As one tournament ends, another two begin.
Fresh off the conclusion of the “Leafs Gaming League” on January 3rd, 2018, fans of NHL esports can now turn their attention to the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions. The Washington Capitals became just the 3rd NHL franchise to enter the virtual hockey space when they announced their “Caps esports Face-off” and “Chel Classic” activations on December 17, 2018.
This two-stage event will pit the best NHL 19 gamers in Canada, the USA and select countries in Europe (Finland, Sweden
Once all of the money is won during the Caps esports Face-off, the Top 3 finalists will be headed to the 2019 Chel Classic. These three gamers will represent the Capitals in a Best-of-5 showcase match against the three champions of the “Bolts Chel Challenge” – the Tampa Bay Lightning’s sister tournament, which was announced on the same day. More details on that event here.
For competitive NHL gamers, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The Maple Leafs just finished emptying their wallets during the Leafs Gaming League, and now two more teams have stepped up and opened theirs to the competitive NHL gaming community. Let’s hope this trend continues throughout 2019.
Fans can watch individual players live-stream their games during the online qualifiers by visiting NHL 19’s Twitch page. The Capitals will also be broadcasting the Top 8 Finals (02/22/2019) and the 2019 Chel Classic (03/19/2019) on their official Twitch channel.
Are you ready to play? Click below to register for the online qualifiers of the Caps esports Face-off.
Key Information
Tournament Schedule
| EVENT | FORMAT | TYPE | DATE | START TIME | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifier #1 | Double Elimination (Bo1) | Online | January 12, 2019 | 10:00 AM (EST) | ||
| Qualifier #2 | Double Elimination (Bo1) | Online | January 19, 2019 | 10:00 AM (EST) | ||
| Qualifier #3 | Double Elimination (Bo1) | Online | January 26, 2019 | 10:00 AM (EST) | ||
| Qualifier #4 | Double Elimination (Bo1) | Online | February 2, 2019 | 10:00 AM (EST) | ||
| Top 8 Finals | Single Elimination (Bo3) | LAN | February 22, 2019 | 6:00 PM (EST) | ||
| 2019 Chel Classic | Single Series (Bo5) | LAN | March 19, 2019 | 7:00 PM (EST) |
Tournament Prizing
| PLACE | PRIZES |
|---|---|
| 1st | $5,000 + Showcase Match + Tickets to WSH vs TBL |
| 2nd | $3,000 + Showcase Match + Tickets to WSH vs TBL |
| 3rd | $2,000 + Showcase Match + Tickets to WSH vs TBL |
Qualification Process
The Caps esports Face-off consists of 4 online qualifiers. The top 2 players of each qualifier (8 total finalists) will be invited to a live, 1v1 tournament in Washington D.C. to compete for their share of the $10,000 prize and a spot in the 2019 Chel Classic. The online qualifiers will be held on 4 consecutive Saturdays, starting on January 12, 2019. Each qualifier will start at 10:00 am EST and will run until there are only 2 players left. It is estimated that each online qualifier will last 8 to 9 hours – start to finish.
Tournament Format
Each online qualifier will consist of a double elimination, Best-of-1 format bracket, where the winners of the upper and lower bracket from the 4 qualifiers will move on to the Top 8 Finals. These finalists will then be grouped into
Key Eligibility Requirements
- Must be 16 years of age or older to participate
- All games will be played on the PlayStation 4 (PS4) console
- You must be a legal resident of the USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, or the Czech Republic
- You cannot register for an online qualifier if you placed top 2 in a previous online qualifier
- You cannot win both the Caps esports Face-off and the Bolts Chel Challenge
For more information, please visit the official tournament website, hosted by smash.gg.
Results
Qualifier 1
| RANK | COUNTRY | PLAYER ID | PLAYER NAME | ORG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | i_Eki_i | Erik Tammenpää | Team Sampi |
| 2 |  | eken45jr | Henrik Eklund | N/A |
| 3 |  | Regs84 | Justin Reguly | Simplicity |
| 4 | | miviens | Michael Viens | Mirage |
| 5 | | Joshfearless | Joshua D'Eri | Lazarus |
| 6 | | Kriketsi17 | Kristian Veijola | N/A |
| 7 |  | JrPens91 | David Roebuck | Lazarus |
| 8 | | Bouch | Ryan Bouchard | Lazarus |
Qualifier 2
| RANK | COUNTRY | PLAYER ID | PLAYER NAME | ORG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Regs84 | Justin Reguly | Simplicity |
| 2 | | MrNipsuli | Roni Kaján | N/A |
| 3 | | JrPens91 | David Roebuck | Lazarus |
| 4 | | Kriketsi17 | Kristian Veijola | N/A |
| 5 | | DaddyPadre | Tyler Stewart | Lazarus |
| 6 | | HK_OFs | Josh Fuss | N/A |
| 7 | | Bouch | Ryan Bouchard | Lazarus |
| 8 | | Baky | Brendan Bak | N/A |
Qualifier 3
| RANK | COUNTRY | PLAYER ID | PLAYER NAME | ORG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Joshfearless | Joshua D'Eri | Lazarus |
| 2 | | Keso_Paghuni | Brian Donald | N/A |
| 3 | | PleeMaker | Paul Arontie | N/A |
| 4 | | xteemuzz | Teemu Polttila | N/A |
| 5 | | Nieppii | Janne Niemelä | N/A |
| 6 | | xSelanne8x | Antero Enbuske | N/A |
| 7 | | xDoumi | Aaro Ruuhinen | N/A |
| 8 | | Dreamickie | Vesa Rajamäki | N/A |
Qualifier 4
| RANK | COUNTRY | PLAYER ID | PLAYER NAME | ORG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Canadiens-27 | Samuel Landry | AB Titan Gaming |
| 2 | NippinBiscuits | Charles Ferris | N/A | |
| 3 | | HK_OFs | Josh Fuss | N/A |
| 4 | | Dominointi | Risto Järvi | N/A |
| 5 | Pikkardz | N/A | ||
| 6 | | buranaburana | Sami Piiparinen | N/A |
| 7 | | willekunq | Wille Juntunen | N/A |
| 8 | | Artuzio | Arttu Mustila | Team Sampi |
Have questions? Ask us anything in the comment section below.
