ELF Recap: Championship Weekend

By Peter Mann

And that’s a wrap; the 2025 European League of Football season has come to its more than exciting close with an end-of-season awards night, and the season finale, Championship Game, contested between Stuttgart Surge, on home turf, and Vienna Vikings.

Beginning with the awards though, the Madrid Bravos stood out with four of their stars picking up honours, whilst there was also a three-peat for a Special Teams star at the Helvetic Mercenaries.

BURRELL DOUBLE THREE-PEATS After another impressive season on Special Teams, HELVETIC MERCENARIES’ kick return specialist, DEVAN BURRELL, has double three-peated in the ELF end-of-season awards.

Burrell, who started out with the Missouri Western Griffons (2018 – 2021), arrived on the European continent in 2022 playing for the Allgau Comets in Germany, before stepping up to the ELF and a spot on the roster of the Leipzig Kings.

After leaving Germany for Italy, in 2023, his stock has continued to rise, and star shining brighter each year; first with the Milano Seamen (2023), then Wroclaw Panthers (2024), the now 30-year-old, after a season with the Mercenaries, has three-peated, in duplicate.

Not only has the American now claimed three consecutive Special Teams Player of the Year awards, but in each of the last three seasons he has also been named an ELF 1st Team All Star player, (2023 – 2025). Impressive to say the least for a special teams player who can be called, Mr Reliable.

Burrell’s final stats for 2025 shows 1514RET, 44KR, 1247KR YDS, 2KR TDs; 11PR, 267PR YDS, 1PR TD, with his longest returns being 103yds kick-off return, and 65yds punt return.

BRAVOS QUARTET DOMINATE AWARDS NIGHT Of the dozen or so awards handed out at the 2025 EFL Awards Night, four were claimed by the MADRID BRAVOS, following a season that saw them make the play-offs, before coming up short on Wild Card weekend.

Despite losing to eventual champions, Stuttgart Surge, four of the Bravos franchise were awarded for great seasons – REID SINNETT (QR) and ARON CRUICKSHANK (WR) were joined by JUSTUS SEELIG (RB) and Australian BRANDON OSWIN (OT) on the honours roll.

Sinnett and Cruickshank have taken a lot of the spotlight throughout the season, and deservedly so considering the strength-to-strength nature of their partnership, whilst the Bravos’ offensive duo, of Seelig and Oswin, they’ve also been writing headlines of their own.

Sinnett claimed the ELF Season MVP award, Cruickshank was named Offensive Player of the Year, Oswin the Offensive Lineman of the Year, and Seelig the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

All in their debut seasons, Sinnett posted 4274yds, 52TDs and Cruickshank 1815yds, 21TDs, with Seelig adding 534yds, 3TDs (10 games).

ALL HAIL LOUIS GEYER The 2021 Rookie of the Year, LOUIS GEYER, has had another season to remember for his, STUTTGART SURGE, being named in the 2025 2nd Team All Stars for the second time as well as being the 2025 Championship Game MVP.

Despite a brief spell at Cologne Centurions (2022), Geyer is Stuttgart through-and-through and has been playing the sport for a decade now, spending four years with the Stuttgart Scorpions (2016 – 2020).              

The 24-year-old wide receiver has seen a stunning rise with the Surge, and the season just finishing has highlighted his skill and prowess on the football field, and has now registered some 65 career games since joining the ELF in 2021.

This season the WR has posted stats of 1229yds, 18TDs, with a trio of TD scores coming in the games against Hamburg Sea Devils (week three), and Frankfurt Galaxy (week nine), and another treble in the Championship Game itself, against Vienna Vikings.

SURGE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE A thirteen-win season overall saw Stuttgart Surge become the first side to win the ELF Championship, in their own stadium, when seeing off three-time finalists, Vienna Vikings.

Having lost the big one in their last appearance, two years ago, odds were looking more-and-more against the Germans when the Austrian side, who’d posted an 11-1 regular season record, were ahead by three at the end of both the first and second quarters.

Both had registered a pair of TDs, with the Vikings edging ahead thanks to a 45yd FG from Dennis Tasic sandwiched between the opening scores for each; Ben Holmes connected with Reece Horn from close range to open the scoring then, after Tasic’s kick, Reilly Hennessey, in his last-ever game, hit MVP Louis Geyer with a 23yd TD.

The second quarter would see Karri Pajarinen rush for a close-range score of his own to put the Vikings further ahead whilst the Hennessy – Geyer connection kept the Surge in the game, the Austrians leading 17-14 at the halfway mark.

The Vikings though, they took their foot off the gas in the second half, and the Surge capitalised, Timo Bronn’s boot levelling the contest at seventeen-apiece, both kickers impressing as Bronn posted 1/1 FG, 3/3 PAT, 101yds (punt) whilst Tasic placed 1/1 FG, 2/2 PAT in reply.

It would be a fourth quarter, game-winning score from the Surge which saw the Germans win the big one, and again it would be Hennesey – Geyer linking up from 21yds on a right-sided pass.

That Championship-winning partnership would see Hennessey post 11/26, 232yds, 3TDs (pass) in his final game, and MVP Geyer add 132yds, 3TDs (rec), whilst replying Holmes added 17/30, 215yds, 1TD (pass), Pajarinen with 71yds, 1TD (rush), and Horn 116yds, 1TD (rec).

The remaining ELF awards were presented as follows – Noel Svancar (Vienna Vikings, ELF Man of Honor), Kendral Ellison (Munich Ravens, Coach of the Year), Johannes Brenner (Stuttgart Surge, Assistant Coach of the Year), Jon Cole (Fehervar Enthroners, Comeback Player of the Year), Aleksandar Borkovic (Fehervar Enthroners, Homegrown Player of the Year), AJ Wentland (Wroclaw Panthers, Defensive Player of the Year), Tyler Foster (Berlin Thunder, Rookie of the Year), Arthur Kingdom (Defensive Rookie of the Year). 

What happens next though is anybody’s guess really….

PETER MANN

NFL ANALYST

PETER IS A LIFELONG SPORTS FAN, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR BASED IN COUNTY DURHAM. HE HAS FOLLOWED THE NFL AND THE RAIDERS SINCE THE 1980s, AND LOVES BOTH SPORTS AND FAMILY HISTORY. PETER HAS A DEGREE IN SPORT & EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY, AND CAN BE FOUND ON TWITTER @petermannwriter

 
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