Champions Cup Awards
The July EHL Champions Cup is over and it's time for the awards to be handed out.
Meet the innovation: we have expanded the list of players, and now in each nomination, in addition to the first three places, someone else will be noted (since there is not enough room in the top-3 for all the players who deserve it).
By the way, follow this link for the first part of the tournament results.
Best Goalkeeper
The first place in this nomination was determined already in the final. Unlike its competitors, DeadMouse didn't have much work to do during the entire tournament, but at the most needed moments he managed to help out the team. Three zero games, as well as the highest sv% of the tournament, helped Victor to become the best goalie for the second time in a row, with which we congratulate him.
“Appeared out of nowhere” – this is how you can describe the appearance of Federico in this top, and indeed at the tournament. Absolutely no one expected from him such a confident play at the last frontier, and even more so, they did not expect that until the final he would breathe in the neck of DeadMouse himself. Congratulations to Maxim on such a serious personal achievement, and we wish to regularly get into this nomination.
By analogy with the previous tournament, Unnamed was going pretty steadily, conceding a little less than four goals per game, while making more than the four saves per game. But even such stability did not allow him to “pull” his team to the grand final. In any case, his performance and statistics could not allow him to be out of the top-3 – congratulations on the bronze.
Worth mentioning: Nando (Nordic Union).
Nando probably had the largest workload of any goalkeeper in the tournament. Of course, he missed more than he caught, but at the same time he did not make serious mistakes and caught a lot of “unbearable” pucks. Joe misses the next tournament, so we are waiting for a “breakthrough” in the top-3 at the Autumn Open.
Best Defender
Wolk had practically no competitors, if we take into account the players who played a “clean” defender in this tournament, and the Alliance's reaching the final is proof of that. At the right moment, Wolk could score and create an opportunity for a goal (for example, look at the grand final as an example). But with his main task of blocking shots and intercepting passes, he coped enviably better than any other defender. Congratulations on the first place and wish him to climb the same high in the next tournament.
Jobson played more like an attacking defender (whose task was more often to score goals than defend his own goal), but he handled both aspects of the game perfectly. Despite the fourth place at the end of the tournament, thanks to his efficiency and reliability in defense, when it was needed, Jobson climbed to the second line in this nomination, with which we congratulate him.
Ryan gave out a rather faded tournament, like the entire Nordic Union team as a whole (and this is right after the tournament in which they became finalists). But it's worth noting how ryan literally saved his team from defeat against the Lemons in the first stage of the tournament. In any case, we hope that in the next tournament where Alexey will represent The Oscars, he will be able to return to his rightful place in this nomination. In the meantime, congratulations on the bronze.
Worth mentioning: Gudlevskis (Lemons).
Gudlevskis aka Gud managed to play both on goal (3 games) and defense (5 games), but the commission decided to consider him as a defender, and for good reason. Gud gave a good performance during the main final of the lower bracket, where his team did not have enough to reach the grand final. We hope that Gud will not stop there and will return even stronger to the next tournament.
Best All-round
After four years of playing in front, niko moved closer to his team's defensive line and it paid off. The Oscars had three clean sheets, they conceded only 18 goals in 9 games (an average of 2 goals per game), but they also did not forget that goals must be scored by themselves. With which niko helped, scoring the lion's share of his team's goals (27 goals out of 57 scored). Congratulations to Nikita on a gold medal in a new nomination for him, and we wish him to play that consistent in the future.
VipeR failed to take gold in this nomination this time, but silver is not the worst result either. A rather faded start of the tournament with a new team, but during the tournament he managed to get in excellent shape, and the further The Oscars advanced, the better VipeR played. Having issued a gorgeous grand final, Oleg managed to snatch the second place from Zaripov, with which we congratulate him!
By analogy with Ryan, Zaripov had one really memorable game against Lemons, which allowed his team to advance to the grand final. But in general, during the tournament, Alexander played quite stable, and of all the players presented below, he was the best. It is also worth noting his move from the attacking ranks a little lower (compared to the last championship), which could affect the performance. In any case, we congratulate Alexander and wish him not to hang his nose, and to enter the next tournament with renewed vigor.
Worth mentioning: Tidge (Lemons), egorka (Nordic Union), puzikjan (The Bandits).
Tidge lacked a spot in the top-3, but for the most part, he had a great tournament in the Lemons camp, forming an excellent pairing with 72snake (and who knows what the top-3 in this category would be like if they reached the final).
Egorka, like all the Nordics, had no luck with the grid in this tournament. But let's not forget that the team played on a par with Lemons, and one cannot fail to note the individual role of Egor in these matches.
Puzikjan was the best player in the team in victorious matches and took part in 74% of the Bandits' goals in the tournament (only 72snake had more), which cannot be ignored, because in these nominations we evaluate the individual performance of the player.
Best Forward
40 goals in 12 games with 49% realization allowed 72snake to take first place in this nomination, but even this was not enough to reach the grand final. Let's trust that Snake will maintain his efficiency, and for now, congratulations on the gold.
Panda came close to Snake on average points per game, but perhaps lacked enough performance somewhere to get into the top-1. With the transition to the role of a pure striker, Panda brought a lot of trouble to every opponent, which is confirmed by almost 50% of his shots. We congratulate Mark and wish him to find his game already in the new team.
Not the strongest Bure tournament of his career, but 45% of his chances speak volumes. There were several competitors for getting into the top-3, and Dmitry confidently figured out with each of them, with which we congratulate him.
Worth mentioning: MoNsTeR (Unity).
At the right moment, Timur could score from almost anywhere on the ice, although there were also enough misses. 40% realization and a good prospect to reveal himself as a top striker in the next tournaments is what MoNsTeR currently owns.
Best Player of the Tournament
Niko traditionally showed his class and became the brightest player – both of the team and of the entire tournament. The game in the grand final against Alliance is difficult for him to put into an asset, but the level shown throughout the tournament speaks for itself. For his influence on the game of the best team, Nikita rightfully receives the title of the Best Player in the Champions Cup. Hooray!
72snake put on an excellent tournament in terms of performance and literally dragged his team to victory. Perhaps he lacked the same charged teammate that niko had VipeR, but Snake still managed to drag himself into the top-2 of the most prestigious award. We congratulate him and look forward to first place on the next tournament.
In the finals, Oleg had to take on the role of the team leader, which he coped with quite well: 7+4, more than 50% of the realization of his chances and the goal that brought The Oscars victory in the tournament. Who knows – maybe if VipeR played the entire tourney at this pace, he could move Snake (and even niko), but it is what it is. Congratulations on the bronze.
Federico showed a whole bunch of cool saves, both in the grand finals and in general. Who knows, maybe without him the team would not have reached the final stage at all.
Wolk: Excellent defensive play and good number of points for a defender. Unexpectedly for everyone, he was the leader of the attacks in the final, and he did it with dignity.
Jobson even played at the level of the best forwards of the tourney, nominally being a defender.
Each player from this list equally influenced the success of their team in the tournament, so we wish them not to stop there and, possibly, get a little higher in the next tournaments.
If you look at the general picture of the game of each of the teams, the players represented in 7-10 places contributed to the overall success of the team to a lesser extent than the skaters from the first places. In The Oscars, the duo niko-VipeR worked more, and it is not known what would have happened to Alliance without the pair of Wolk-Federico.
In any case, one cannot fail to note these players, since all of them ultimately showed stable hockey and ended up in the final of the tournament.
Finals MVP
Winning puck, 11 points, more than 50% of the realization of his chances. The best player in the grand final, no questions asked or unnecessary lyrics.
The Champions Cup is over, but EHL Season 2 is in full swing – wait for the Rapid League announcement in the coming days. It will be even more interesting further, but for today that's all. Love, your EHL admins.
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