Finland Crowned First 3ICE World Cup Champion in Belfast

Belfast gave 3ICE its first global stage, and Finland left with the trophy that now sits at the start of the tournament’s history.

The inaugural 3ICE World Cup ended with 3ICE Finland beating 3ICE Great Britain 6-1 in Sunday’s championship game at The O2 Belfast, closing a two-day international tournament that brought eight national squads, fast three-on-three hockey, and a packed local atmosphere to the home of the Belfast Giants.

Key Facts Box

Detail	Information
Tournament	3ICE World Cup 2026
Champion	3ICE Finland
Final	3ICE Finland 6-1 3ICE Great Britain
Venue	The O2 Belfast, home of the Belfast Giants
Dates	July 4 and July 5, 2026
Format	Eight-team international three-on-three tournament
Trophy	Eddie Johnston Sr. Trophy
Finalist	3ICE Great Britain
Third place	3ICE Germany
Official tournament body	3ICE

For a new tournament, the final delivered a clean sporting message. Finland did not simply survive the weekend. It controlled the decisive game, handled the emotional weight of facing the home-backed Great Britain squad, and became the first team to lift the Eddie Johnston Sr. Trophy.

For Great Britain, the final score hurt. Still, Adam Keefe’s side gave the Belfast crowd a real run to believe in, beating Switzerland and Germany in tight knockout games before running into a Finnish team that found its best hockey when the title was on the line.

The full event also mattered beyond the scoreboard. The Sports Encounter has been tracking hockey’s wider audience growth through its NHL coverage hub, and the 3ICE World Cup offered another sign that fast, compact, skill-heavy formats can help the sport reach new fans.

What Made the 3ICE World Cup Different

The 3ICE World Cup was built around the league’s three-on-three identity: space, speed, skill, and attacking hockey. The Belfast Giants’ official tournament guide described 3ICE as a professional ice hockey league founded by E.J. Johnston, son of former NHL goaltender and coach Ed Johnston, and built around a three-on-three format with two eight-minute periods of continuous play.

That structure matters because it changes the feel of the game. There is less time to hide. Mistakes become chances within seconds. Strong skaters can stretch open ice, goalies face more direct danger, and coaches have to manage rhythm rather than settle into long tactical patterns.

The official 3ICE World Cup page framed the tournament as an eight-team international event bringing together 3ICE USA, 3ICE Canada, 3ICE Great Britain, 3ICE Sweden, 3ICE Finland, 3ICE Switzerland, 3ICE Germany, and 3ICE Austria for a world championship in Belfast. Fans can follow the competition through the official 3ICE World Cup website.

That global mix gave the tournament its personality. Canada and USA opened with a North American rivalry game. Finland and Sweden brought a Nordic matchup. Germany and Austria produced a tight regional battle. Great Britain carried the local story, with Belfast Giants head coach Adam Keefe leading the home team.

3ICE World Cup 2026: All Match Results

Stage	Match	Final Score
Quarterfinal	3ICE Canada vs 3ICE USA	Canada 4-3 USA
Quarterfinal	3ICE Finland vs 3ICE Sweden	Finland 6-3 Sweden
Quarterfinal	3ICE Germany vs 3ICE Austria	Germany 3-2 Austria
Quarterfinal	3ICE Great Britain vs 3ICE Switzerland	Great Britain 3-2 Switzerland, OT/SO
Semifinal	3ICE Finland vs 3ICE Canada	Finland 3-2 Canada, SO
Semifinal	3ICE Great Britain vs 3ICE Germany	Great Britain 3-2 Germany, SO
Third-place game	3ICE Germany vs 3ICE Canada	Germany 5-4 Canada, SO
Championship game	3ICE Finland vs 3ICE Great Britain	Finland 6-1 Great Britain

The quarterfinal scores came from official 3ICE and Belfast Giants social updates. Canada edged USA 4-3 in the opener, with Chase Pearson highlighted in the official 3ICE post around the result. Finland beat Sweden 6-3 to reach the semifinals, while Germany defeated Austria 3-2. Great Britain then defeated Switzerland 3-2 in an overtime shootout, giving the home team a semifinal place.

On Sunday, Finland beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout to reach the championship game. Great Britain matched that route with a 3-2 shootout win over Germany, setting up a final that gave Belfast a home-team title shot. Germany recovered in the third-place game, overcoming Canada 5-4 in a shootout after trailing by four goals.

Finland’s Route to the 3ICE Title

Finland’s tournament had the shape every champion wants: scoring depth early, composure under pressure in the semifinal, and authority in the final.

The 6-3 win over Sweden gave Finland immediate credibility. In a three-on-three format, a three-goal margin against Sweden says plenty about pace and finishing. Finland did not need time to grow into the tournament. It arrived ready to attack.

The semifinal against Canada tested a different part of the team. Finland won 3-2 in a shootout, which meant it had to handle tight margins after showing open-ice scoring power the previous day. That balance often separates a tournament winner from a team that only looks good when games are loose.

Then came the final.

Finland’s 6-1 win over Great Britain was the most decisive result of the knockout stage. It also came against the team carrying the building’s emotional energy. That detail matters. Finland had to manage the crowd, the occasion, and a home-backed opponent that had already survived two 3-2 pressure games.

The key Finnish names carried strong hockey value before the puck dropped. The Belfast Giants roster guide listed Kasmir Kaskisuo in goal, with Teemu Kivihalme, Oskari Laaksonen, Teemu Pulkkinen, Anton Levtchi, Leo Ring, and Kristian Tanus in the Finnish lineup under coach Raimo Helminen. Pulkkinen’s shooting threat, Levtchi’s attacking instincts, and Kaskisuo’s experience gave Finland the kind of profile suited to a short, sharp format.

That final score will stand as the first major marker in 3ICE World Cup history.

Great Britain Gave Belfast a Run to Remember

Great Britain’s final defeat should not erase the quality of its weekend.

The home team beat Switzerland 3-2 in an overtime shootout, then beat Germany 3-2 in another shootout. Those two results say something clear about nerve. Great Britain had to live in close games and still find ways to survive.

Adam Keefe’s role also gave the run extra meaning. The Belfast Giants guide noted that 3ICE Great Britain were led by Keefe and featured selected players from across the Elite Ice Hockey League, giving local fans a chance to see domestic talent united on home ice against international opposition.

The roster included Lucas Brine, Harrison Blaisdell, Cameron Briere, Josh Waller, Thomas Freel, Ciaran Long, and Bayley Harewood. That group gave the crowd more than a ceremonial host-team presence. It produced a final appearance in the tournament’s first edition.

For TSE readers who followed the way hockey emotion carried through the Stanley Cup Final, Great Britain’s run had a familiar hook. As seen in The Sports Encounter’s coverage of Carolina’s Stanley Cup clincher after a 20-year wait, hockey crowds respond strongly when a team gives them a reason to believe before the result fully arrives.

Great Britain did that in Belfast.

Canada, Germany, USA, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria Add Depth to the Weekend

Canada opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over USA in a rivalry game that gave the event a strong first impression. Chase Pearson was highlighted in 3ICE’s official social post after that result, while Canada’s roster also included Dylan Ferguson, Matthew Register, Jordan Kawaguchi, Josh Roach, Tag Bertuzzi, and Jayce Hawryluk under coach Larry Murphy.

Finland ended Canada’s title bid in the semifinal, but Canada still pushed into the third-place game. Germany then delivered one of the weekend’s most dramatic responses, beating Canada 5-4 in a shootout after overcoming a four-goal deficit.

Germany’s tournament deserves respect. It beat Austria 3-2, lost to Great Britain 3-2 in a shootout, then recovered to take third place. In a two-day tournament, that is a demanding emotional arc.

Sweden’s tournament ended quickly against Finland, but the roster brought notable names, including Oliver Kylington, Dmytro Timashov, and coach Johnny Oduya. Switzerland pushed Great Britain to a 3-2 overtime shootout before exiting, while Austria fell by a single goal to Germany.

The format gave every team a narrow window. That is part of 3ICE’s appeal. The same feature can feel brutal for teams. There is no long group stage to repair mistakes. A slow start can become elimination. A shootout can decide a full weekend’s direction.

That urgency connects with hockey’s current audience momentum. The Sports Encounter explored the wider viewing surge in NHL’s Ratings Rise Proves Hockey Has Rediscovered its Lost Mojo, and 3ICE fits that same fan appetite for pace, danger, and quick emotional turns.

Key Players and Tournament Figures

Official full tournament scoring leaders and award lists were not available in the public sources reviewed at the time of writing. Based on team runs, roster strength, and match outcomes, these were the names and figures that shaped the event most clearly.

Kasmir Kaskisuo, 3ICE Finland: Finland’s title run needed stability in goal, especially in the 3-2 shootout semifinal win over Canada. Kaskisuo’s experience made him one of Finland’s most important tournament pieces.

Teemu Pulkkinen, 3ICE Finland: Pulkkinen’s shot and attacking profile made him a natural fit for three-on-three hockey. In a format built for quick releases and open ice, his presence helped give Finland top-end danger.

Anton Levtchi, 3ICE Finland: Levtchi gave Finland another skilled attacking option in a team that scored 15 goals across three games.

Raimo Helminen, 3ICE Finland coach: Finland’s Olympic medallist led the first 3ICE World Cup champion. The team’s path showed both scoring force and late-game control.

Lucas Brine, 3ICE Great Britain: Great Britain reached the final after two 3-2 games that required goaltending resilience and shootout composure.

Adam Keefe, 3ICE Great Britain coach: Keefe gave the home crowd a finalist. His team carried Belfast’s tournament story into the championship game.

Chase Pearson, 3ICE Canada: Pearson was singled out in 3ICE’s official post after Canada’s 4-3 win over USA, which made him one of the early faces of the tournament.

Jon Matsumoto, 3ICE Germany: Germany’s run to third place leaned on veteran quality, and Matsumoto was one of the strongest names on the German roster listed by Belfast Giants.

For readers who follow how individual performances shape hockey narratives, this tournament sits naturally alongside The Sports Encounter’s Stanley Cup work, including its Game 6 context piece on Carolina standing one win from Stanley Cup glory and its Game 5 analysis of Carolina taking a 3-2 Stanley Cup Final lead.

Why Belfast Mattered

The location gave the tournament more than a neutral stage.

Belfast brought hockey culture, a strong arena setting, and a natural local connection through the Belfast Giants. The Giants’ report said thousands of spectators packed The O2 Belfast across the weekend, while Sports Director Steve Thornton described the event as a celebration of world-class hockey, collaboration, community, and competition.

E.J. Johnston, 3ICE founder and CEO, said the city, fans, and hockey were “incredible,” adding that bringing the format overseas for the first time and seeing it succeed showed Belfast’s appetite for world-class hockey.

That matters commercially and editorially. A new international hockey event needs proof of atmosphere. It needs a crowd that understands the pace. It needs a host city that can treat a short-format tournament as a real sporting occasion.

Belfast did that.

Final Verdict: Finland Gave the First 3ICE World Cup Its Standard

Every new tournament needs its first reference point.

The 3ICE World Cup now has one: Finland in Belfast, 2026.

The champions scored heavily, survived a semifinal shootout, and delivered the clearest performance of the weekend in the final. Great Britain gave the event its local heartbeat, Germany gave it a comeback story, Canada gave it an opening classic, and the wider field gave the format an international identity.

The first 3ICE World Cup gave the format a serious international marker. Finland brought the strongest finish, Great Britain gave Belfast a home-team run to follow, and Germany’s comeback in the third-place game added another layer to a busy two-day event.

The tournament still has to grow, but its first edition showed that short-form, skill-heavy hockey can create real tension when the venue, crowd, and competitive stakes all line up.

For now, the first Eddie Johnston Sr. Trophy belongs to Finland.

The next question is how quickly the rest of the hockey world catches up.

FAQs

Who won the inaugural 3ICE World Cup?

3ICE Finland won the inaugural 3ICE World Cup after beating 3ICE Great Britain 6-1 in the championship game at The O2 Belfast.

Where was the 3ICE World Cup 2026 played?

The tournament was played at The O2 Belfast, home of the Belfast Giants, on July 4 and July 5, 2026.

Which teams played in the 3ICE World Cup?

The eight teams were 3ICE Finland, 3ICE Great Britain, 3ICE Canada, 3ICE USA, 3ICE Sweden, 3ICE Switzerland, 3ICE Germany, and 3ICE Austria.

What was the final score of the championship game?

3ICE Finland defeated 3ICE Great Britain 6-1 in the final.

Who finished third in the 3ICE World Cup?

3ICE Germany finished third after beating 3ICE Canada 5-4 in a shootout.

What is the 3ICE format?

3ICE is a three-on-three ice hockey format built around speed, skill, open ice, and short games. The Belfast Giants guide describes the format as two eight-minute periods of continuous play.

Why was the Belfast tournament important?

The Belfast event was the first 3ICE World Cup and the format’s major international expansion. It gave 3ICE a global stage and placed Belfast at the center of a new chapter for three-on-three hockey.