto, the Ducks’ mascot Wild Wing and Zac “AlwaysHockey” Bell for some very arcadey looking hockey action in the HUT and EASHL game modes. Zegras flip and last chance puck movement These are some of the things you surely couldn’t miss in the trailer and especially the viral Zegras flip was something we expected to see in this year’s iteration. It looks like the flip will be triggered through the lacrosse move animation and is going to be another variation that players can try to pull off from behind the net this year. On top of that, we’re seeing a few different examples of last chance puck movement, which allows your player to reach for a lost puck in a last chance effort to make a play. There’s the option to either go for a shot, like we see Trevor Zegras doing in the trailer on a few occasions, or you could opt for a pass, which is what Sarah Nurse is going for in the still image we’ve got below. Cross-platform matchmaking, mixed HUT teams and custom special teams strategies Here’s a screenshot that gives a lot of interesting information about the new game. It’s from the HUT hub and shows us that this year, we’ve got cross-platform matchmaking, which is confirmed to work within the console generations only (coming in a November update). Also, we’ll see mixed HUT teams with women’s national teams being added to the game mode, so now your dreams of having all the sport’s iconic players on your team can be a reality. Lastly, the screenshot hints that we could be seeing custom special teams strategies or at least an expanded amount of variation to the options on that front. NHL 23 will be available on October 14th, 2022 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information visit www.easports.com/NHL. For all new information on NHL 23, please check out our article about the game here! Notice anything cool or interesting that we missed? Let us know in the comments!

NHL 23 brings an enhanced Frostbite experience, cross-play and much more in the most connected virtual hockey experience to date. The new game is set to release on October 14th with preorder perks allowing early access. The yearly iteration of EA Sports NHL is closing in on us and the release date for NHL 23 has been set to October 14th. As usual, we’ll be getting the choice between a few different editions with some extra pre-order perks, which we’ll be taking a closer look at towards the end of this article. Once again, with NHL 23, the franchise really draws inspiration from some of the sport's most exciting and influential players. In recent years, we’ve seen an influx of exciting new talent into the NHL, breaking barriers of what we ever thought was possible on the ice. We’ve also seen the emergence of worldwide stars in women’s hockey and the momentum they’ve been able to generate for themselves has served the sport extremely well, but they’ve also paved the way for the younger generation looking up to them. This year, EA Sports NHL is adding more Women’s content than ever and including some of the greatest female players to ever take the ice in the HUT game mode, allowing you to make your dream team of the sport’s greatest players a reality. With this being said, the cover athletes acting as an inspiration for this year's game will be Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks and Sarah Nurse from the Canada Women’s National Team. If you missed it, check out our cover athlete reveal article here. “I’m pumped up and excited to be on the cover and it’s a huge honor for me. It’s a game I've been enjoying for quite some time and I’m pumped to see that so many of you have tried my moves out there. See you on the ice!” - Trevor Zegras “I’m so excited and honored to be the first ever female cover star on an NHL video game. Women’s hockey is definitely here to stay!” - Sarah Nurse Leaning into what Frostbite has to offer While last year was something of a transition year for the franchise, this year the development team should have really been able to lean into the full potential of what the Frostbite engine and the new generation consoles will be able to deliver, and from the snippets we’ve seen thus far, it’s looking promising. The visual aspects and the lighting is obvious, but the crowd atmosphere, dynamic momentum, emotion and overall immersion in the arenas is a thing that’ll be the next step with the new title. Last chance puck movement On top of the improvements and tweaks the team has been able to make to existing mechanics, some new things we’ll be seeing in NHL 23 is last chance puck movement and enhanced goaltender AI. While the latter might be rather self-explanatory, last chance puck movement is going to be an interesting one that might divide a lot of opinions. What it does is allowing your player to reach for the puck in a last chance effort to make a play on a loose puck. Whether it’s going to be a shot while falling down or a pass to your teammate, you can now go for these moves in a situation that might have previously been lost. Enhanced AI all around NHL 23 promises enhanced goaltender AI, but also really leans into the X-Factors that will now impact how the AI players play the game even more. For example, players with the One tee X-Factor now have a higher propensity to look for a shooting position and their teammates will actively try to find the passing lane for that rocket slapshot. Cross-play implementation What we’ve heard from the development team thus far, is that the connected experience has been their main goal for NHL 23, and we’re happy to report that they’ve been able to deliver on that front. While the community has been asking for cross-play be implemented to the NHL-series, we haven’t really seen or heard anything about it, until now. NHL 23 promises to bring full cross-play implementation to the Hockey Ultimate Team and World of Chel game modes, allowing PlayStation and Xbox users to play against each other for the first time in the series history. The one drawback is that cross-play won’t be available across console generations and it will not be available at launch, but is going to be included in an update in November. Cross-play promises to greatly improve the matchmaking experience and allow you to play with your friends regardless of the console commitment you’ve made - that’s a massive W in our books! Pre-order versions of NHL 23 - double entitlement NHL 23 features two versions of the game available for Pre-order starting today. Players will be able to opt for the standard version or the X-Factor Edition on any console. When opting which version to go for, keep in mind that while NHL 23 will include cross-play for consoles within the same generation, it does not feature cross-play between console generations. If you are planning on upgrading to a next generation console over the course of the NHL 23 life cycle, we can confirm that HUT progress will be transferable to some extent, meaning that the top 20 players and coach can be locked, whereas the rest of your collection will be converted into pack value towards your HUT team in the next gen version of NHL 23. Standard Edition - HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack - 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks - Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points - Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey X-Factor Edition - Double entitlement (Unlocks the game for both Gen 4 & Gen 5 consoles) - 3-Days early access - 46000 NHL Points - HUT X-Factor Player choice pack - HUT X-Factor Power-up starter pack - HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack - 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks - Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points - Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey Technical test and release date There will be a technical test going live most likely around the start of September, but no date or duration has been confirmed at the time of writing. As it is a technical test, the community will be asked to report feedback to the development team and also all streaming and recording of the work in progress is prohibited. Signups for the technical test have closed by now. NHL 23 will be available on October 14th, 2022 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information visit https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/nhl-23.

Canadian Women’s National team hero Sarah Nurse becomes the first female hockey player to grace the cover of an NHL video game, as she is featured on the cover of NHL 23 together with Anaheim Ducks highlight machine Trevor Zegras. For the first time in franchise history, the EA Sports NHL cover art will feature two athletes, when both Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse will grace the NHL 23 cover.  We’ve all seen the highlights and some of the impressive and creative moves that Trevor Zegras showed off in his sophomore year with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Most notably, the internet breaking flip pass for Sonny Milano against the Buffalo Sabres. As usual, the new iteration of the NHL video game series draws some inspiration from its cover athletes, so we wouldn’t be surprised if some of these moves have been added to the game.  Sarah Nurse has become an international hockey hero and an inspiration for the new generation of female hockey players. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, she not only led the tournament in scoring and capped off the tournament with a gold medal around her neck, but she also became the first ever black woman to win ice hockey gold at the Olympic stage.  Together with Trevor Zegras, Sarah Nurse is leading the charge of a new generation taking over the ice! Stay tuned for the full NHL 23 reveal tomorrow at 17:00 CEST, as we’ll be following the announcements closely and bring you the latest scoops on the new game as soon as they drop. You can follow along with tomorrow's first airing of the reveal trailer here:  

SportsGamers, The eighth season of GCL action kicked off in mid-June and these passionate gamers have been going at it throughout the hot summer months to once again crown a champion of the DACH-community. It's been the deal of two juggernauts lately as the long time torchbearer Deadly Phantoms has been joined by Swiss outfit ZSC Esports at the very top of the tables. At the end, it was a battle between these two that we got to witness in the finals, and eventually ZSC Esports came out on top! This is the second consecutive championship for the Lions. To cap off their successful night, also the GCL Cup final was played, where the Lions faced Hyperion. Despite the excellent challenge posed by Hyperion, they didn't manage to stand up to the giants, and Zürich secured their second trophy for the night, the first time ever a team wins both the GCL league and the GCL Cup in the same season.  ZSC Esports' road to the championship: #1 seed from group 2 with the record 19-1-0 Round 1: Bye Round 2: vs Beastie Boys (29) 4-0 Round 3: vs EiSKALATiON (13) 4-0 Quarterfinals: vs SCB eSports (10) 4-0 Semifinals: vs Hyperion (2) 4-1 Finals: vs Deadly Phantoms (1) 4-2 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #3 Christian @Fightlocke3 Schubert #22 Reto @afc_Tschitsch Ulrich #26 Mike @burban26 Müller (A) DEFENSEMEN #2 Chris @GERxVillain Ungeheuer #9 Max @Toneee9 Tonitz (A) #13 Reto @Haldeem Haldemann #86 Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala FORWARDS #21 Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi (C) #23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen #28 Alex @IDangledYouOut Wagner #39 Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg   Congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community, and a warm thank you to all participants!

SportsGamers, The group draw for the 6v6 2022 eHockey Finnish Championships has been completed, and as a result we've got eight groups with 9-10 teams each. Out of each group, seven teams will make it to the playoffs, together with the seven best #8 seeds based on points per game. This will amount to 63 teams in total, with FILADELPHIA joining the playoffs as seed #1 with their invitation. Join the 2022 eHSM Discord here: https://discord.gg/V6Bwkq4dAF Schedule for the 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championship: Registrations: 15.7.-14.8 Tournament: 17.8.-1.10 Group Stage: 17.8.-1.9 Round of 64: 4.-6.9 Round of 32: 8.-11.9 Round of 16: 13.-15.9 Quarterfinals: 18.-20.9 Semifinals: 22.-25.9 LIVE Finals: 1.10 * Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are the default gamedays. * The schedule and location of the Finals is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Find the league standings and schedule here! Get familiar with the 6v6 rulebook here! Without further ado, here are your groups:

In late July, EA Sports revealed their next iteration of the massively popular FIFA-series, resulting in lots of excitement, but also an uproar in the Pro Clubs community! As expected, with a new iteration of the wildly popular title, the chart-topping football series will be seeing some changes once the game drops on September 30th, 2022. It has been confirmed that with the severance of their FIFA-relationship, FIFA 23 will be the last game in the series bearing the FIFA name, potentially also pointing to other changes in the future - but for that we'll just have to wait and see. FIFA 23 will also, for the first time ever, include a female athlete on the cover of the game as Chelsea's Sam Kerr joins the cover with French speedster Kylian Mbappé. Cross-play controversy One of the first big announcements regarding FIFA 23 was the inclusion of cross-play, but this didn't come without some drawbacks. In their first announcement, it was mentioned that cross-play will only be featured in 1v1-game modes, meaning that the popular Pro Clubs mode would be left out. Naturally, the announcement spurred an uproar in the community and with the #SaveProClubs movement seeing so much support, EA Sports recently made the commitment to bring the heavily requested feature to their Pro Clubs and VOLTA game modes too, but it will not be making it for the launch of the game. Richard Walz, Game Design Director for Pro Clubs and VOLTA Football at EA Sports recently followed up the backlash in a FIFA 23 Pitch Notes-article as follows:  "With the scale of such an important feature, our goal is to bring you the best possible experiences. As we look at our cross-play future, we’re focused on matchmaking in Pro Clubs, VOLTA, and FUT Co-op, as well as cross-platform lobby invites and ultimately cross-platform Pro Clubs." "We’re eager to provide updates in the future as the team continues to execute the plan for the future of cross-play. We love the passion of our community, and you help strengthen our resolve to push the mode forward and to bring quality changes for you to enjoy as players." "We will provide an update regarding cross-play as soon as we can, we hear you." The World's Game New additions that will be obvious to players right from the start will be the inclusion of the FIFA World Cup, Women's World Cup and for the first time, women's club teams. It's a great step in promoting the game we all love - The World's Game, as they put it themselves. When it comes to realistic gameplay, there's been a big push to further that cause even more and while we saw the Hypermotion technology in action already in FIFA 22, the new title brings out Hypermotion 2, promising double the amount of match data capture and over 6000 authentic animations mimicking real world footballers. With more data captured from more players than ever before in both men's and women's games makes EA Sports promise full team authentic motion when hopping on the thumbsticks this year. Once you get to the gameplay, you'll notice some new features sprinkled here and there, such as the all new shooting mechanics emphasizing risk versus reward. You'll also want to know that set piece taking has seen an overhaul and will now allow for you to really let your creativity take control. Choose where to make contact with the ball to change trajectory and curl, while enjoying the new corner camera that better reflects the drama of dead ball situations.  When you've decided if you're going to go for this years game or not, it all comes down to which edition you'll want to grab. Keep in mind there are some preorder perks to both editions. Standard Edition 1 x TOTW Player Item 1 x 5-game Kylian Mbappé Loan Item 1 x 3-game FUT Ambassador Loan Player Pick Career Mode Homegrown Talent (Local youth prospect with world-class potential) Ultimate Edition All Standard Edition perks 1 x Ones to Watch Player Item 1 x FIFA World Cup FUT Hero Item (If pre-ordered before August 21) 3 days Early Access, starting September 27 Dual Entitlement 4600 FIFA Points (Not exclusive to pre-orders) Find even more details on the Official FIFA 23 page at EA Sports.

With the NHL 22 season coming towards its end, we still have the traditional regional Championships to play for and with that we're glad to announce the return of the Swedish Championship League! The SCL is played on the PlayStation 4 version of NHL 22. The fourth iteration of the SCL makes its long awaited return this fall, and we're excited to see the best Swedish gamers back on the virtual ice again after a well deserved summer break. The community has only grown since last year, and an influx of exciting new talent has been apparent, so gather your friends and register for a blast of a tournament and the chance to snag that Swedish Championship title along the way! To cap off the third season of the SCL, Granit Gaming secured their 6v6 title and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund was able to achieve his third title in a row on the 1v1 side of things. According to the SCL ruleset, both will receive an invitation to join this years SCL as the #1 seed in the playoffs. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the 2022 edition of the SCL season will not feature a prize pool. We understand that this can feel like a step back and a disappointment at this stage, but we assure you that our focus still lies in developing the Swedish community as a whole and the SCL will see prize pools again in the future. We remain fully committed to the tournament and pledge to provide the same level of coverage and broadcast production as previous years. Schedule Default gamedays for the SCL 2022 season will be Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Registrations for SCL 1v1 are open starting now, until Monday, 29th of August. Registration: 11.-30.8. Regular season: 1.-15.9. Playoffs Round 1: 18.-19.9. Playoffs Round 2: 21.-22.9. Quarterfinals: 25.-29.9. Semifinals: 2.-3.10. Finals: 7.10. * The Schedule is preliminary and will be confirmed later. SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE! Registrations for SCL 6v6 are open now, until Thursday, 25th of August. Registration: 11.-26.8. Regular season: 28.8-11.9 Playoffs Round 1: 13.-15.9 Playoffs Round 2: 19.9 & 21.9 Quarterfinals: 26.9 & 28.9 Semifinals: 3.10 & 5.10 Finals: 8.10 * The Schedule is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Eligibility In the development of our regional leagues, the main objective has been creating a structure that allows all of the regional communities to shine, while strengthening each tournament’s own unique identity and sense of national pride. In the interest of solidifying an identity for the SCL that has a stronger native focus while also avoiding scheduling issues for especially the two concurrently running tournaments (eHSM & the SCL), player participation in the SCL will exclude that player from participating in the eHSM. However, for this season, Swedish players will be allowed to compete in both tournaments simultaneously. 'Player participation' is defined as being listed on the roster of a team participating in the SCL. In short, non-Swedish players can not be listed in the roster for teams in both the SCL and the eHSM. For SCL 2022, two non-Swedish players will be allowed per team on ice in a game – under very specific conditions. Here they are: Outside of the Swedish championship (SCL). The German (GCL), Finnish (eHSM), and Czech and Slovak (CSCL) communities will be defined as the “major communities” for the purposes of this text. Players hailing from nations that currently do not have a region-based championship to sign up for – one where they are allowed to play free of restrictions and are counted as the main target demographic – will be defined as “minor communities” for the purposes of this text. All teams must always feature a minimum of 4 Swedish players in their on-ice lineup Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if both players are from a minor community (for example: Danish, Norwegian, Latvian) Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if one player is from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) and the other player from a minor community Teams may NOT feature two non-Swedish players on ice if both those players are from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) Below you will find an image to help illustrate this rule clarification: The 1vs1 portion of the SCL is available only for Swedish citizens. We hope you are as excited as us to take the ice and battle for the Swedish Championship once again! Tough battles and some heated rivalries are to be expected, and we'll be bringing you the decisive games of the season live with our broadcast team as usual. So without further ado, get your squad together and sign up now! Finally, if you would like to help the SCL grow, please do so by spreading the word by sharing this news story.

The long virtual hockey spring came to a conclusion in mid-July at the inaugural Wilhelm eHockey Tour Finals at Narinkkatori in Helsinki. The event was a celebration of hockey in all forms, featuring both the eHockey Tour Finals and the ECL '22 Spring Finals on consecutive nights.  The inaugural Wilhelm eHockey Tour was a success and received positive feedback from participating teams and players. The Finals event hosted at Narinkkatori in Helsinki suffered slightly from exposure to the elements, but despite the unorthodox fashion of being outside, the setup received lots of praise. With the setups in order, players had an easy time enjoying their games and elevating their performance level once the nerves had worn off in the beginning.  The tour that started in April consisted of nine online city tournaments allowing teams to qualify for the Top 32-playoffs by finishing in the top three or gaining enough ranking points. Finally, the eight best teams met for the Quarterfinals at the live event in Helsinki. For most of the players at the event, it was the first time playing live and surely the first time in a setting like that. Understandably there were some nerves at the beginning, but as stated, the performance level started elevating once the players got over that initial nervosity. For the casual gamer, 3's might seem like all fun and games with no real structure to the game, but the top eight teams at the event surely proved that a lot of hours had been put into their game at the practice rink.  The one team that finally came out on top after a long day of gaming was HC Raitti, represented by Roni @Vatanenn__ Kärkkäinen, Hiski @Tumuttaja(xHise-) Rytkönen and Roope @xxAhti Kärkkäinen. The group of friends hailing from Kiuruvesi paved their way to the playoffs by winning the Kuopio city tournament in dominant fashion and continuing on that same path through the playoffs. Throughout the eHockey Tour, the team only suffered one loss in total, which came in the finals against their very tough adversary Lemmenvelhot.  "Especially playing live was a new and exciting experience for us, since none of us have done anything like that before. However, the nerves wore off quickly after the first games. Overall the experience at the Finals was excellent and everything was handled very well. We were quite confident from the start due to the chemistry we've got in our team and a bit of an unorthodox playstyle that turned out to be challenging for the opponents. Hopefully we'll be able to ride on this momentum and continue into the 6v6 game on the ECL side in the future", says key player @Tumuttaja about their experience at the eHockey Tour. We're very grateful for all the feedback from players and viewers at the event, but would like to hear your thoughts even more! Please share your ideas in the comments section, in the eHockey tour Discord channel and we'd also appreciate it if you took a minute to fill in this feedback survey. Let's all work towards an even better experience next year!    

An excellent campaign in the 3rd season of the WECL has seen Nottingham Panthers HC hoisting the trophy for the first time in team history! The British team managed to put forth a strong effort in the regular season, but only accelerated their pace in the playoffs, only suffering one loss in the postseason at the hands of fierce rivals London Lightning. In the Finals, Nottingham eventually defeated Valence Hockey in a 4-0 sweep. Notthingam Panthers HC's road to the championship: #2 seed with the record 17-2-1 Quarterfinals: vs London Lightning (7) 4-1 Semifinals: vs Silver Sword Griffins (3) 4-0 Finals: vs Valence Hockey (1) 4-0 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #33 @CW1LLO (C) DEFENSEMEN #24 @AdamB_24xx #88 @Ketsivaa #95 @Natholomew (A) FORWARDS #11 @mj_slam #16 @MartindalexC #23 @NotzPanthers (A) #93 @RASTAWILL_ On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!

We're here with the biggest Finnish eHockey event of the year, big cash prizes and Championship titles in both 1v1 and 6v6 on the line! Sign up now to compete with the very best in the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championship. The virtual hockey summer keeps going on and next up, we're returning with the long awaited Finnish Championship. Formerly known as the FCL, the eHockey Finnish Championship will now be an official league of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association and with that also has a shiny, new name to it. The name is new, but we've kept all the pieces we all love about it the same. The Ice Hockey Association brings a lot of expertise on board and we're excited to get the ball rolling with this being one of the first big steps in our partnership. "Our partnership with SportsGamer continues with the traditional FCL-league, now rebranded to the eHockey SM (eHockey Finnish Championships). The Finnish Ice Hockey Association wants to be at the forefront in developing new ways to play and enjoy hockey in a competitive and amateur setting. We are welcoming SportsGamer to the Leijonat-family with open arms", states Lassi Rönkkönen, sales and marketing director for the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. This year, in addition to the title we'll have a prize pool of 10 000 EUR on the line, and some amazing Leijonat prize packages throughout the season! The eHockey Finnish Championship will start in early August and continue until the start of October, when the next champions in both the 1v1 and 6v6 game modes will hoist the trophies at the live finals. Like previous years, this season, we'll allow for non-Finnish citizens to challenge for the throne in the 6v6 league. The upcoming league will feature a foreign player quota, which entails that a majority (51%) of the team's roster (and line-up) must be Finnish. In addition, all captains must be Finnish citizens. Leagues and tournaments hosted by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association requires participating players to have purchased the Leijona eHockey-license. The license is valid for the full season (1.8.2022-31.7.2023) and allows for participation into all Leijona eHockey events during that timeframe, both in 1v1 and 6v6 classes. The cost of the license is 5 EUR and it can be obtained at www.suomisport.fi/purchase (instructions in English). The site is available in Finnish, Swedish and English. Sign in with your verification code according to the instructions on the page, click through to purchase a license, enter eHockey as your main sport, make the payment and you'll be good to go! It is worth noting that FIHA organized leagues and tournaments in the future featuring a prize pool might include additional participation fees. Prize Pool The total prize pool is 10 000 EUR, split between the 1v1 and 6v6 game modes, as described below: *Prizes are subject to tax as per Finnish law and the tax is withheld before payment. Prizes will be paid out within 90 days of the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championship Finals. Due to the eHockey Finnish Championship being played online and cross-platform play not being available this year, the league will be played only on the PlayStation console. The game used will be the PlayStation 4 version of NHL 22. The final formats and schedules for both the 1v1 and 6v6 portions of the league will be determined based on the number of signups. SportsGamer reserves the right to adjust any details. SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE Schedule for the 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championship: Registrations: 15.7.-14.8 Tournament: 17.8.-1.10 Group Stage: 17.8.-1.9 Round of 64: 4.-6.9 Round of 32: 8.-11.9 Round of 16: 13.-15.9 Quarterfinals: 18.-20.9 Semifinals: 22.-25.9 LIVE Finals: 1.10 * * The schedule and location of the Finals is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Find the 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championship rulebook here! SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Schedule for the 1v1 eHockey Finnish Championship: Registrations: 15.7.-14.8 Tournament: 22.8.-1.10 Group Stage: 22.8.-4.9 Round of 120: 6.-8.9 Round of 60: 11.-13.9 Round of 32: 15.-18.9 Round of 16: 20.-22.9 Quarterfinals (8): 24.-26.9 TOP 4 LIVE Finals: 1.10 * * The schedule and location of the Finals is preliminary and will be confirmed later. Find the 1v1 eHockey Finnish Championship rulebook here Invitations 6v6: Reigning Finnish Champion FILADELPHIA will be invited to round 1 of the playoff stage as the #1 seed as per the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championship rules. 1v1: Reigning Finnish Champion Arttu @Artuzio Mustila will be invited to the playoff stage as the #1 seed according to the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championship rules. The NHL GWC European Champion Erik @Eki Tammenpää will be invited to the playoff stage according to the 2022 eHockey Finnish Championship rules.

Finland hoists the cup in the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship and completes a 2022 Leijonat Triple gold. The Finals finish was a true thriller and one for the ages. After a year off from international virtual hockey competition, the revamped IIHF eWorld Championship has returned, and finished it's run in successful fashion. The two week long tournament finally ended in the victory of the Finnish team for the second time. The finals featured an impressive and extremely tough series between the Finns Erik @Eki Tammenpää & Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and USA Hockeys David @JrPens Roebuck & Joseph @Jos x 10 Olmstead. The decision went all the way to overtime, as at the end of four games, we had an even 7-7 score. The overtime was played in two simultaneous games, out of which the first nation to score would win it all. Eventually, Eki managed to net the game winner and earn Finland the Championship. "I was really bummed out about the fourth game, but now I'm so relieved and happy. Over the last couple of years, the North American players have been able to push the Europeans around a bit, so it feels great to fight back and earn our claim to the top", Eki commented after the games. After the decisive goal both the viewers and players were mildly confused, but the message was instantly relayed to Vattu: "I immediately got the message that we had won, but I was a bit confused about what I was supposed to do at that point, so we continued playing for a while. I think I played my best games of the playoffs tonight, but wasn't able to convert on chances. Luckily my teammate did the scoring work, it's amazing playing with Eki." The win seals the deal for a Finnish triple gold, as Leijonat has managed to earn both the Olympic gold and the IIHF Worlds gold previously this year. The eWorld Championship gold is an excellent finish to a successful season. Below you can find a short recap of key moments during the Finnish Broadcast:

The 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship has rolled on to the Semifinals at this point and we've seen some surprising results to say the least and the great virtual hockey excitement this tournament is offering is surely very welcome during these hot summer days. At the Semifinals stage we're seeing Finland (Erik @Eki Tammenpää & Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen) vs Latvia (Kristers @PSchibra Bauers & Juris @JLopatko Lopatko) and USA (David @JrPens Roebuck & Joseph @Jos x 10 Olmstead) vs Czech Republic (Adam @dzouvi Mensik & Josef @pepcastachurcik Stachura). Out of these games, Finland and Latvia will be going at it at 18:00 CEST on Saturday, whereas USA and Czech Republic are clashing in the later bout at 20:30 CEST. The Quarterfinals surely were exciting as some really big upsets were evident over the course of the weekend. First, on Saturday the very talented Canadian team featuring recent NA GWC Champion Justin @Regs84 Reguly and Safir @SafirSnipezGOLD Sodouri were surprised by the Czech, who were on their game all night long. On Sunday, Latvia managed to overcome the very strong Swedish group by a narrow one goal margin in a series for the ages, perhaps the most exciting games we've seen to this point on the international stage. Finland overcame the Swiss team with their very high routine level and the same can be said for the US squad in their Quarterfinals performance against Germany. As seen on previous weekends, the games will be live both in the international stream at www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey and in the Finnish stream at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG.

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! Niko @Maexsa Mäkelä got thrown the challenge from his friend and former teammate Juuso @TheSpeedo Sirkola and has decided to take on the Player Spotlight interview! The veteran winger currently captaining the mammoth squad Stone Age has come a long way since some of his first ECL appearances with the legendary Elämäm Kiekko. His easy going personality and fiery temper have become staples for the man, that has made him the loved and respected community member he is today.  1. What was your first experience with the EASHL mode in NHL? My first ever experience with EASHL was back in the fall of 2016. We got a group of friends together and after about 10 games, we were ready to take on ECL 3. We lost almost every game and my plus minus was a solid -183. Good times! 2. What’s the best part of playing for your current club Stone Age? My teammates, definitely. Amazing people who make me want to get back to the game again and again. ❤️ 3. What is your greatest NHL gaming memory? All the beer & Chel tournaments we've had with the boys. The ECL seasons have also provided their fair share of good memories, despite my own team managing to avoid success quite efficiently. Elämäm Kiekko also holds a special place in my heart, although our social media game was definitely stronger than the team on ice. 4. Describe your perfect breakfast! Coffee, fresh juice, toast, bacon and eggs. A classic. 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? That's a tough one. I've met so many great people over the years that it's tough to pick only six.  @Timotei97 @Ankkalasvegas @Jaks_10 @KepakkoFIN @iRSPe @TheSpeedo Irspe and TheSpeedo were cornerstones of the legendary Elämäm Kiekko for several seasons. Some great and less great memories over the years and they're both great guys. In my books, Kepakkofin is the best captain in the scene and I really look up to him. GHETTO FIREBIRDS is an excellent example of what you can accomplish with long term commitment. Jaks and Timotei I've played with mostly late on the weekends, but it's always been a lot of fun. Last but not least Ankkalasvegas is a very skilled player and a great guy, who I've played with on various rosters.  6. What was your dream job growing up and what do you currently do? As a kid I wanted to be a soccer player, now I'm working at a sports store.  7.  Do you play or have you played hockey? On the outdoor rink and the couch.  8. What’s your best hockey memory? When Porin Ässät won the Finnish Championship back in 2013. The party lasted for five days and I'm still a bit hungover.  9. What do you like to do in your spare time besides playing NHL?  I spend time with my friends and family, and do some sports. Disc golf is my latest pickup and it's been nice to notice that something can be even more frustrating than NHL at times. 10. Pizza with three toppings, what are your choices? Kebab, pineapple and blue cheese.  11. You're the locker room DJ and get one song to hype up your team. What do you play? Tommi Läntinen - Via Dolorosa.  12. How did you come up with your PSN ID? My first nick was Markogirl87, which I used for a surprisingly long time. My name isn't Marko, I'm not a girl and my birth year isn't -87, so you could say that's a total disaster of a PSN ID. Maexsa is a variation of a nickname based on my last name.  13. Who’s the best player in the ECL according to you? It's impossible to pick the best one, but @NikkeDangles is a player who's always fun to watch. 14. Describe your ideal holiday!  A weekend cabin getaway with friends and family or a full three day festival rager.  15. Now it's up to you to suggest who we should interview next. Who do you want to hear from and why? I'll go ahead and challenge @KepakkoFIN next. Although the man is done with NHL, I'd love to hear some GHETTO stories and what that guy has for breakfast! 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!

The 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship is the second coming of the IIHF into the esports scene and with a newer, expanded concept there is promise for growth in the future. This year, a total of 18 nations will compete for the title. As you'd expect, lots of SportsGamer talent will be featured on ice throughout the tournament and 2020 Champions Finland are eager to defend their title, this time with Erik @Eki Tammenpää and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen in their reigns. Also the former runner-up Sweden are bringing their big guns, with effectively the same duo as last time, in the form of Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund. The two big Nordic nations are definitely expected to be at the very top of the standings, but a challenge will be thrown from across the pond from the USA and Canada teams, who will be represented by David @JrPens Roebuck & @Jos x 10 and Safir @SafirSnipezGOLD Sodouri & Justin @Regs84 Reguly respectively.  Some other strong contenders could be the Latvian team, represented by Kristers @PSchibra Bauers and Juris @JLopatko Lopatko, or the Swiss, Germans or Czech with Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi & Mirco @Tron1x90 Salvi, Luca @cpt_dirtyDangler Knoll & Kevin @Kevinator-373 Wuerterle and Adam @dzouvi Mensik & Pepca @pepcastachurcik Stachurcik.  We're excited to follow along during the weekend for how the nations will stack up against each other! You can also follow the action on these streams: Main stream: IIHF Gaming Swedish stream: Esdor15 Finnish stream: SportsGamerGG German stream: bl00dylp Here are the full 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship groups:

SportsGamers, As we told you, this weekend was truly a celebration of hockey in all forms. It was also the end to a great ECL '22 Spring season and simultaneously our first ever two-part ECL season. We're proud to be able to make history in such great company and with that, we're crowning hREDS the ECL '22 Spring Champions and the ECL '22 Grand Champions! After two very strong seasons that we thought were dominant by the predators, they came back yet a level stronger and absolutely dismantled all opposition this season with excellent performances throughout. Goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri continued on his crazy run claiming his third title in as many campaigns with hREDS, and only his fifth competitive ECL season! We caught up with the towering defenseman Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen in the midst of the celebrations: You made history earlier this spring but still continue to succeed and become even better. What drives you to be even better every time you take the ice? It's the fact that we've got six great guys put together. We're constantly getting to know each other even better, growing chemistry and coming up with new tricks. We've got a very wide variety of plays and for example in this Finals series we had to dig very deep and pull some stuff out of the archives. How was it for you playing in this environment and what challenges did it bring? It was awesome and the atmosphere was great. All around I think the experience was good. No bigger challenges I think despite the weather. I mean, you need to practice so you can perform regardless of the circumstances.  The Finals series was surprisingly tight and very entertaining. What were some of the feelings you went through during the series and what did the team discuss in between games? It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. First of all, we lost three games in a Playoff series which is something we simply don't do. Quite frankly we're not used to losing, so we were kind of rattled even. That's something we went over and tried to get over just being down about it and found new ways to win and play our own game. The decisive goal was something different though, we've celebrated hard before but that goal felt so much better than the ones before. What made SAWO ESPORTS such a great opponent in this series? I think the weakness was ourselves here. We didn't reach our best level at times and whenever SAWO scored the first goal, their defense was stellar.  hREDS is now cemented in ECL history as one of the greatest teams to compete in the league. What's next on your radar? It's a difficult announcement to make, but we're actually turning a new page as our captain @Beniittto is leaving for the army so we'll be forced to find a replacement for him. It'll definitely be a learning process and it gives us the chance to even find some new stuff and some exciting additions to our game. Obviously he's such a hard player to replace, but we'll take our time to scout the market for a suitable guy. I don't want to give an inside scoop yet, you'll find out on social media. Finally, how will the win be celebrated? We're going to party like never before. The clock is almost midnight at the time of this interview so we'll have to find a place soon, but it's a fact that no one has ever done anything like this before and we'll celebrate accordingly. hREDS' road to the championship: #1 seed with the record 26-2-2 Quarterfinals: vs Conquer Gaming (8) 4-0 Semifinals: vs GOONS (5) 4-1 Finals: vs SAWO ESPORTS (3) 4-3 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #91 Filip @Faze91- Azri DEFENSEMEN #27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen #94 Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) (A) FORWARDS #23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (A) #89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (C) If you happened to miss the broadcast, you can rewatch the action from Saturday here. Thanks for tuning in and congrats to the champions!

This weekend's festivities in Helsinki continue with the Wilhelm eHockey Tour Finals event hosted at Narinkkatori in Helsinki. Join us for all the action either on the spot or in the stream! We're starting off with the Quarterfinals, and moving on from there! The playoffs are played in a best-of-three format.  Here are your Quarterfinals matchups: (1) Bare Knuckles Hockey vs Koutsit (20) (2) Seinajoki Noms vs Lemmenvelhot (12) (3) Pass The Puck vs KeuPa Esports (10) (7) Hc Raitti vs Eliittipahvi (9) The stream is now live at https://www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg!  

SportsGamer and the Finnish Ice Hockey Association have launched an all new extensive partnership during the spring of 2022. The first fruition of the partnership will be seen already at the end of June, when the Finnish eNational Team is going for the triple gold in the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championships. The new partnership combines the vast knowledge and experience of the Ice Hockey Association with the similar attributes that SportsGamer have been able to achieve in the world of esports. Especially the passionate and dedicated community built around the EA Sports NHL-series played a big part and is an excellent building block. "We thought that now would be a great time to enter the quickly growing esports world. The IIHF are taking their first big steps on the virtual hockey front this year, and we want to be right there among the pioneers developing the product both domestically and internationally. SportsGamer were the perfect partner for us due to their expertise and market leadership. We're confident about building and growing this partnership in the future and are very happy about bringing SportsGamer on board", says Lassi Rönkkönen, sales and marketing director for the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.  "Our partnership with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association will develop our operations at the grass roots level in Finland, but also help build a better path for players aiming for professionalism. There's a long road still ahead, but we're building a great foundation for future success", Kenneth Lehtinen, COO at SportsGamer. A clear objective for the partnership is creating opportunities at the grass roots level, but also for players at the brink of professionalism. Together with the Ice Hockey Association, SportsGamer also aims to generate a clearer path to represent the National Team and reach the international top. Finland is currently leading the development of this fast growing sport, and the objective is to stay ahead in the future.  Also the recent European NHLGWC Champion Erik @Eki Tammenpää chimed in: "From a players standpoint I think this sounds great. SportsGamer has for a long time hosted top tier tournaments and leagues, and I think the Ice Hockey Association will continue elevating that level. More tournaments, leagues and players are always welcome!" As mentioned, the first fruition of the partnership can be seen in the form of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championships and the qualifiers, but already in July we'll be able to release more details about more upcoming events. You'll be able to see the SportsGamer team in action this weekend at Narinkkatori in Helsinki, where it's time for a true hockey fiesta. This weekend's event combines the St Hockey Tour opening tournament, the ECL '22 Spring Elite Finals and the Wilhelm eHockey Tour Finals, so make sure to show up and cheer your favorite team to victory! 

With the upcoming ECL '22 Spring Finals, we thought it would be suitable to take a look at what has gone down throughout ECL history before. Join us for a short recap of some monumental ECL events. So, this show has been running for 14 seasons now and we've gone from 50 teams signed up in ECL 1 to almost 250 at this point. The first ever ECL season on this platform started in mid-December of 2015 and at the end of the inaugural season, we crowned Nordic Blizzard the Champions. A lot of players who were on that first ever championship team are still around and competing at a high level today, and while we appreciate to an endless extent all the hard work they've put in over the years, we're also glad to have all of you newer players join us over the course of the years. As we're counting down the days to the ECL '22 Spring Elite Finals, we thought it'd only be right to take a trip down memory lane and go through some of the monumental events in ECL history. List of ECL Champions ECL 1: Nordic Blizzard 🏆 ECL 2: MUKIMIEHET 🏆 ECL 3: X Factor 🏆 ---DIVISIONS FRAMEWORK APPLIED--- ECL 4: Laser HT 🏆 ECL 5: Aapon Taikasauva 🏆 ECL 6: Carlsberg HC 🏆 ECL 7: FILADELPHIA 🏆 ECL 8: Written In The Stars 🏆 ECL 9: Linköping HC 🏆🏆 ECL 10: HAVU Gaming 🏆🏆 ECL 11: FILADELPHIA 🏆🏆🏆 ECL 12: hREDS 🏆 ECL '22 Winter: hREDS 🏆🏆 ECL '22 Spring: - As signified in the list above, Frölunda HC (formerly known as FILADELPHIA or Linköping HC) are the winningest team in ECL history, but none other than hREDS have been able to pull off the historical feat of a back-to-back. Obviously one of the turning points for the entire league was when the divisions framework was introduced in early December of 2016. The introduction of the divisions framework was certainly a hot topic back then and while everyone wasn't on the same page about things, we worked out in the end and partially as a result of that, we've been able to grow as a community to the point we are at today.  The divisions framework was proven in practice as in ECL 4, Carlsberg HC were able to gain promotion by winning the Pro division, followed by Evolution in ECL 5. Both of these squads performed well in their inaugural Elite campaigns and Carlsberg HC managed to hoist the cup at the end of ECL 6 Elite, becoming the first promoted team ever to work their way to a championship, a feat that only hREDS has managed to repeat.  ECL 7 marked the start of an era in ECL competition where two teams seemed to be far above the rest. The battle raged hard between FILADELPHIA (Linköping HC/Frölunda HC) and Written In The Stars (HAVU Gaming), as the two seemed to go head-to-head in almost any finals we were hosting, be it the ECL, FCL or the IS CUP. The two also clashed at the first ever live ECL Finals, that were hosted at the end of the ECL 8 season at LanTrek '19 in Tampere, Finland. ECL 8 was a big season in general as the European Championship had a major partner joining the Championship as sponsor and the Finals were available for betting.  (Photo from the ECL 8 Elite Finals at LanTrek '19 in Tampere, Finland - taken by Samuli Seila) The reign of FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming would continue for quite some time and ECL 9 was no different. The season itself was one of the more eventful we've seen from an organizers standpoint and we also introduced a new division to the mix with the entry level ECL Neo. The season started in late 2019 and carried over to the next year. This was also a time where several leagues were running side-by-side and while some of these may have been in direct competition with our product, SportsGamer has always strived towards bringing the best possible experience for the gamers. Scheduling and the start of the pandemic not only postponed the Finals, but also led to the Finals event being taken off the table, reverting us to the online experience. As you'd have it, also these finals were a clash between the big two of this era.  The big two, they continued their dominance for quite some time. You guessed it - also the ECL 10 Elite Finals featured HAVU Gaming and the team then known as Linköping HC! As stated, these two teams seemed unbeatable at the time and they really proved it any chance they got. The pandemic was still running rampant and while it seemed like no Finals event was going to happen, HAVU Gaming had taken things into their own hands, gathering their players at Game Cave in Espoo for the finals - a move which seemed to pay off for them!   ECL 12 saw the addition of ECL Core as the largest division in our competitive divisions framework and also a very controversial new qualifier system due to the transition period. While the change was difficult to accept, it was inevitable in order to continue growing the community and the competitiveness of the game. As we've seen now a few seasons later, the few added divisions and the expanded qualifier system has allowed teams like Stargazing this past season to test their wings at the highest level despite not having a lot of history behind the team.  The ECL 12 Elite Finals were the time for hREDS to pull through and shine. The young guns were stepping up against FILADELPHIA, who had won almost everything you could imagine at that point. In late July of 2021, hREDS hoisted the cup for the first time with the lead of captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen and started what would become a new kind of dynasty in ECL history. (From left to right Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen, Niklas @NikkeDangles (NikkeNHL) Tukiainen, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen. Missing from the picture is goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri) To start the '22 Winter season, we announced the new two part season system with the all new Grand Finals and a Grand Champion to be crowned. hREDS have already made history by clinching the back-to-back when taking home the Winter season championship, but now could be their time to go both for the triple and becoming the first ever ECL Grand Champions, etching their names into the history books forever. Will that happen though, we'll have to wait until the weekend to find out! What? The ECL '22 Spring Finals and The ECL '22 Grand Finals (If needed) #3  SAWO ESPORTS vs hREDS  #1 When? Friday, June 17th 19:30 CEST (Games 1-2) Saturday, June 18th 18:45 CEST (Games 3-7) Sunday, June 19th 20:30 CEST (ECL '22 Grand Finals)* Where? Helsinki, Finland - Narinkkatori www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG You'll find us at the SportsGamer truck parked at Narinkkatori, the event is hosted in cooperation with St Hockey and besides their St Hockey Tour opening weekend event. Entry is free.