The BE-Cup is back -- "You don't have to be first! Just don't be worst!" Immunity: BE-Cup immunity has again been awarded based on last season's results in league standings and the eliminators (using the same award system as recent years): 3 gws - Journeymen (Small 1st) 2 gws - Aviators (VSR 1st), Starboy XI (Sand 1st), and n/a (SE-Cup winner) 1 gw - n/a (Small 2nd), ColdDogSoup (VSR 2nd), FC Epikoinis (Sand 2nd), and n/a (SE- Cup runner-up*) The SE-Cup winner (Starboy) and runner-up (Journeymen) already had immunity based on their league standings and you cannot run multiple immunities consecutively, so there are fewer teams with immunity this season. But, one does play a role in GW1, so surely @DrHeckle will have something to say about it.... Tiebreakers: 1. Did any team use a chip (triple captain, bench boost, wildcard, etc.)? Edge to the non-chip user(s), and the additional points will be removed as the first tie breaker (i.e., points from players picked up via wildcard will be removed as will the tripling of captaincy or bench boost points, with a decision to be made about the mystery chip once it is unveiled (if it can be used at all in our leagues)). 2. Captaincy points -- which team scored more points without captain points being doubled. 3. Auto-subs -- which team scored more points without the benefit of auto-subs. 4. Bench scoring -- which team had more points scored by its bench (after any auto-subs are processed). If still tied, then the tied teams will both/all be eliminated, unless that would result in fewer than 10 teams remaining, in which case no teams will be eliminated that GW and an extra team will be eliminated the following week.
24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] Only 5 teams had immunity in GW1, and one of those five needed it! ColdDogSoup stumbled out of the gate upon the return to the top division. Even with two auto-subs kicking in, @lobomojo managed just 29 points to end up with the bottom score of the opening week. But immunity kicked in for CDS, as last year's 2nd place team in VSR. So, we turn to the next lowest score, which also was in Small Rocks, to find Real Newark at 30 points. 6 points from Saliba and Bernardo were the top scores for Real Newark, while @bobfest left 11 points from Wissa on the bench. "We picked him up in the 12th round. It was never the plan to get him in this week. He's certainly given us something to think about as we move forward." Dangerzone was Kopite Jrs (33), Soccer Steve (35), and Living in Dreamland (39). CDS just had immunity for 1 week (along with FC Epikoinis), so they are now both at risk as we head to GW2. Starboy and Aviators have 1 more week of immunity, while Journeymen will be safe for 2 more weeks. Plan accordingly.
First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] It is an early BE-Cup departure for Morning Glory, even with Robinson (7) and TAA (6). Robinson's and TAA's contributions ended up being over 40% of Morning Glory's total as 1s, 2s, and 3s from the rest add up to a total of 30 points. Note: for the second week in a row, 30 is the "elimination" number. Dangerzone was Kopite Jrs (31), FC Epikoinis (33), and DizzyAndDaffy (34). It's two dangerzones in a row for Kopite Jrs, and with 4 teams squeezed in between 30 and 34, one of the tighter finishes we've had in a while. Going into the final game, Morning Glory trailed Kopite Jrs by 2 but had TAA and Szoboszlai up against Kopite Jrs' Konate. With the defenders presumably matching each other if not tilting slightly in Morning Glory's favor, the odds looked okay for Morning Glory, as an additional midfielder point for a clean sheet would send Kopite Jrs packing. However, a Szoboslai yellow card canceled out that additional point and meant that the two teams would be even with their two LIV defenders squaring off. Still a reasonable position for Morning Glory, but then TAA gets pulled after 71 minutes while Konate sneaks in for one bonus point -- the critical one point margin of survival for Kopite Jrs. Aided by Journeymen's successful triple captain play, the All Rocks scoring average for GW2 jumped up to 56.1 from 49.0 in the opening week.
First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 19. 20. 21. 22. DizzyAndDaffy - [23 points; GW3] 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] To revisit the Small Rocks draft, with pick 4, the then-manager went with Foden rather than the more conventional Saka pick. We're three weeks in and Foden has yet to play while Saka sits 5th among the midfielders with 24 points. With the inherited top pick Foden missing from the MCI roster again, it's another rough week for DizzyAndDaffy (23), who see a quick exit from the BE-Cup. Captain Odegaard blanks, while Zinchenko, Martinelli, and Gakpo only see substitute minutes. The always active TAA scored early only to have it called back due to an odd-looking but correct offside call against Salah -- but a defender goal for TAA might have made the BE-Cup difference for D&D. Dangerzone: blechs_dawgs (29), BiggerBoat (31), Lokomotiv (31), and Tangers (31). First visits to the dangerzone for all three. As a carrot for those already eliminated as well as those of us whose teams are struggling and soon to be eliminated, a second chance will come soon as the Double Eliminator Cup will start in GW5....
First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 19. 20. 21. Tangers FC - [16 points; GW4] 22. DizzyAndDaffy - [23 points; GW3] 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] One GW ago, Tangers and Lokomotiv were tied in the dangerzone at 31. This GW, they squared off for the bottom score. Two enter, one survives. Or something like that. When the final whistle blew and the dust settled, Tangers FC (16) had set a new low mark for the season and became the 4th team to exit. It ended up a tight match this week with Lokomotiv (19) just 3 points clear. With Isak (c) to play on Sunday, Tangers expected to have a shot to leap to safety, but with Isak forced off at halftime with an eye issue or something like that (reports that I've read haven't been clear what happened), Tangers ended up locked in the bottom slot. The coach was clear postgame that the team would have a talk about discipline (with 5 yellow cards this week making the difference between 16 and departure vs 21 and survival), but emphasized that he doesn't mind the cards that come from hustle or even cynical tactics. "There's a smart yellow and there's a dumb yellow. And at this level, they have to know the difference!" Dangerzone: Lokomotiv (19), FC St Pauli (27), and Living in Dreamland (29). The league score average was 43.3, which is the lowest average for a GW this season (so far). And, we now have 2 eliminations in each of Small and VSR, while Sand still has 8 teams in the competition.
First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 19. 20. FC Epikoinis - [26 points; GW5] 21. Tangers FC - [16 points; GW4] 22. DizzyAndDaffy - [23 points; GW3] 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] Even with the armband shifting to the highest scoring player on the team (vice captain Watkins (6*2)) when captain D.Jota didn't play, FCE could only get 14 points from the remaining 10 players. Two 0s (minutes but no points) and four 1s. Yikes! Dangerzone: Zico Freako (32); Stormin Gunners (34); Living in Dreamland (38). 3rd visit in 5 weeks for Dreamland, while 1st visits of the season for ZFreako and Gunners. One more week to finalize the first group of 6 to be eliminated. Sand still has 8 teams in the competition.
First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 19. blechs_dawgs - [27 points; GW6] 20. FC Epikoinis - [26 points; GW5] 21. Tangers FC - [16 points; GW4] 22. DizzyAndDaffy - [23 points; GW3] 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1] After a reasonable start on Saturday, the dawgs were done in by a disappointing Sunday, highlighted by the Bruno F red card. With 2 points being all that was needed to survive and the red card being -3 (as well as blocking him from getting to 60 minutes), the red card decision was BECup decisive. It is always hard to know if bias is kicking in on these situations, but the red card when he had clearly slipped seemed harsh to me, and at least one "VAR expert" agrees and was surprised that it wasn't overturned on review: https://www.givemesport.com/var-expert-verdict-on-bruno-fernandes-red-card-in-man-utd-vs-spurs/ Dangerzone: Zico Freako (28); Living in Dreamland (28); Bigger Boat (31). 4th visit in 6 weeks for Dreamland (including 3 in a row now), while ZFreako returns for the second week in a row and BBoat returns for the second time this season. With that, the first group of 6 eliminees is finalized. And Sand still has 8 teams in the competition. Note: While Aviators ended up avoiding the Dangerzone and while the dawgs would have avoided the bottom but for the red card, Monday started with Aviators at the bottom of the weekly scoresheet with 22 points (including an anticipated autosub point). BUT Evanilson (9) and Tavernier (4) came through and Aviators escape the bottom.
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] At 31 points, this is the highest score to be eliminated this season, and fittingly at a new high score for elimination, the GW ended a tie (Borussia DaMarcus (31) & ColdDogSoupFC (31)) and went to the tiebreakers. No "chips" were played, so tiebreaker #1 removes the doubled captain points. BDM had 3*2 from captain Salah and CDS had 2*2 from captain Watkins. Edge to CDS for scoring more without the doubled captain points and thus elimination for BDM. A frustrating exit for BDM, who had Madueke (10) on the field asking why he wasn't trusted with the armband and Strand Larsen (6) and Andreas (8) on the bench asking why they don't get to play even when they are the team's 2nd and 3rd highest scorers.... No public response from the front office. The dangerzone included ColdDogSoup (31) who survived the tiebreaker, along with Lokomotiv (37) and Javelinas (38). Third visit for Lokomotiv and first visits for the other two.
GW 8 has one game to play and it looks to be Glorydaze vs Zico Freako for the bottom spot: Glorydaze -- 16 (no players left) Zico Freako -- 7 + 1 + 1 + 1 + Hudson-Odoi + Eze Even with this low score, Glorydaze maintains a healthy margin at the top of the table. Zico Freako adds 1 point each from automoves that will come -- Diogo Jota takes over as Vice Captain, and Jesus and Burn comes in via autosub. Once processed, this will take them to 10, with two players still to play. Should it end in a draw, edge to Zico Freako.
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] Zico Freako needed 6 points to get to the tiebreaker and safety. With two midfielders, a goal-less draw would have been sufficient (assuming 60 minutes each and no cards). They both got the minutes and avoided the cards, and for a brief 5 minutes from minutes 60 to 65, ZF had the needed 6 points and Glorydaze was looking at elimination. Then, in minute 65, Chris Wood scored the games only goal, costing Eze and ZF 1 point for the midfielder clean sheet. With no bonus points for Eze or Hudson-Odoi, ZF ends at 15 points after autocaptaincy and autosubs processed. Zico Freako exits the BE-Cup, with the dishonor of being the first team eliminated from both BE-Cup and DE-Cup competitions. Contributing to their low scores this week, one player that both Zico Freako and Glorydaze owned was Saliba (-3). This was the lowest elimination total of the year so far, and will be a low mark to beat in a GW with a full slate of games. FYI, the leave average score was just 39.0, the lowest of the season by a decent margin, with the next lowest being the 43.3 in GW4. The dangerzone included Glorydaze (16) and then jumped to several teams who made the bottom 3 but who were not really in danger, Pingree Park (27), Aviators (32), Bigger Boat (32), and Stormin Gunners (32). Third visit for Bigger Boat, second visit for Stormin Gunners, and first visit for the rest.
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. 14. 15. 16. Kopite Jrs - [30 points; GW9] 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] Yes, the update is late -- this is for GW9, and there is only one game left in GW10. There were several other scores between 24 to 37 but other than Kopite Jrs, all of the other 6 had previously been eliminated. So, this ended up not being a close one. Dangerzone (not really in danger this time with a game of 10+ points): Bigger Boat (40), ColdDogSoup (41), and Parraraiders (45). Fourth DZ visit for the Boat, 2nd for CDS, and 1st for Parraraiders.
With just one game remaining in GW10, here are the current scores (with autosubs/captains to come as well as any remaining players): Soccer Steve 24 Stormin Gunners 24 Pingree Park Rangers 26 FC St. Pauli 29 ColdDogSoup FC 29 Living in Dreamland 30 Sasha Juniors 31 Lokomotiv Lewisham 34 Bigger Boat 35 Note: Previously eliminated teams have been removed. Note: Just providing the current scores. No time right now to look at who has what to come. Some may have auto-action to come that clearly take them to safety and maybe someone on this list is even already finished.
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. 14. 15. Stormin Gunners - [28 points; gw10] 16. Kopite Jrs - [30 points; GW9] 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] Soccer Steve and Stormin Gunners went into the last game of the week tied, but Soccer Steve was sitting on a hefty autosub that would catapult them to safety with 42 points on the week. As shown in the dangerzone, it was very close at the end, and Robinson (6) on the bench could have made the difference in one of the tighter elimination races we've seen this season. Dangerzone - ColdDogSoup (29), Pingree Park (31), and FC StPauli (31). It's the third visit for CDS and second visit for the other two teams. CDS ended up with only 10 players but it was just enough. After no eliminations in the first 7 weeks, that's 3 Sand teams in a row in GWs 8, 9, and 10 to rebalance the elimination distibution.....
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. 14. ColdDogSoup FC - [21 points; gw11] 15. Stormin Gunners - [28 points; gw10] 16. Kopite Jrs - [30 points; GW9] 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] After 3 dangerzone visits in the past 4 GWs, CDS could not come up with another escape. A Barnes goal was the only player scoring more than 2 as CDS only fielded 10 with no available defenders waiting to come in off the bench. Dangerzone was Lokomotiv (27), Pingree Park (31), FC St Pauli (33) and Soccer Steve (33). 4th visit for Lokomotiv, 3rd visit for Pingree and FCSP, and 2nd visit for Soccer Steve. Back to back visits for Pingree and FCSP. All will be looking to recuperate as we head to the international break. One GW to go to pass the midway mark--will you finish in the top half or bottom half? We'll know shortly.
Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. Parraraiders - [ 27 points; gw12] 14. ColdDogSoup FC - [21 points; gw11] 15. Stormin Gunners - [28 points; gw10] 16. Kopite Jrs - [30 points; GW9] 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] GW13 has kicked off -- this is the recap for GW12 last week. It was a close one, finishing: Parraiders --- 27 Journeymen -- 27 FC St Pauli -- 29 Soccer Steve -- 31 Looking at the tie at the top (or at the bottom) of the table.... 1. Neither team played a chip. 2. Both teams had Haaland (2*2) as captain. 3. Parraraiders had 1 autosub -- Kulusevski (6) in for Rice. Journeymen did not have an autosub. Subtracting the autosub points means that Journeymen prevails. The dangerzone is Journeymen, FCSP, and Soccer Steve in one of the closest weeks we've seen. That makes 12 eliminations, so, if you're still alive, you've made it to the top half of the competition.
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] After surviving last GWs tiebreaker at 27 points, Journeymen must have thought 39 points -- led by goals from Strand Larsen and Wood -- would be enough for safety in GW13. But with a handful of teams with lower scores having already been eliminated in the first half of the competition, gw13 sees the current Small Rocks leader exit with the highest elimination score of the season so far. Danger zone was Glorydaze (47), Living in Dreamland (55), and Lokomotiv (59). 2nd visit for G-Daze, and the 5th visit for both Dreamland and Lokomotiv. At a league average of 54.7 points, gw13 currently is the second highest scoring week of the season.
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Bigger Boat had 4 danger zone visits in the first 9 weeks, but survived, and had avoided the danger zone for 4 weeks in a row. But GW14 finds a 25 point total, with Vardy as the team's top scorer with 4 points and Odegaard posting 3*2 as captain. A lot of 1s and 2s mean end of the line. Dangerzone is Living in Dreamland (28), FC St Pauli (34), and Pingree Park Rangers (38). Even with 2 autosubs (for 3 points total), Dreamland ended up only playing 10, but it was just enough, with high scorer Gvardiol as the lead player and with Barnes (as autosub) the only player to score just 1 points. All of the 2s added up to just enough, on this occasion. We're now to the top 10!
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. 8. 9. 10. Starboy XI -- [29 points; GW15] 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Dangerzone was Living in Dreamland (30), Lokomotiv (32), and Aviators (36). It's the 7th dangerzone visit for Dreamland, and 3 in a row currently. It's the 6th visit for Lokomotiv. Only the 2nd time we find Aviators so close to the drop line. For Starboy, they had never been in the dangerzone, and won't ever be this season as they end up eliminated by 1 point. The Liverpool cancelation caused problem with Luis Diaz being autosubbed for Gusto's 1 point. For Dreamland, the difference ended up being Cucurella's 4 points coming in for Calafiori via autosub (and Cunha getting the 1 point needed in the final game to avoid a tie that Dreamers would have lost). The Cucurella assist made up for the wrong boots causing slippage that contributed to early Spurs goals. A less sympathetic coach would have given him the early hook!
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. 8. 9. Aviators -- [30 points; GW16] 10. Starboy XI -- [29 points; GW15] 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Dangerzone was FC St Pauli (31), Pingree Park (32), and Sasha Juniors (34). It was as close between the bottom 4 as we've seen all season. Aviators and FCSP started Monday morning tied. Aviators sent out Evanilson for the week's final game only to see the Brazilian blank for the 3rd week in a row and get the hook at minute 79. 2 points. FCSP had no one playing Monday, but had 2 autosubs waiting to be processed after the games ended, which added 3 points (Colwill (2) and Munoz (1)). And, with that, Aviators exits. It's the 6th visit to the dangerzone for FCSP and the closest call yet, and the 5th visit for Pingree. And, this was the FIRST visit to the dangerzone for Sasha Juniors. The Final 8 (alphabetically) -- FCSP, Glorydaze, Dreamland, Lokomotiv, Pingree, Sasha Jrs, Soccer Steve, and Javelinas. By division, it's Small (2), VSR (3), and Sand (3).
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. 8. Glorydaze -- [31 points; GW17] 9. Aviators -- [30 points; GW16] 10. Starboy XI -- [29 points; GW15] 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Bowen and Schar are the only 2 starting players to score more than 3 points, which means end of the road for Glorydaze. Unfortunately, Solanke (9) was in first position on the bench and would have made the difference. Dangerzone: FC St Pauli (34), Pingree Park (35), and Lokomotiv (41). It was the 7th dangerzone visit for FCSP and Lokomotiv, while Pingree Park now has 6 visits, matching Dreamland who avoided the DZ this week. Rounding out the rest of the teams that are still alive, Soccer Steve has 3 DZ visits, but hasn't been in the DZ since gw12, while Sasha Jrs and Javelinas have only one visit each on the season. We are one elimination away from making the final 6 -- the last quarter of the competition. Good luck to all as you manage the holiday fixtures.
Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. Lokomotiv Lewisham -- [45 points; gw18] 8. Glorydaze -- [31 points; GW17] 9. Aviators -- [30 points; GW16] 10. Starboy XI -- [29 points; GW15] 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Highest elimination yet. Tough one for Lokomotiv. Danger zone was Javelinas (51), FCSP (55), and Dreamland (55). The 3rd group of 6 is eliminated. We have 6 left for the final group and final top 6 spots. Game on. Final 6 = FCSP, Dreamland, Pingree, Sasha Jrs, Soccer Steve, Javelinas.
To recap...... Fourth Quarter -- The Final 6 Eliminated 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Final 6 = FCSP, Dreamland, Pingree, Sasha Jrs, Soccer Steve, Javelinas. Third Quarter -- The Third 6 Eliminated 7. Lokomotiv Lewisham -- [45 points; gw18] 8. Glorydaze -- [31 points; GW17] 9. Aviators -- [30 points; GW16] 10. Starboy XI -- [29 points; GW15] 11. Bigger Boat -- [25 points; GW14] 12. Journeymen - [39 points; GW13] Second Quarter -- The Second 6 Eliminated 13. Parraraiders - [ 27 points; gw12] 14. ColdDogSoup FC - [21 points; gw11] 15. Stormin Gunners - [28 points; gw10] 16. Kopite Jrs - [30 points; GW9] 17. Zico Freako - [15 points; GW8] 18. Borussia DaMarcus - [31 points; GW7] First Quarter -- The First 6 Eliminated 19. blechs_dawgs - [27 points; GW6] 20. FC Epikoinis - [26 points; GW5] 21. Tangers FC - [16 points; GW4] 22. DizzyAndDaffy - [23 points; GW3] 23. Morning Glory - [30 points; GW2] 24. Real Newark - [30 points; GW1]
Fourth Quarter -- The Final 6 Eliminated 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Pingree Park Rangers [26 points; gw19] GW19 scores PPR ----------- 26 Dreamland -- 35 FCSP ---------- 38 Soccer Steve -- 52 Sasha Juniors -- 59 The Javelinas -- 68