Lots of eWorlds action is happening on Twitch this weekend.
The stakes get higher for the eight countries left competing in the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship as tthe torunament heads into the quarter-final stage.
2022 IIHF eWorld Championship: Tournament Website / Live Stream
IIHF Sixes: 6-on-6 exhibition game to follow eWorlds quarters
In addition to Saturday's first two QF games, to celebrate the launch of IIHF Gaming and the return of international ice hockey eSports, IIHF Gaming present the IIHF Sixes!
Following the quarter-final games on Saturday and Sunday, a total of 24 streamers, influencers and esports pros will provide entertainment on the virtual ice – at IIHF Sixes!
The players will be groups into four teams representing North American and European countries. The North America Sixes game has traditional rivals United States and Canada facing off, while the Europe Sixes games will see players from Finland compete with players from Germany.
The format will be played in the popular 6vs6 mode of NHL™ 22 – and shown live on Twitch!
The game between the USA and Canada can be watched on Saturday from 18:00 UTC on the IIHF channel, Finland against Germany will run at the same time on Sunday from 18:00 UTC.
The overview of the players of the four teams can be found here.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Finnish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg
German stream: https://www.twitch.tv/bl00dylp
Swedish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/esdor
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
The 6-on-6 North American exhibition matchup will have Canada face off against USA.
QUARTER-FINAL 1: FInland vs. Switzerland
Can Switzerland upset defending champion Finland?
Top favourites Finland will meet Switzerland at the start of the knockout phase. Can the Swiss manage to topple the Finnish giants?
As expected, the Finns secured first place in group A and will thus meet the runner-up of group C in the quarter-finals: Switzerland.
The winner of the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship had little trouble advancing to the knockout stage. With 23 points out of a possible 24, Finland dominated group A. Valtteri 'Vattuyy' Virtanen and 2020 MVP Erik 'ENCEKI' Tammenpää already seem to be in excellent shape.
'ENCEKI' warned after overtime
However, 'ENCEKI' has already received a small warning shot: The winner of the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship had to go into overtime against Denmark's Martin 'xProAm69x' Vibholm Nielsen (2-1) in the last group game on Xbox.
Swiss Sven 'OriginaL-SnuS' Julmi and Mirco 'Tron1x90' Salvi will be aiming for similar surprises. They secured second place in Group C well ahead of the French, only the USA were stronger.
Exclamation mark from 'Tron1x90
Especially 'Tron1x90' presented himself competitive against the US-American David 'JrPens' Roebuck, the 2-4 defeat was quite close. The favoured Finns should not underestimate Switzerland at all.
Fans can watch the first quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 15:45 UTC on Saturday. It will also be broadcast in Finnish and German.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Finnish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg
German stream: https://www.twitch.tv/bl00dylp
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
Can Switzerland upset defending champion Finland?
Top favourites Finland will meet Switzerland at the start of the knockout phase. Can the Swiss manage to topple the Finnish giants?
As expected, the Finns secured first place in group A and will thus meet the runner-up of group C in the quarter-finals: Switzerland.
The winner of the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship had little trouble advancing to the knockout stage. With 23 points out of a possible 24, Finland dominated group A. Valtteri 'Vattuyy' Virtanen and 2020 MVP Erik 'ENCEKI' Tammenpää already seem to be in excellent shape.
'ENCEKI' warned after overtime
However, 'ENCEKI' has already received a small warning shot: The winner of the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship had to go into overtime against Denmark's Martin 'xProAm69x' Vibholm Nielsen (2-1) in the last group game on Xbox.
Swiss Sven 'OriginaL-SnuS' Julmi and Mirco 'Tron1x90' Salvi will be aiming for similar surprises. They secured second place in Group C well ahead of the French, only the USA were stronger.
Exclamation mark from 'Tron1x90
Especially 'Tron1x90' presented himself competitive against the US-American David 'JrPens' Roebuck, the 2-4 defeat was quite close. The favoured Finns should not underestimate Switzerland at all.
Fans can watch the first quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 15:45 UTC on Saturday. It will also be broadcast in Finnish and German.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Finnish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg
German stream: https://www.twitch.tv/bl00dylp
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
QUARTER-FINAL 2: Canada vs. Czechia
Will the co-favourite get offensively rolling?
Canada will have to face Czechia at the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship in the fight for a place in the semi-finals – the offence could play a decisive role.
With 17 points from six games, Canada has entered the quarter-finals without any problems. Although the scoring of Sayed Safir 'SafirSnipezGOLD' Sodouri and Justin 'Regs84' Reguly was by far the weakest of all group winners.
While Team USA (57), Sweden (56) and Finland (55) were putting dozens of pucks in the net, Canada scored only 22 goals. Upcoming opponents Czechia, second in Group D, scored almost twice as often (41). Could an upset be in the making?
Best defense of the group phase
On the other hand, the Canadians, together with Sweden, had the safest defence of the group stage with only four goals against them. Three of them were conceded by 'Regs84' in the surprisingly close 4-3 win against Britain's Sean 'Sean' McIntosh in overtime.
Czechia got 18 out of 24 points in group D, only the Swedes (1-3 and 0-3) were too strong twice. In the decisive games against Austria Adam 'Dzouvi' Mensik (4-3) and Josef 'pepcastachurcik' Stachura (2-1) showed nerves of steel.
Czechia with 34 goals in only four games
'Dzouvi' and 'pepcastachurcik' showed their offensive skills against Kazakhstan and Japan. Against the two underdogs, the Czech duo scored a total of 34 goals in four games.
Fans can watch the second quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 18:45 UTC on Saturday.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
Will the co-favourite get offensively rolling?
Canada will have to face Czechia at the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship in the fight for a place in the semi-finals – the offence could play a decisive role.
With 17 points from six games, Canada has entered the quarter-finals without any problems. Although the scoring of Sayed Safir 'SafirSnipezGOLD' Sodouri and Justin 'Regs84' Reguly was by far the weakest of all group winners.
While Team USA (57), Sweden (56) and Finland (55) were putting dozens of pucks in the net, Canada scored only 22 goals. Upcoming opponents Czechia, second in Group D, scored almost twice as often (41). Could an upset be in the making?
Best defense of the group phase
On the other hand, the Canadians, together with Sweden, had the safest defence of the group stage with only four goals against them. Three of them were conceded by 'Regs84' in the surprisingly close 4-3 win against Britain's Sean 'Sean' McIntosh in overtime.
Czechia got 18 out of 24 points in group D, only the Swedes (1-3 and 0-3) were too strong twice. In the decisive games against Austria Adam 'Dzouvi' Mensik (4-3) and Josef 'pepcastachurcik' Stachura (2-1) showed nerves of steel.
Czechia with 34 goals in only four games
'Dzouvi' and 'pepcastachurcik' showed their offensive skills against Kazakhstan and Japan. Against the two underdogs, the Czech duo scored a total of 34 goals in four games.
Fans can watch the second quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 18:45 UTC on Saturday.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
QUARTER-FINAL 3: USA vs. Germany
'JrPens' gets teammate back after star performance
The USA and Germany both enjoyed positive runs in the special group stage. They will now meet in the quarter-finals of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship.
David 'JrPens' Roebuck was on his own in group C. His teammate Joseph 'Jos' Olmstead had to sit out due to a power outage. 'JrPens' carried the entire U.S. burden of success on his shoulders.
The 25-year-old won his three scheduled games on PlayStation – and all three games on Xbox. He scored the full 18 points, finished first in group C and provided the strongest offence of the group stage with 57 goals.
His performances on Xbox against Ukrainian Vladyslav 'Vladyslav' Kryvchenkov (10-0) and Frenchman Dylan 'Razorgue' Lemonnier (20-2) were impressive. 'Jos' returns in the quarter-finals against Germany – 'JrPens' can now fully concentrate on PlayStation…which could be tough news for the opposition.
The Germans secured second place in group A at the last minute. Their game against Denmark made the difference for teammates Luca 'Cpt_DirtyDangler' Knoll and Kevin 'Kevinator-373' Würterle.
At least as decisive was the comeback of 'Kevinator-373': Against Poland's Martin 'Venomenyce' Perenz, who had competed for Germany at the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship, he was trailing 1-3 until shortly before the end.
With two late goals, he managed to equalize and go into overtime, where he finally clinched the 4-3 win. It remains to be seen whether this thriller will give the Germans enough momentum to pose a threat to the favoured US team.
The Fans can watch the third quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 15:45 UTC on Sunday. It will also be broadcasted in German.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
German stream: https://www.twitch.tv/bl00dylp
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
'JrPens' gets teammate back after star performance
The USA and Germany both enjoyed positive runs in the special group stage. They will now meet in the quarter-finals of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship.
David 'JrPens' Roebuck was on his own in group C. His teammate Joseph 'Jos' Olmstead had to sit out due to a power outage. 'JrPens' carried the entire U.S. burden of success on his shoulders.
The 25-year-old won his three scheduled games on PlayStation – and all three games on Xbox. He scored the full 18 points, finished first in group C and provided the strongest offence of the group stage with 57 goals.
His performances on Xbox against Ukrainian Vladyslav 'Vladyslav' Kryvchenkov (10-0) and Frenchman Dylan 'Razorgue' Lemonnier (20-2) were impressive. 'Jos' returns in the quarter-finals against Germany – 'JrPens' can now fully concentrate on PlayStation…which could be tough news for the opposition.
The Germans secured second place in group A at the last minute. Their game against Denmark made the difference for teammates Luca 'Cpt_DirtyDangler' Knoll and Kevin 'Kevinator-373' Würterle.
At least as decisive was the comeback of 'Kevinator-373': Against Poland's Martin 'Venomenyce' Perenz, who had competed for Germany at the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship, he was trailing 1-3 until shortly before the end.
With two late goals, he managed to equalize and go into overtime, where he finally clinched the 4-3 win. It remains to be seen whether this thriller will give the Germans enough momentum to pose a threat to the favoured US team.
The Fans can watch the third quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 15:45 UTC on Sunday. It will also be broadcasted in German.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
German stream: https://www.twitch.tv/bl00dylp
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
QUARTER-FINAL 4: Sweden vs. Latvia
Perfect Swedes to meet efficient Latvians
The Swedes are looking to make it to the finals at the IIHF eWorld Championship as they did in 2020, with a matchup against Latvia in the quarter-final as the first knockout hurdle.
In terms of pure numbers, Sweden was the strongest team in the group stage with 24 points and 56-4 goals. Sebastian 'SebbeLarsen86' Larsen and Henrik 'eken45jr' Eklund made it clear they aim to repeat the success of the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship.
Back then, the two Swedes had marched all the way to the finals against Finland, but had lost there. In group D, the Scandinavians controlled Czechia (3-1 and 3-0) and Austria (3-1 and 4-2), while rolling over Kazakhstan (10-0 and 6-0) and Japan (9-0 and 18-0). Can Tre Kronor keep it up?
Balance as the great Swedish strength?
The Swedes don't have a clear superstar in the team, but both 'SebbeLarsen86' and 'eken45jr' have the very highest level on the controller. Balance is key on this team.
The Latvians, on the other hand, entered the quarter-finals with the tournament’s lowest goal difference of 13-9. With an average of less than four goals per game, the Latvians have been extremely efficient.
'chibra' and 'snipencelly8' don't get nervous
Especially at the end of the group stage against Slovakia (2-0 and 3-0) Kristers 'chibra' Bauers and Juris 'snipencelly8' Lopatko proved their maturity. Their entry into the quarter-finals was not in danger.
The Fans can watch the first quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 19:00 UTC on Sunday. It will also be broadcasted in Swedish.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Swedish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/esdor
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey
Perfect Swedes to meet efficient Latvians
The Swedes are looking to make it to the finals at the IIHF eWorld Championship as they did in 2020, with a matchup against Latvia in the quarter-final as the first knockout hurdle.
In terms of pure numbers, Sweden was the strongest team in the group stage with 24 points and 56-4 goals. Sebastian 'SebbeLarsen86' Larsen and Henrik 'eken45jr' Eklund made it clear they aim to repeat the success of the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship.
Back then, the two Swedes had marched all the way to the finals against Finland, but had lost there. In group D, the Scandinavians controlled Czechia (3-1 and 3-0) and Austria (3-1 and 4-2), while rolling over Kazakhstan (10-0 and 6-0) and Japan (9-0 and 18-0). Can Tre Kronor keep it up?
Balance as the great Swedish strength?
The Swedes don't have a clear superstar in the team, but both 'SebbeLarsen86' and 'eken45jr' have the very highest level on the controller. Balance is key on this team.
The Latvians, on the other hand, entered the quarter-finals with the tournament’s lowest goal difference of 13-9. With an average of less than four goals per game, the Latvians have been extremely efficient.
'chibra' and 'snipencelly8' don't get nervous
Especially at the end of the group stage against Slovakia (2-0 and 3-0) Kristers 'chibra' Bauers and Juris 'snipencelly8' Lopatko proved their maturity. Their entry into the quarter-finals was not in danger.
The Fans can watch the first quarter-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship on the Twitch channel of the IIHF – from 19:00 UTC on Sunday. It will also be broadcasted in Swedish.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Swedish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/esdor
IIHF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iihfhockey