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NHLGamers, Although the ECL season is in the books, this past weekend has still been full of excitement and drama for NHL gaming fans around the world. That's because the NHL GWC is rolling on and this Saturday marked the date for the European Play-In Bracket that determines which gamers are punching their ticket to the regional finals at Viasat studios in Stockholm on May 18th. The games started Saturday afternoon and although they are something of a grind - the format this year was a single elimination bracket which resulted in the day progressing rather quickly. The single elimination format has been criticised heavily on social media due to the harshness and the nature of the game in its current state - meaning it allows for uncontrollable bounces and unfortunate goals to happen on the regular. Regardless of this, a good player can always create their own luck and at the end of the day we're certainly seeing some top notch gamers grabbing their spot in the regional finals. Here are the gamers moving through at the end of Saturday: PS4 Saku @Sagee95 Björn, Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, Risto @Dominointi Järvi and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie. Xbox Erik @Eki Tammenpää, Eilung, Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen and Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta. Check Eki's reaction to making the regional finals: The defending champion didn't beat around the bush when asked about the NHL GWC format this year: "I don't like the format, you simply need to have more shots at making the biggest tournament of the year than one. One and done isn't the way to do it. It's the same for everyone but at the end of the day think we're going to see some players at the finals who probably wouldn't deserve to be there." It's great to see a few names making their presence felt, although it means a few established players have to face disappointments. Some of last years regional finalists including @Artuzio, @Darkic01 and @FlyerKungen fell short this time, being eliminated in the earlier stages of the brutal single elimination bracket. One of the new names included is Saku @Sagee95 Björn, who we reached for some comments about the NHL GWC so far: "There's certainly some positives and negatives about the format this year. I like moving over to HUT in the sense that you're seeing some diversity in the teams which wouldn't be there if it was versus. The single elimination bracket is rough, since one mistake could cost you the whole tournament." "I don't want to put down my opponents, but I think I had an easy way to the regionals. None of my opponents so far really tested me too much. The upcoming draft is going to be interesting, I'll try to build a team with big bodies and Zdeno Chara is a guy I hope I can secure in my lineup.", Sagee continues. Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta is another new name, who's been one of the fastest growing NHL streamers out there recently: "It feels amazing to qualify for my first bigger tournament. What makes it extra special is sharing those moments with all the people in my stream and getting all the support from there." The NHL GWC will continue with the Canadian Play-In Bracket next weekend and the US Play-In Bracket the weekend after that, so there's still lots of action to go around before the grand finals. Remember to tune in and watch the regional finals on May 18th. Who will you be cheering for? @jahajaha93 NHLGamer Editor

Hey NHL Gamers, the ECL 5 sign-up period ended yesterday, and we are very proud of the fact that a total of 98 teams will be participating in the first season taking place on NHL 18! This is up 24% from the 79 teams that signed up for ECL 4 - a truly amazing growth. Without further ado, let's look at the final division structure. ECL 5 Elite - All teams 15 teams confirmed their participation for ECL 5: Written In The Stars Northern Ascendancy (previously Unknown) Kattiautomaatti Sjukstugan SJK eSports (previously Laser HT) Silver Sword Griffins Carlsberg HC Aapon Taikasauva Dynasty Northern Stars Nordic Nightmare MUKIMIEHET Synergy Nordic Lightning TIKI TALK Due to the fact that Limitless were folding, one spot in the Elite division had to be filled. To make this decision, League Administration was looking for the most successful ECL 4 Pro team that wasn't promoted to the Elite division by regular means. Round 2 of the ECL 4 Pro playoffs featured 4 possible contenders: White Trash (4 PO wins / 1.18 reg. season PPG) Shameful Knights (5 PO wins / 1.43 reg. season PPG) Unlucky Boys HC (6 PO wins / 1.5 reg. season PPG) Rusty Blades (7 PO wins / 1.54 reg. season PPG) Based on these numbers, League Administration offered the 16th ECL 5 Elite spot to Rusty Blades. The invitation was accepted by the team's captains. ECL 5 Pro - All teams 23 teams (excluding Rusty Blades, which were moved to ECL Elite) confirmed their participation for ECL 5: Alliance HT Baltic Sea Eagles DEAD END KINGS SIKA Inter Iceland J P T J Bellizzi Nordic Stars Shameful Knights Lavetten Gotham Knights (previously Refuse To Lose) Pata Hellalla Hawks Hockey Club White Trash Speedy Bros Hockey (previously Finnish Roosters) Evolution (previously Nocturnal Hunters) Bare Knuckles Hockey Sypperstaars (previously Rynnäkköviikset) Free From Rodents Unlucky Boys HC AK 47 Nemesis Murohoki This means a total of 9 spots had to be filled with ECL Lite sign-ups. As ECL 4 Lite quarter-finalists, these three teams were prioritized and moved to ECL 5 Pro: EN HUND Banterfield Battalion Black Panther Party (previously HC Ancient Warriors) For the 6 remaining spots, we were looking at all the remaining ECL Pro applications from these 14 teams: Red Machine The Beagle Boys Soldiers of Odens God Tier Clowns on Ice GHETTO FIREBIRDS THE UNITED KNIGHTS Dirty Animals Slapshot Club Germany Squirt Hockey Face Wash Hockey Falun Coal Miners Phantoms HC Company of Geeks To ensure a competitive and sustainable Pro division, League Administration not only looked at in-game leaderboards and records, but also considered EASHL history as well as notable achievements, recent games and ECL experience (games played, points, wins etc.). At the end of our evaluation, these 6 teams were considered suitable and are moved to ECL 5 Pro: God Tier Clowns on Ice GHETTO FIREBIRDS THE UNITED KNIGHTS Squirt Hockey Falun Coal Miners ECL 5 Pro - Final groups ECL Pro will be played in 2 groups with 16 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in a 30 game regular season in which the top 8 teams out of each group will go to the playoffs (16 teams total). To determine the final groups, 10 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 2 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 22 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result: Group 1 AK 47 Alliance HT Bare Knuckles Hockey Black Panther Party Evolution Falun Coal Miners God Tier Gotham Knights Hawks Hockey Club Inter Iceland Lavetten Murohoki Nemesis SIKA Squirt Hockey White Trash Group 2 Baltic Sea Eagles Banterfield Battalion Bellizzi Clowns on Ice DEAD END KINGS EN HUND Free From Rodents GHETTO FIREBIRDS J P T J Nordic Stars Pata Hellalla Shameful Knights Speedy Bros Hockey Sypperstaars THE UNITED KNIGHTS Unlucky Boys HC ECL 5 Lite - All teams The remaining 50 teams will be participating in ECL 5 Lite: Elämäm Kiekko The Beagle Boys iNF4M0US Pohjoista Voimaa Terrific Tigers HC Aurinko Ice Phoenix Rising Phantoms HC EV Duisburg Papat Nordic Nosebleed Company of Geeks Red Machine Soldiers of Odens Lucky Strike Freddie Mercury Institute Puck Panthers Nottingham Chiefs Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat Nordic Eagles Try Another Hole SGWEER United Rusty Bulls Finnish Hockey Legends Raging Monkeys Nearbird Fighters Mentula SKA Dirty Animals Slapshot Club Germany Squad Vilttiketju Deadly Phantoms HC Almost Famous Bucketeers DarrasStars Cold Turkeys Rasend Krokodil Face Wash Hockey Kouvola Screaming Eagles NuggetZ South Sweden Panthers Roistot Hc Nappiaivot KulmalaHengaus Donec Reges Phantoms HC Penalty Box Burns Beardy Bastards RAKETTIPUTKET Breakers Of The Bone PUNANEN REHTORI ECL 5 Lite - Final groups ECL Lite will be played in 5 groups with 10 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in an 18 game regular season in which the top 6 teams out of each group, as well as the two best 7th ranked teams out of all groups will go to the playoffs (32 teams total). To determine the final groups, 15 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 5 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 35 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result: Group 1 Face Wash Hockey Finnish Hockey Legends Freddie Mercury Institute Lucky Strike NuggetZ PUNANEN REHTORI Puck Panthers Raging Monkeys Roistot Terrific Tigers Group 2 Cold Turkeys EV Duisburg Ice Phoenix Kouvola Screaming Eagles Nottingham Chiefs Penalty Box Phantoms HC Rasend Krokodil Red Machine Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat Group 3 Company of Geeks Deadly Phantoms HC Donec Reges HC Aurinko iNF4M0US KulmalaHengaus Pohjoista Voimaa Rising Phantoms HC Soldiers of Odens Try Another Hole Group 4 Almost Famous Breakers Of The Bone DarrasStars Elämäm Kiekko Mentula SKA Nearbird Fighters Nordic Nosebleed Papat South Sweden Panthers The Beagle Boys Group 5 Bucketeers Burns Beardy Bastards Dirty Animals HC Nappiaivot Nordic Eagles RAKETTIPUTKET Rusty Bulls SGWEER United Slapshot Club Germany Squad Vilttiketju ECL 5 Rules The rules for ECL 5 can be found here: All players, whether they are captains or not, are obligated to be aware of all the rules. Make sure to memorize all rules outlined in "8. Game rules" due to the 30 second limit for stoppages in-game. Throughout the tournament, the rules may be updated. Any updates will be conveniently listed at the very top of the ruleset. Make sure to check out if anything changed once in a while. League Administration members All league related decisions will be made by League Administration. To open up a case, create a new question in the "Contact League Administration" helpdesk: https://nhlgamer.com/community/forum/27-contact-league-administration/ Please note: Teams are expected to solve issues on their own before contacting League Administration - the rules include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always the last resort to solve any disagreements. Team management tools All teams have been created, and the captains will shortly be unlocked for the team management tools on the main page (go to https://nhlgamer.com and click on your username in the top right corner to access them). All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of your first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on https://nhlgamer.com) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing! In case you have any questions, please use the comment section below this news story. Good luck to all teams and have fun! @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Hey NHL Gamers, First of all, congratulations to X Factor on winning ECL Season 3 in an amazing final effort against the Finnish Roosters! Tomorrow we will post a full season recap, so keep an eye on the news section. Many of you have been asking for ECL Season 4 registrations to open already, and today is the day! We are opening the floodgates for our first ECL Season in the new Divisions format. Not only do we think this is the start of the most exciting chapter in NHL gaming history, we also believe it points towards a very bright future for this community. During the last few days we have received many interesting comments from long time community members, suggesting ECL is undoubtedly heading into the right direction. At the same time, ECL is still as newcomer-friendly as ever - which will always be a top priority for us. Don't hesitate and spread the word on your own team channels, so we can mark another significant growth in participation with ECL Season 4. Many thanks for your continued support! ----- 'Divisions? Dude, what are you talking about?' In case you were hibernating during the last few weeks (it's freaking cold outside, we understand!), please read the latest update on ECL Divisions. ----- 'I see! What else do I need to know?' First of all, there are a few general rules that apply to our ECL branded tournaments: Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. The same rule applies for Russian players: Please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. ECL is a 6 vs. 6 tournament building upon the EASHL mode in the latest EA SPORTS NHL iteration, NHL 17. Each player needs to sign up with NHLGamer.com and create his personal Player Card. You can find a tutorial video right here in case you experience issues. Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. Default game days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Registrations are open until 23:59 CET on February 10th / 00:59 EET on February 11th. The tournament will start approximately one week after registrations are closed. ----- 'What about the other tournament & gameplay rules?' The final ruleset will be released shortly ahead of the tournament start. ----- 'How do I register my team?' (PS4 ONLY, see below for Xbox One) If you qualified for ECL Elite during Season 3, please read the 'Signing up for ECL Elite' paragraph below. If you are a new team or did not qualify for ECL Elite during Season 3, you need to decide whether you would like to join ECL Pro or ECL Lite. ECL Pro will accomodate 2x16 teams, while ECL Lite does not have a limit. In case we exceed ECL Pro capacities, we will look at each individual ECL Pro registration and determine, whether you qualify according to several criteria (Players on the team, team history, stats from previous seasons if available, EASHL 6vs6 ranking and stats) compared to the other teams. By signing up for ECL Pro you accept to be moved to ECL Lite in case it is required according to our decision. You are also allowed to sign up for ECL Lite right away. If you wish to participate in ECL Pro, please read the 'Signing up for ECL Pro' paragraph below. If you wish to participate in ECL Lite, please read the 'Signing up for ECL Lite' paragraph below. ----- Signing up for ECL Elite Applies to the following teams only: Aapon Taikasauva, Dynasty, Fat Cats, Finnish Roosters, Laser HT, MUKIMIEHET, Nordic Lightning, Nordic Nightmare, Northern Ascedancy, Northern Stars, Refuse To Lose (to replace Nordic Blizzard), SIKA, Synergy Hockey, TIKI TALK, Written In The Stars, X FACTOR Go to the ECL Elite registration thread and use the registration template below to confirm your participation or withdrawal! Withdrawal posts are final - you immediately give us the permission to nominate another team from Season 3 to fill your spot. Signing up for ECL Pro Go to the ECL Pro registration thread and use the registration template below to sign up. Signing up for ECL Lite Go to the ECL Lite registration thread and use the registration template below to sign up. ----- Registration template Team name: Team Abbreviation: Team Captains (PSN IDs): Captain 1, Assistant Captain 1, Assistant Captain 2 Team Roster (PSN IDs): Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Player 8 ... (Optional: Add a team logo if this is the first time your team participates in a tournament on NHLGamer.com, or if you simply wish to change it.) ----- 'How do I participate with my Xbox One team?' At this time, there will be no division format on Xbox for ECL Season 4. However, Xbox players are very welcome to start their NHLGamer career in a regular tournament, and you can sign up in this thread. Please use the registration template above and add your Xbox Live IDs instead of PSN IDs. ----- For now, that's all you need to know. Get those sign-ups in, and in case of any questions, please use the comments below! NHLGamer.com