The two top teams are in the championship game, having put up 24 goals between them in the semi-final round. Team USA advanced with a 12-4 victory over Czechia, while Finland dispatched Latvia 12-6.
Finland has entered the final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship after a strong performance in the semi-final against Latvia – the USA are waiting.
After the upset against Sweden in the quarter-finals, the question was whether Latvia would be able to upset the Finns, who have emerged as one if no the top eSport nation in the IIHF.
This time, neither of the two duos had an advantage due to the team selection: Both Finland and Latvia played with the US national team in NHL™ 22.
'ENCEKI' paves the way with a 4-1 win
In the first game on the PlayStation between Valtteri 'Vattuyy' Virtanen and Kristers 'chibra' Bauers a close semi-final was on the cards. For a long time the duel remained goalless – the Finn was able to secure the 1-0 win less than four seconds before the end.
Erik 'ENCEKI' Tammenpää, who already triumphed at the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship, won 4-1 against Juris 'snipencelly8' Lopatko and extended the Finnish advantage.
The third game was closer again. 'Vattuyy' and 'chibra' ended the regular time with a 3-3 draw, so things had to be decided in overtime.
Virtanen needed only about 30 seconds to score the goal to make it 4-3. So 'ENCEKI' went into the last game at the Xbox with a 9-4 lead – an almost impossible task for 'snipencelly8' going against the top player of the tournament.
The Latvian put up a brave fight against the 2020 MVP and four-time winner of the NHL Gaming World Championship in Europe. Lopatko first scored the 1-0, 'ENCEKI' turned the game with three goals. Finally 'snipencelly8' was able to reduce the score to 2-3.
No further upsets: United States defeats Czechia 12-4
The USA defeated Czechia 12-4 in the semi-final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship and will meet Finland in the final on Sunday.
At the 2020 IIHF Esports Fan Championship, the United States was eliminated in the first round by North American rival Canada. Two years later, David 'JrPens' Roebuck and Joseph 'Jos' Olmstead are in the final.
The decisive player for the "Stars and Stripes" was the Xbox expert 'Jos'. However, the semi-final against Czechia was opened by 'JrPens' in the first game on PlayStation against Adam 'Dzouvi' Mensik.
'JrPens' concedes first loss in tournament
Roebuck defeated the Czech 3-0 to lay the foundation. Jos' then met Josef 'pepcastachurcik' Stachura and gave his opponent no chance – the 4-0 win was a preliminary decision.
In the second Xbox game 'JrPens' had to accept his first defeat in the tournament. 'Dzouvi' beat the US American 3-2 after overtime and cut the overall score to 3-9 – still a comfortable lead for the United States.
Especially because 'Jos' didn't want to leave any doubts at the end: Olmstead defeated 'pepcastachurcik' 3-1 and made the final score 12-4, which lifted the USA into the final of the 2022 IIHF eWorld Championship.
'JrPens' and 'Jos' benefited slightly from the team selection in the semi-final: They played with the US national team in NHL™ 22, 'Dzouvi' and 'pepcastachurcik' with Czechia – the USA have a higher overall rating.
The grand final between the United States and the Finns, who defeated Latvia 12-6, will be broadcasted on the IIHF's Twitch channel on Sunday starting at 19:00 UTC. In addition, a Finnish stream of the final will be made available.
Main stream: https://www.twitch.tv/iihfhockey
Finnish stream: https://www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg