The Community Watch tournament started back in Gameweek 7 with 20 teams vying for glory. Now just two remain as we look forward to the final and find out how they got there.

Semifinals Review

Full Results can be found here.

Bolivia Giroud stormed into the semis with a convincing win, but just couldn’t put up a fight against FNZ.

Fashanu Zealand won by 48 points. All seven of their starters breaching the 50 point barrier, with Electrue (69 points) their highest scorer. Bolivia‘s two sub 40 scores ensured they missed out on a final berth.

The second semi-final between Hungary Neville and Afghanistanislas was a nail biter, with the Afghans prevailing by just 10 points. After the Saturday games ,the Hungarians had a sizeable lead and it looked like the game was sealed.  But a goal from Brighton’s Lewis Dunk,  assisted by fellow centre back Shane Duffy, heralded a dramatic comeback for Afghanistanislas. Victory was cemented after the final match, between Crystal Palace and Manchester United, with a goal from Red Devils defender Chris Smalling helping them over the line.

The Final 

Fashanu Zealand

Road to the final : FNZ have been the best  team in the tournament right from the draft days. Ably led by FFScout veteran Jarvis, they also picked as many as five Tier 1 players from the draft.

As expected,they dominated the league stages of the tournament, racking up 13 wins and losing just six times. Their goal difference of +600 and total FPL points were way above the second best teams. Of course they ended up table toppers, with only Hungary Neville and Mozambique (during the initial matches of the season) providing some competition at the top.

Here’s what FNZ manager Jarvis and his troops had to say on the big occasion:

I think the key to our success goes right back to the initial team selection process – the tactic targeting experienced Tier 1 managers who I knew would contribute to an inclusive and competitive team dynamic really paid off. The three lower tier players (Electrue, Captain Crunch and Mepplefield) we identified and eventually signed have all been revelations.

The team has been a pleasure to manage and I would like to thank every single one of them for their efforts – and genuinely great support and advice has been offered to each other throughout the process.Winning the league was thoroughly deserved, and win or lose in the final, the Fashanu Zealand team will be very proud of what we have achieved in the competition, whilst thoroughly enjoying the journey at the same time.

Zan Keroski 

Well what can I say, how far we have come since Cakegate threatened to break us apart before a game had been played and since our manager blew our entire £200m budget on cocaine, hookers and round 1 draft picks. But it turned out to be money well spent and as luck would have it the team turned out ok too. So here we are league champions and on the brink of ultimate double glory. Come on Fashanu Zealand – Smash Smash SmasH.

Eunuch Jelly(FNZ Jelly)

I’m really grateful to the organisers of the Community Watch tournament.  I’ve been in these before, and they’re always fun, but I can’t recall many that have done as good a job of blending the “regulars” with new blood.  The draft was a lot of fun–probably the most fun I’ve had with one of these tourneys–and it allowed a team that combined new people I would never have connected with otherwise, alongside some more familiar faces.

Afghanistanislas

Unlike FNZ, Afghanistanislas had to fight all through the league stages to secure qualification to the knockouts. They have been the dark horses of the tournament, with 11 wins, while their goal difference of 256 and total points scored are next best after FNZ.

They had a consistent season, although lost their way towards the end of the league stages, making their Matchweek 19 fixture against Grabbangladesh a  virtual knockout  They absolutely thumped the Grabbers to qualify, winning by 171 points, which is also the biggest win of the tournament. They beat Ibeland in the first knockout game, before beating ‘favorites’ Hungary Neville in the semis.

Here’s what they had to say:

Tets McGee(Manager)

In the player draft I think I bid on pretty much 80% of the FNZ squad. I did get a hidden gem in the draft Grant Barclay(Jake Donahue) who is number 2 in the hall of fame and on some lists ranked the number one player ever. They are all a great bunch of lads from all over the world and all as obsessed with FPL as me. We are underdogs but we beat FNZ in the league so anything is possible. We intend to fight a fair fight with no free hits or wc’s. Will miss it when its over boys.

Jigger and Pony

We scraped through against all odds thanks to Dunk and Duffy attacking points against  Arsenal. We have created a Community within FFS – with other teams. And of course our bunch, Afghanistanislas, will be friends for a long time to come… The players selection / bidding at the beginning of the tournament was awesome. Hope this tournament comes back next season.

Jubilanus

You probably know that we’ve hidden one of our team members fame for a while… Hall of Famer Grant Barclay – but we also had a pope like blessing from Mark who I met on train on my way to Luton v Grimsby on the morning of Gameweek 19. Told him I was in Afghanistanislas member and he said “good luck”. Such an understated approval, but from then on we knew our name would be on the trophy.

Johnnyrev7

FNZ are massive favourites. And rightly so. We’re the underdogs. We’ll do our best. Hopefully they’ll be dancing in the streets of Kabul and Bournemouth after MNF.”

So who will be the champoins who carve their name on the coveted CW tournament trophy? Favorites FNZ,or underdogs Afghanistanislas?

The two finalists met previously back in Matchweek 4, with the Afghans winning by 19 points.(427-408). Good luck to both sides. May the best team win.

The final will be played in Gameweek 30.

If you have any queries or questions, you can ask us in the comments section below or by sending us an email to fantasycommunitywatch@gmail.com.