UCL Fantasy 22/23 winner
We take a look at the UCL Fantasy 22/23 winner and how he became champion ahead of more than two million players. From how he played his chips and who he captained to how he used his transfers to the players he owned.
UCL Fantasy is one of the fastest growing games in the fantasy football industry growing from one million plus players to two million plus in the matter of a year. But how did the UCL Fantasy 22/23 winner top the pile?
Matchday 1
Nestamania (Ehtiram Namazov) started his season in fine form. He backed the Barcelona assets selecting defender Jules Kounde who bagged eight points, midfielder Ousamne Dembele who hit eight points for his two assists and Robert Lewandowski who managed a huge 18 points for his three goals and player of the match award. The Champion also placed his captaincy on the latter which meant he picked up a whopping 36 points.
In the same round he also included Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus (eight points), Dortmund defender Raphael Guerreiro (13 points) and Ajax midfielder Steven Bergwijn (eight points). Overall it was a fantastic start to his campaign and he ended up securing a cool 111 points in the first round.
Matchday 2
In Matchday 2 where many managers decided to use their Limitless chip, the winner opted to utilise his Wildcard. He chose to pick some differential players like Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Marian Shved who failed to live up to his 17-point in Matchday 1 collecting just two points. Other failed differentials included Juventus defender Juan Cuadrado (one point), Liverpool midfielder Luiz Diaz (two points) and Marseille defender Nuno Tavares (one point).
Some of his most successful assets during Matchday 2 included Inter striker Edin Dzeko who banked nine points for his goal and assist against Plzen and his teammate and defender Denzel Dumfries who scored and kept a clean sheet to claim a huge 12 points. The latter being the player he captained to secure 24 points. Although that was the case his moves were only enough to secure 73 points in Matchday 2.
Matchday 3
Looking to bounce back after some disappointment with the Wildcard the champion decided to play his Limitless chip. One of the teams he targeted was Bayern. The Germans had an enticing game against Plzen and so he went for a triple up in midfield with Serge Gnabry who picked up nine points, Leroy Sane who banked 12 points and Sadio Mane who collected 15 points.
The champion also backed the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold who hit a huge 14 points. It was a very good Matchday for Ehtiram as he totalled 110 points in the third round. This also meant he had no chips remaining for the rest of competition.
Matchday 4
Matchday 4 came and Ehtiram’ Matchday 3 team returned after using the Limitless in 4. He stayed true to his Juventus assets but they again failed to return. His biggest return came from Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa who hit 15 points.
The champion had another successful captaincy return via Mbappe who scored and bagged the player of the match award. It was an average week as his entire team finished with just 83 points.
Matchday 5
Although his Inter assets had a quiet Matchday 4 they came back with a bang in Matchday 5 against Plzen. Denzel Dumfries bagged seven points whilst his teammate Edin Dzeko had a fantastic round hitting 13 points for his two goals and player of the match award.
Mohamed Salah came up with an 11-point return but it was new transfer Isco who gave him an extra edge. The Sevilla midfielder banked an 11-point return for his goal and player and the match award. The Champion picked up another huge captaincy return after Mbappe collected 32 points for his two goals, two assists and player of the match award. He ended up totalling a massive 104 points at the end of the round.
Matchday 6
The final round of the group stages arrived and consistent players like Mbappe and Salah continued to perform. The latter he captained for another great captaincy return. Ehtiram brought in Rodrygo for Real Madrid’ game against Celtic. The midfielder picked up seven points for his goal in a 5-1 win.
One of his most successful assets was Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk. He collected a huge 12 points for his assist and clean sheet. One of his transfers in was AC Milan forward Rafael Leao who slumped to a two-point return. 78 points meant the winner needed a great round in the last 16 to get back in the mix.
Matchday 7
Like many Ehtiram backed the Napoli and Benfica assets for their round of 16 games and most finished with great scores. Backing Real Madrid midfielder Vinicus Junior was one of his best moves. The Brazilian struck 17 points against Liverpool scoring two, creating an assist and gaining the player of the match award.
The champions bagged another successful captaincy return with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian managed eight points. Overall it was another good round and he totalled 95 points in Matchday 7 which put him back in amongst the best players in the game.
Matchday 8
Matchday 8 would have caused serious problems for Ehtiram. Many amongst the top managers captained Manchester City striker Erling Haaland who collected a huge 25 points but the champion failed to seize the moment.
That may have been the case but he brought in Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos who he captained. He scored two goals and picked up an assist to hit 13 points and 26 for the captaincy. 116 points is usually a great score but missing out on captaining Haaland gave the champion a challenge to bounce back from.
Matchday 9
Ehtiram went heavy on the Real Madrid assets in the quarter finals and it paid off. He banked two clean sheets from his defenders and returns from both Vinicius Junior and striker Karim Benzema. His Napoli and Benfica assets players failed to convince this time around.
Another thing the champion got right was captaincy again. Haaland picked up nine points after scoring and assisting against Bayern. Although 71 points didn’t sound high, it was a good enough to stay within touching distance.
Matchday 10
Ehtiram’ backing of Real Madrid against Chelsea in the quarter finals gave him a huge edge. He banked another double clean sheet but it was Federico Valverde who stole the show with a 10-point return. The champion also maintained his successful captaincy run with Vinicius Junior.
Matchday 10 was a low scoring round in general but 69 points was still a solid score.
Matchday 11
Ehtiram took a huge risk in the semi-finals and it paid off. He managed to secure a quadruple Inter clean sheet. To top it off the champion also captained an Inter defender meaning plenty of returns at the back and getting himself within touching distance of first place.
Matchday 12
The Penultimate round came and Ehtiram decided to ditch one of his Inter defenders and cleverly opt for Manchester City defenders. The champion bagged six clean sheets including a big return from Manuel Akanji who picked up a huge 13 points for hit goal and clean sheet.
Another significant factor was captaincy. Whilst many chose to switch to Haaland on the second day Ehtiram decided to stick and was rewarded with 16 points. The champion collected 82 points but still needed an ace up his sleeve to take the win in the final round.
Matchday 13
The final round was here and Ehtiram had to do something special. He did exactly that by taking an outrageous risk with the armband. He captained Rodri who scored the only goal of the game and collected a huge 26 points for his goal and player of the match award.
Looking for a captaincy plan for the new FPL season? Check out our article here.
