NHL

EKI takes 2nd at the Washington Capitals Faceoff

On February 22nd, our NHL 19 player Erik ‘’EKI’’ Tammenpää started his first offline event of the year with a 2nd place finish at the Washington Capitals Faceoff.

The first ever Washington Capitals Faceoff featured 8 players who had qualified throughout 4 different online events. Besides our player EKI from Finland, the tournament had players from Canada, USA, and Sweden. The event had $10,000 in prize money. 

Everything started off great for the Team Sampi player. EKI went into the grand final undefeated, and without having to use the double elimination bracket. In the grand final, which was played in a best of 3 format, EKI faced the Canadian player Justin ‘’Regs84’’ Reguly. A player EKI had already defeated in the winner bracket final in a very convincing fashion.

The grand final started off rough for EKI, and got beaten 4-0 in the 1st match. The 2nd match looked to be the same story, and Regs84 took a 2-0 lead. This time however, EKI was able to fight back and force overtime. The 2nd game could’ve gone either way in the overtime, but in the end it was Regs84 who had the last word and became the Washington Capitals Faceoff Champion.

Three best players from this event will represent Washington Capitals against Tampa Bay in a showcase match on March 19th. Alongside EKI and Regs84, Canadiens-27 will also represent Washington Capitals.

TOP3 – EKI, Regs84, Canadiens-7. Credits: Washington Capitals

Interview with Erik ‘’EKI’’ Tammenpää:

You placed 2nd at the Washington Capitals Faceoff, are you pleased with the end result?

• “I can’t say I’m pleased because I always want to win and at the Grand Final I couldn’t get the most out of myself and probably played my worst games there. But at the end of the day TOP3 was enough from this tournament and I can be pretty happy about going to Washington again and representing Caps in the 3v3 showcase match against the Lightning guys.”

How was the tournament and experience going to Washington for you?

• “Caps did a great job of organizing the tournament. Little problems but that’s expected when doing a tournament for a first time. And of course it’s always nice visiting a city I’ve never been in.”

You’re one of the three players who will play for Washington Capitals in a showcase match against Tampa Bay. How will it be to play with the other two guys, and what expectations do you have going into that match?

• “I’m not sure what to think. I of course play 6v6 almost every day but not a lot of 3v3.  I also think the North-American guys play a little different, but we’re 3 great players so we’ll figure it out. I just know the experience will be amazing.”