NEW YORK/TORONTO - The National Hockey League announced today the 24 gamers who have qualified for the Regional Finals at the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™ and will compete for a share of $100,000 as well as Chel bragging rights.
The eight qualifying players from each region - Canada, the European Union and the United States - will meet in-person to compete in a double-elimination tournament on EA SPORTS NHL 18 for the opportunity to move on to the World Finals. Regional Finals will take place at Viasat studio in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday, May 6 Sportsnet studio in Toronto, Ont., on Friday, May 11; and NBC Sports studio in Stamford, Conn., on Sunday, May 20.
Regional rosters set for 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship
Twenty four qualifiers from Canada, European Union, United States to compete in double-elimination tournament on EA SPORTS NHL 18
The winner and runner-up from each Regional Final will advance to Las Vegas for the NHL Gaming World Championship: World Final, a round-robin style tournament hosted at the new Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel and Casino on Tuesday, June 19. Two gamers will emerge from the round-robin play to face off in a best-of-three final round to determine the 2018 NHL Gaming World Champion™.
The Champion will receive a $50,000 cash prize, the inaugural tournament trophy and attend the 2018 NHL Awards™ as a guest. Full rules, regulations and prize pool allocations can be found at
the NHL's Support Pages on FACEIT
.
The 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™ is a venture with NHL global broadcast partners NBC Sports, Sportsnet and Viasat and competitive gaming platform FACEIT. The tournament is supported by the NHL's corporate partners across three different geographic territories. Global partners include Bridgestone and Honda, with their rights spanning across the U.S., Canada and Europe. Partners exclusive to the U.S. include Dunkin' Donuts and GEICO, with PepsiCo Beverages Canada and Scotiabank in Canada.
Fans can follow the conversation using social hashtag #NHLGWC. Schedules for the past Online Qualifiers, results and individual players' road to the Regionals including can be found on
the NHL's Organizer Page on FACEIT
.
Players and their Twitter handles are listed below. To learn more about each qualifier, please visit
NHL.com/Gaming
.
Aaron Altmeyer, Simplicity eSports (Pittsburgh, PA, USA): @howtochel
Paul Arontie (Oulu, Finland): @\Plee999\
Dimitri Bastounis (Winnipeg, MB, Canada): @Skillzpaybillz3
Nicola Bruna, SetToDestroyX (Montreal, QC, Canada): @StDxFool
John Casagranda (Anchorage, AK, USA): @Johnwaynee90
Jérémie Dubé(Saint-Eustache, QC, Canada): @jerdubz
Matthew Grenier, Simplicity eSports (QC, Canada): @YungGren
Matthew Gutkoski (Lewis Center, OH, USA): @TSCCookie
Charlie Haddick (Leominster, MA, USA): @AgentXeero
Alex Kangas (Rochester, MN, USA): @Boonsopnhl
Eetu Keinänen (Lahti, Finland): @KANECTO
Hannes Kettunen, SJK eSports (Vantaa, Finland): @Hansulinho
Tuukka Kuha (Mikkeli, Finland): @FlyerKungen
Darko Micic (Nassjo, Sweden): @Darkic01
Arttu Mustila (Lempäälä, Finland): @ArtuzioFIN
Janne Niemelä (Kemijärvi, Finland): @Nieppi29
Michael Nugent, Simplicity eSports (Framingham, MA, USA): @NugeTV
Chris O'Donnell, World Best Gaming (Stoney Creek, ON, Canada): @x0dieeee
Jerome Proulx, SetToDestroyX (Rimouski, QC, Canada): @StDxJayProulx
David Roebuck, SetToDestroyX (Forty Fort, PA, USA): @StDxJrPens
Justin Reguly (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada): @regs\84
Richard Sherman, SetToDestroyX (Pittsburgh, PA, USA): @StDxRickChel
Harley Sitko, Simplicity eSports (Barrie, ON, Canada): @Sitko\29
Erik Tammenpää(Espoo, Finland): @I\Eki\I
Digital and Television Coverage
Each Regional Finals tournament will air on NBCSN, Sportsnet and Viasat digital and television platforms. Condensed shows will also air on television with premiere and encore presentations. Fans are encouraged to check their local listings for 2018 Gaming World Championship™ broadcast times.
Each broadcaster will also air the 2018 Gaming World Championship: World Finals from Las Vegas.
Broadcast Team
Today, the NHL announced the broadcast team for the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™ Regional and World Finals.
Andrea Helfrich (@Andrea_Helfrich) will serve as the tournaments rinkside reporter for each of the final four events. She is a native of Richboro, PA, and has spent time honing her oncamera skills in the entertainment, sports and music industry's. As the host of ULTRA, she travels to four continents hosting the livestream of the world's largest dance music festival. Currently, Helfrich is the In-Arena host of the Philadelphia Flyers and produces special interest pieces with fans and Flyers players.
A 16-year industry veteran, television personality Arda Ocal(@ArdaOcalTV) is presently part of the New Jersey Devils game broadcasts and hosts "The MSG Hockey Show" on MSG Network. He previously worked on AHL and OHL hockey broadcasts in various capacities. Ocal has moderated gaming conventions across the country and does play-by-play for many tournaments, particularly in the retro gaming space. He is of Turkish descent and hails from Toronto, ON.
A resident of Columbus, OH, and lifelong Blue Jackets fan, 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™ ambassador Andrew Telfer's (@TheNasher61) passion for both ice and roller hockey, along with his expertise in EA SPORTS NHL®18, makes him highly qualified to add context and flavor to tournament play. Telfer has been instrumental in engaging the EA SPORTS NHL community throughout the first round of play.
