Finland vanquished Sweden in a whitewash final ©IIHF

Finland defeated Nordic rivals Sweden 24-8 on aggregate to be crowned the champions of the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Esports Fan Championship.

The team of Erik "Tilantekija" Tammenpaa and Joel "Rottadee" Myllymaki were comfortable winners in the final after winning all four matches against their neighbours on the EA Sports game NHL 20.

Playing on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles, "Rottadee" gave his team-mate a 15-point cushion after winning his second PS4 game, before "Tilantekija" won by a single goal on the last Xbox One match.

Speaking of his win, Tammenpaa praised his partner for playing so well.

"I don't know what happened, but I'm creating a 'Rottadee' fan club after this," he said.

"I was dancing all over the place when he was scoring goals, he put me in such an easy situation."

"Rottadee" was the star of the final with an opening 7-2 win, followed by a 3-2 victory for Tilantekija on Xbox One.

However, the clincher was the 12-3 victory in "Rottadee's second match, making it an easy 2-1 victory for his compatriot to keep the team undefeated.

On the way to the final, Finland vanquished Britain in the last-16 with a 27-6 win, before winning by 11 against Germany in the quarter-finals.

However, their semi-final thumping of Russia, by a score of 33-7, was a clear indication of the strength of the team.

Sweden enjoyed a comfortable opening success over Italy, winning 28-10 before defeating Czech Republic 15-12 in a tight quarter-final.

Perhaps the biggest shock was the 17-16 defeat of Canada that booked them their place in the final.

All of the nations competing were set to compete at the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich and Lausanne in Switzerland before the COVID-19 pandemic saw its cancellation.

More than 3,000 people registered to take part in the national qualifiers, with two players from each nation eventually being selected.

Tammenpaa previously went undefeated to win the first NHL Gaming World Championship in Las Vegas in 2018.

All 32 participants will receive commemorative pucks and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship tickets for 2021.