Fantasy Premier League have revealed the forthcoming release of a new draft game for the 2017/18 season.
After much rumour and suggestion, the news arrived via an update to the official app and offered some early information on the game type.
First things first, it’s important to stress that the new FPL draft game will be free to play and run alongside the “traditional” game as an addition to our season.
The game will allow for the formation of leagues with between 2-16 members. Within those leagues, teams will consist of the usual 15-man squads but, of course, the squads will be unique. So only one team in each league can own Harry Kane.
Like the traditional FPL game, leagues can run in the classic form or in the head-to-head format. We can set up leagues or put ourselves in public leagues with “strangers”. If you really want to, you can enter up to ten leagues over the season.
Details on how the draft will work are yet to be released but it is stated that no budget will be in place. Therefore the draft will take place without player prices, operating a similar “snake” draft system that we’ve seen in other games such as Dugout FC, with players “taking it in turns” to select players until a squad is complete.
The game will use the exact same scoring rules as FPL, with bonus points applying.
This new FPL game follows two years on from Ultimate Fantasy Premier League – a version that was closed for the 2016/17 season. Many of us miss that incarnation and will welcome this new development as an addition to our seasons.
Certainly for those who can recall auction nights in the original Fantasy League, FPL Draft could represent a blissful return to those halcyon days where we battled to get Alan Shearer in our squads.
We will bring you more information on FPL Draft in the weeks to come, including our take on the strategies involved.
The classic FPL game remains on course for a release in the week of July 10.
