Rapid League Review
The EHL Rapid League has come to an end, and it's time to remember how it went.
The tournament was largely experimental. 5v5 format (for the first time in the history of VK/IPHL/EHL leagues), three matches in a row (instead of the traditional two), a new approach to personal statistics.
It is also worth noting that several teams at once (Alliance, Nordic Union and Agents) decided to take a break, which resulted in a small number of teams - only 6. The more interesting was the struggle, and the fate of the trophy was decided at the very end.
6th place: Pizza Kings (0W 15L, 0 pts)
Arrivals: DaP, Marci (both – Agents).
After the EHL Season 1 (the guys previously played as the New Orlean Noobies brand) and the April 2021 World Cup, DaP and his team decided to take a break and briefly disperse to different teams. This led to the absence of the Hungarians in the opening tournament of the second season, but for the Rapid League they got back together.
On the eve of the tournament, Pizza Kings looked more like outsiders, and this was generally confirmed. It is worth noting DaP, who scored four goals, and Marci, who won third place in the Best Goalkeeper nomination. But this was obviously not enough for anything more than the last place in the tournament.
Looking ahead, the Kings of Pizza have strengthened ahead of the Autumn Open, which should improve their competitiveness.
5th place: The Bandits (4W 11L, 12 pts)
The arrival of Panda had a good effect on the team's scoring capabilities. As an illustration – the third place in the number of shots on goal (given the fact that even with a 4v4 format, they did not always find an opportunity to shoot, let alone score a goal).
The Bandits did some serious preparation for the tournament, but in the end, something was still missing. In some games, they looked strong, but they simply didn’t put the squeeze on an opponent; in some they lacked implementation or luck. There were also completely failed matches against The Oscars.
Throughout the tournament, three teams fought for third place at once, but in the end it was taken by the one who scored more (all three teams conceded about the same number of goals, but there is a difference in the goals scored). In face-to-face clashes, The Bandits also lost to both Unity and Lemons, and naturally took the fifth place. Panda deserves a special mention, having achieved the third in the league in terms of goals scored.
We are expecting a better result from The Bandits at the next tournament, and for now, let's move on.
4th place: Lemons (6+1W 8L, 20 pts)
Arrivals: MigoMipo (Agents), Jeydon (free).
Departures: Slipp (free).
The confrontation was not only between three teams, but also between two – Lemons and Unity fought for third place in the championship until the last games. Lemons even won two out of three games in their face-to-face encounter, but stumbled in one of the games with The Bandits, so they lost their third place.
Lemons approached the tournament after a strong Champions Cup, where they lacked a little before the final, and the roster for the 5v5 format was fine on paper. But still, it was not possible for them to fight the giants. 72snake scored a lot out of habit, but it was much more difficult for his teammates to score goals with the transition to the new format. As the clear example, their game against the Ice Creamers, where they managed to score only one goal.
In any case, Lemons do not disappear from the radar anywhere, and at the next tournament we expect them to fight for high places.
3rd place: Unity (7W 7+1L, 22 pts)
Arrivals: Zaripov#25, Bure#10, Federico, Wolk (all – on loan from Alliance), angel (free).
Departures: Tema, elent, NK (all – free).
After a tense Champions Cup, Alliance, the finalists of the tournament, decided to team up with Unity to take a break, while adding power and experience to their farm club. By the way, the players from the Alliance eventually took the leading roles.
The start of the tournament was not very successful – 0-6 against Ice Creamers and The Oscars. But then Unity allowed only two defeats (one of which was in overtime), which let them fly onto the podium. The level of the players in the team was as equal as possible, which is reflected by the statistics, in which all Unity players are located next to each other.
Not the strongest tournament for the union of Alliance and Unity, which counted on fighting for first places, but bronze is bronze. We won’t see Unity further as the team was disbanded immediately after the tournament. But Alliance is returning, so we are waiting for them at Autumn Open.
2nd place: Ice Creamers (12W 3L, 36 pts)
Arrivals: DeadMouse (The Oscars), egorka, Dkato (both – on loan from Nordic Union).
Departures: CAH4E3 (The Oscars), Alexander09-2 (free).
After the not very strong Champions Cup, IC strengthened by one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and also took a couple of players from the Nordic Union. All this led to the fact that they were perceived as favorites of the Rapid League.
The whole tournament the team went on without even a hint of defeat. The attack worked, Jobson was rock solid in the defence, the goalie was strong – what else do you need to win? Unfortunately for Ice Creamers, they were stopped by The Oscars, who, after major changes in the lineup, had to prove their strength again.
Probably, this was due to the long adaptation of the team to 5v5; probably it is the lack of line chemistry in that roster. In any case, Ice Creamers will try to take revenge on The Oscars already at the Autumn Open.
1st place: The Oscars (15W 0L, 45 pts)
Arrivals: Howl (free), CAH4E3 (Ice Creamers), ryan (on loan from Nordic Union).
Departures: DeadMouse (Ice Creamers), Panda (The Bandits).
Since the rebranding of the league, The Oscars have not yet lost a single cup. To say more, they have not lost for 29 games (12 series). After winning the Champions Cup, The Oscars, led by Niko, had to rebuild half of their roster, due to Panda and DeadMouse leaving the team. But haven't they gotten even stronger?
All 5 main players of the team got into the nominations for their positions – and even more, won each of them. Even Ice Creamers, who, as we have already said, approached the tournament in the status of a favorite, could not stop them.
Strong attacking play from niko and vaiber, reinforced concrete defense in the form of oree and CAH4E3, and Howl who became the current best goalkeeper in the league. All this allowed the team to continue their winning streak and become champions of the third EHL tournament in a row. Congratulations!
Read the second part of the Rapid League results, wait for the Autumn Open preview, eat right and listen to your mom! Your EHL.
Results of matches and other information about Rapid League: bit.ly/ehl-season2-rapid-league.
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