The Ice Hockey Federation IIHF will host its own eWorld Championship in NHL 22 this summer. 22 nations will compete for the virtual world championship title.
The IIHF had already ventured into the eSports world in 2020 with the “Fan Esports Championship”, when the Finnish team prevailed in NHL 20. Two years later, the Ice Hockey World Federation is back virtually, and the field of participants will be expanded as part of the IIHF eWorld Championship 2022.
22 instead of 16 nations will fight for the NHL 22 crown in July, before that the respective two-man teams will be determined in online qualifiers from mid-June. The favourites on digital ice are also the top 4 in the IIHF world rankings: Finland, Canada, the USA and Sweden – Germany will probably enter with a chance of being an outsider.
Licensed IIHF content in NHL 22
Additional authenticity is guaranteed by the major content update that implemented the first licensed content from the IIHF in NHL 22 in December and January – including a stadium for the World Federation. After the PlayStation and Xbox representatives of all participating countries are found in June, the group stage starts at the beginning of July.
Two quarter-finalists will be found in each of four groups on 2 and 3 July, with the round of the last eight taking place the following weekend. The semi-finals and the grand final will then take place on 16 and 17 July – from the group stage onwards, official livestreams will be presented for each tournament phase.
“Launch of a new eSports programme “
“With the start of the IIHF eWorld Championship, we are also aiming for the launch of a new eSports programme with various offers for the future,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif. The initial registration on the gaming website of the world federation can already be made.
For the implementation of the eWorld Championship, the IIHF is cooperating with the eSport Studio and Infront, while Skoda and Engelbert Strauss were introduced as partners. The German duo reached the quarter-finals against Finland in 2020, and the journey is set to continue two years later – albeit possibly with a different line-up.