Fantasy Football Scout community writer Greyhead analyses the Double Gameweek 33 transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
‘The Great and The Good’ this season are the FPL Godfather Mark Sutherns, the BlackBox pair of Az and Andy North, Scouts FPL General, Joe and Tom, the FPL Wire trio of Pras, Lateriser and Zophar, FPL celebrities FPL Harry, Martin Baker, Pingreen, FPL Frasier and Luke Williams, Hall of Famers Ben Crellin, Fabio Borges and Tom Dollimore, and last year’s mini-league winner Huss E.
“The grandest stage of them all!”
It may not be the chunky, eight-team Royal Rumble we were promised, but Double Gameweek 33 has been and gone. Whether FPL managers were Bench Boosting, Free Hitting, or just stumbling onto the mat, this is about as fun as FPL gets. The WrestleMania of this season. Cue the music.
The build-up had all the classic promos: grainy training pics sparked fears over Nico O’Reilly (£5.1m), only for Pep Guardiola to walk out, grab the mic, and drop a pipebomb by telling us everything was “fine”.
In the ring this week: Manchester City, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and Leeds United players were double-teaming.
As for the classic heel turn, well, those villains were injured Blues duo Joao Pedro (£7.7m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m).
Most managers were smacking down the Bench Boost or cashing in the Free Hit ‘Money in the Bank’, so The Great and The Good were expecting some main event scores.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
It was a century stampede, turning this Double Gameweek into a points buffet. If you didn’t hit a ton, you weren’t just behind – you were basically an enhancement talent.
The real finisher was a Bench Boost. Nine managers chokeslammed it down, and all easily cleared 100 points. No drama, no backfire, just a perfectly executed signature move. It’s rare in FPL to see a chip land this cleanly across the board, but Double Gameweek 33 delivered exactly that. Pure domination.
On the other hand, Free Hit usage felt more like midcard filler. Seven stepped into the ring, but only Huss E and FPL Frazier reached triple digits. The rest put on a decent showing but, when the boosters are dropping hundreds for fun, that just doesn’t cut it.
Then came the curious case of Pras and Zophar, the Wildcarding “rivals” who looked more like a tag team. Their squads were near-identical, except for one tiny tweak: Dango Ouattara (£5.9m) v Enzo Le Fee (£4.8m). Less of a blood feud, more synchronised routine.
Stealing the show, though, were Pingreen and Luke Williams. These kings of the ring dropped a monstrous 134 points each, with identical teams.
Their winning edge was about nailing the fine margins: picking Pascal Gross (£5.5m) as the right Brighton midfielder, and Pascal Struijk (£4.3m) as the right Leeds defender. In a week where everyone had the script, they were the ones who delivered the Stone Cold Stunner.
TRANSFERS
After last week’s Wildcard chaos, this Gameweek was more of a rest hold than a fully brutal Elimination Chamber. Very few transfers occurred.
Gabriel got thrown over the top rope. A popular exit, with James Hill (£4.2m) stepping in as the budget underdog replacement. Not flashy, but he’s still standing.
Meanwhile, Mark Sutherns and Tom Dollimore both tagged Joao Pedro in for Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m). They clearly missed the Four FPL Horsemen meeting in the locker room.
‘THE GREAT AND THE GOOD’ TEMPLATE
Welcome to Double Gameweek 33: FPL WrestleMania, where these elite managers entered with fancier entrance music than usual, but somehow all ended up in matching outfits.
Regardless of chip, the template hit harder than a steel chair, as 11 of the 15 players boast over 75% ownership. Different paths, same destination. Scripted? Maybe.
Last week’s fallen superstars were unceremoniously ditched via pinfall or submission: Gabriel, Bowen, Martin Dubravka (£4.0m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.2m) and Igor Thiago (£7.4m).
Darlow (100.0%), Verbruggen (77.8%)
Hill (88.9%), O’Reilly (83.3%), Senesi (83.3%), Struijk (72.2%), van Hecke (55.6%)
Palmer (100.0%), Semenyo (88.9%), Tavernier (88.9%), Fernandes (61.1%)
Haaland (94.4%), Joao Pedro (88.9%), Calvert-Lewin (77.8%)
Like the night after ‘Mania, charging down the ramp came some new challengers.
Budget brawler Karl Darlow (£3.9m), tag team enforcers Struijk and Marcos Senesi (£5.2m), plus frustrating main event duo Joao Pedro and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.7m).
BENCH BOOST
In fact, the Bench Boost battle royal felt like a ladder match. Grabbing the belt high up were Fabio Borges and Luke Williams, both hauling a huge 30 points, absolute finishing-move perfection.
Of course, FPL General had already cashed in his briefcase back in Double Gameweek 26 for a tidy 28 and is now sitting ringside to watch the chaos unfold.
Further down the card, there were solid hits in the 20s, but poor Baker barely laid a glove, stumbling to a meagre 14. With eight managers still clutching onto this title opportunity, the pressure is on. Because, right now, the bar has been well and truly smashed over someone’s head.
CONCLUSION
We’re almost there now. It just needs a bit more intestinal fortitude as we brace ourselves for another chip-heavy week. Whatcha gonna do when the Gameweek 34 Free Hit gang go wild on you?
Anyway, that’s all from me for now, and remember: don’t have FPL nightmares.
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