Evertonian Crowned Fantasy Football Champion!Ben Crabtree reveals his secrets after beating 4.5 million people to online title.Evertonian Ben Crabtree has got the better of more than 4.5 million people to be crowned the official Fantasy Premier League champion.
The 31-year-old, a Supply Chain Procurement Planner from Speke, snatched the title in dramatic fashion in the final gameweek, topping the standings for the very first time to pip
Arsenal fan Uwais Ahmed to the crown by two points in his eighth year of playing the popular online game.
After winning VIP hospitality, including travel and accommodation, as part of his prize, Ben is now lining up trips to
Arsenal and newly-promoted
Brighton & Hove Albion in 2017/18.
He also won a week’s worth of experiences in the UK through Visit Britain, and a Nike manager’s jacket in the game where you pick a Premier League XI and win points depending on how those players fare in matches throughout the season.
Speaking after his win was confirmed, Ben told evertonfc.com: “I generally watch a lot of footy, anyway, so it just was something to add to that. Of course, you always want to be top of your mini leagues and then it was only really the last two or three weeks of the season when it looked like I had a serious chance of winning the whole thing. Then it was just a case of trying not to over-think it.
“Finding out was drawn out a little bit because even when all the games had finished on Sunday, it wasn’t completely clear who had won because bonus points were still to be added.
“It was very close. I thought I had edged it by a point or two and, fortunately, that was the case in the end."
Ben used seven Everton players in total -
Romelu Lukaku,
Leighton Baines,
Seamus Coleman,
Gerard Deulofeu,
Ross Barkley,
Ashley Williams and
Joel Robles - and says it was the Toffees’ top scorer that remained one of his most regularly featured players throughout the campaign.
Indeed, Lukaku was the fifth best player in the game with 221 points overall.
While clearly delighted with his Fantasy Football success, Ben was also pleased with the progress his beloved Blues in reality under the tutelage of
Ronald Koeman.
“I think it’s been a good season for us overall,” he said. “In terms of the direction we’re going, it looks good on and off the pitch, with the way we’re playing and the signings, like
Morgan Schneiderlin, that we’ve made and a few youngsters coming in.
“I admire
Ronald Koeman a lot. I like his style of management and the balance of experience and youth he uses. He’s made us solid defensively, but he also wants good football.
“My job was a lot more simple - I just pick some players and hope they score goals!”
When asked for the secret to his success - and a tip for Evertonians thinking of playing the game next term, Ben had an instant answer.
“Don’t pick any Liverpool players - you don’t need them!” he joked. “I didn’t have a Liverpool player in my team all season. There was the temptation on the final day when it meant something for them and they were playing [already-relegated]
Middlesbrough, but I had to stick to my principles!”