„JesseL2002“ is the 2023 MVP – big steps out of the shadows

Jesse „JesseL2002“ Linden has been named the MVP of the IIHF eWorld Championship 2023. The young Finnish player outplayed even his world-class teammate.

With a crushing 29-17 win, Finland won the IIHF eWorld Championship 2023 in the finals against Canada, securing the three-peat after the titles from 2020 and 2022. It was not only the third triumph for Finland, but also the third time Erik „EkiOriginal“ Tammenpää celebrated the victory, despite being less dominant this year compared to the previous seasons.

„EkiOriginal“ lost three of his ten games, whereas in 2020 and 2022 he had only lost two games combined. While the Xbox player struggled at times,  his teammate „JesseL2002“ stepped up in an impressive manner and scored 36 goals in the perfect Finnish group stage. With only seven goals conceded, his biggest moments were seen in the knockout stage.

„JesseL2002“ with a masterclass in the finals

With „EkiOriginal“ struggling against Germany (6-2 and 2-4) in the quarter-finals, „JesseL2002“ left no doubt about who’ll advance to the semis. After beating Luca „Cpt_DirtyDangler“ Knoll with 4-3 and 4-0, he solidified hiself as the game changer fort he Finnish team.

„JesseL2002“ defeated the Canadian PlayStation player Samuel „CadCooks“ Landry with 15-4 and 7-3, setting up the Finns for a comfortable lead. In the end, „EkiOriginal“ praised his teammate in the highest tones after the finals.

The best player of the best team often makes for the right MVP of the tournament – a well deserved award for „JesseL2002“. It takes a special player to step out of the big shadow of „EkiOriginal“, and „JesseL2002“ didn’t just step out of it, he created his own shadow for any future newcomers on the virtual ice.

„Regs84“ shines in offense and defense

The great performances of „Regs84“ could have been rewarded with the MVP title as well. „Regs84“  captures the titles of Best Forward and Best Defender with 82 goals in ten games – averaging 8.2 per game on Xbox.

„Regs84“ also conceded only 21 goals, barely more than two per game. For comparison: „EkiOriginal“ saw 25 of the opponents‘ shots enter the own goal and „JesseL2002“ conceded 27 goals. His Canadian teammate „CadCooks“ had his goaltender defeated 45 times throughout the IIHF eWorld Championship 2023 – no title for „Regs84“, but big awards to acknowledge his class.