The Premier League’s new Fantasy format, Fantasy Challenge, is now live!
It’s been a long time in the making: it was first touted last summer and has finally arrived ahead of Gameweek 30.
So, what is it, how do you play it and can you win anything by entering? And is it completely separate from the main Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game?
We’ll attempt to answer those questions in this beginner’s guide article below.
WHAT IS FANTASY CHALLENGE?
In a nutshell, it’s a Free Hit every week.
It’ll be completely separate from the teams you manage in FPL and FPL Draft, too.
Each week, there’ll be a new challenge, from an unlimited budget to double points for certain players.
Essentially, this is FPL dipping into the world of ‘Daily Fantasy Sports’, something we’ve seen from the likes of FanTeam and Fantasy5 in the recent past.
No long-term rank concerns. No season derailed for missing a week. Just a one-off event every Gameweek, with prizes on offer.
HOW MANY TEAMS CAN I ENTER?
Each manager may only enter one team.
However, that team is able to compete in up to 25 different leagues.
HOW DO I BUILD A SQUAD?
First off, head to this link.
Then, head to the ‘Manage Team’ tab.
You will be prompted to enter your team name and favourite club before the picking begins.
Selecting a squad is mostly identical to FPL:
- Select 15 players on a budget of £100.0m (unless the challenge that week is unlimited funds!)
- Pick two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards
- Choose a captain and a vice-captain
- Use any valid formation, providing one goalkeeper, at least three defenders and at least one forward is selected
However, there is one big crucial difference: you can pick up to five players from each Premier League club, instead of the usual three maximum in FPL.
How does your team score points?
And further good news for Fantasy managers looking to pick up and play: the basic points-scoring system is also identical to FPL.
So three points for an assist, four points for a goalkeeper/defender clean sheet, five points for a midfielder goal etc.
Do the Usual Deadlines Apply?
This is another major difference to FPL.
And it’s a big departure from the usual ’90 minutes before the first match of the Gameweek’ deadline.
In Fantasy Challenge, there are multiple deadlines per Gameweek. Each of them corresponds to the different kickoff times.
For example, here is the breakdown of Gameweek 30:
| Deadline | Time (in GMT) | Matches |
| 1 | 12:30, Sat 30 March | Newcastle v West Ham |
| 2 | 15:00, Sat 30 March | Bournemouth v Everton Chelsea v Burnley Nott’m Forest v Crystal Palace Sheff Utd v Fulham Spurs v Luton |
| 3 | 17:30, Sat 30 March | Aston Villa v Wolves |
| 4 | 20:00, Sat 30 March | Brentford v Man Utd |
| 5 | 14:00, Sun 31 March | Liverpool v Brighton Man City v Arsenal (16:30) |
You’ll be able to enter and edit your team at any point up until the final deadline, when there are less than four teams left to play that Gameweek.
Managers will therefore get to see most teamsheets before finalising their decisions – so social media leakers’ influence will wane here.
Players can’t be subbed out once they’ve played.
What will the weekly Challenges be?
We’ve got a heads-up on the Challenges in the first three Gameweeks after the international break:
| Gameweek 30 | Unlimited Budget | No need to consider budget bench fodder gems for the inaugural Challenge: Messrs Salah, Haaland, De Bruyne, Saka and Watkins (and the rest) could all be selected in the same XI here. |
| Gameweek 31 | Forward Focus | This is a week when you’ll almost certainly want a three-man frontline, as well as handing one of them the armband. |
| Gameweek 32 | Red Rivalry | Players involved in Manchester United v Liverpool get double points. While this might be a fixture in which you’d avoid United players in FPL, the double boost provides some extra allure. |
PRIZES
End-of-Season Draw Prize
- Trip to New York City
- Exclusive tour of the NBC Studio
- Includes flights and accommodation for five nights
To be eligible to win the random End of Season draw, you must have joined the game and entered a team before the end of 2023/24.
Each Gameweek team entry is an entry to the prize draw.
Weekly Prizes
1st Place
- Signed Premier League League Shirt (shirt dependent on Gameweek)
- Official Premier League Nike match ball
- EA SPORTS FC game
- FPL bundle consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad, and key ring
2nd Place
- Official Premier League Nike match ball
- EA SPORTS FC game
- FPL bundle consisting of a rucksack, t-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad, and key ring
3rd Place
- Official Premier League Nike match ball
- EA SPORTS FC game
- FPL bundle consisting of a rucksack, T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad, and key ring
Signed Premier League shirts
- Unlimited Budget: Ange Postecoglou
- Forward Focus: Rasmus Højlund
- Red Rivalry: Alexis Mac Allister
JOIN THE FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT MINI-LEAGUE
We’ve created our own mini-league, which you can join.
Simply use the link below and you’ll be added automatically after you’ve entered the game.
https://fplchallenge.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/59d69w
League Code: 59d69w
We’ll have more articles to come on the Fantasy Challenge, including a Scout Picks for Gameweek 30.
