I’m back to provide another snapshot on who’s standing out in the FFS Head-to-Head Leagues. This supplements the summaries provided in RedLightning’s weekly round-up of community competitions; and gives me something to do while I’m waiting to get eliminated from Last Man Standing. As always, readers can go to the FFS home page to see who’s setting the pace in League One, or to check the status of the other Leagues. I’m skipping League One because (a) I’m not in it, and (b) MIR said he might do something. We’ll see.
There was plenty of action in the lower Leagues…
League Two
In Division 1, Richard Clarke (31 pts) continues to set the pace, and has opened up a six-point lead over Ville Tuominen; with Ahmed Shahin, Alex Merchant, and Milan Mihajovic (all 22 pts) completing the promotion slots. Michael Giovani (31 pts) has also broken clear in Division 2, with Harry Vernon and Qian Hao Ong (25 pts) leading the chase; and Paul Machin and Owen Walker a further three-points adrift.
League Three
In Division 1, Andrew Blackwell (31 pts) prevailed whilst others stumbled in GW12, which means Chris Morén (25 pts), Joe Connelly (23 pts), and John Lambert (20 pts) all have work to do. It’s a duel in Division 2, with James Wong-You (28 pts) leading Richard Gibbs by a single point, but with daylight over Christopher Green and Christopher Ambridge (both 22 pts). In Division 3, the top four all failed to win in GW12, but John Daviddson (26 pts) hangs on to his lead; followed by Daniel Hooper (24 pts); Simon MacNair (23 pts); Jamie Cottigan and Stig Hermansen (both 22 pts). Bob Woby (25 pts) is the new leader in Division 4, with Carl Price (23 pts) dropping to 2nd place; and Mark Mews, Richard Jagger, and Daniel Murray trailing on 22 pts.
League Four
Dave Spooner (34 pts) is smashing it in Division 1, and has a nine-point lead over Mathias Ammon and Alan Robertson; with Tom Hutchinson a further two points back. Marcel Scheiweller (25 pts) holds on to top spot in Division 2, despite a loss, and is now being chased by EasyE® (23 pts), followed by Ben Ashworth and sebastian kromberg (both 22 pts). Michael Casterns (28 pts) is maintaining his edge in Division 3; with Neil Halmagyi (25 pts) keeping pace; and Deren Soh a further point back. Ivan Leshtarov (28 pts) has the same edge in Division 4; with Iwan Leshtarov, Youssef Rophael, and Imran Hamid (all 25 pts) in hot pursuit. Ashley Spratt and Brian Walsh (both 25 pts) are the new leaders in Division 5, with Matt Smith (23 pts), dropping to 3rd; and Matt Gilbert (26 pts) is fending off Paul Attwood and Jack Kennedy (both 23 pts) in Division 6. Division 7 has a three-way tie, with Paul Dabrowski, Tim Ward, and Ben Reiter all on 25 pts; and it’s a five-way tie in Division 8, with Brent Jones, Bill Koulis, Adam Warner, Luis Teixeira, and Terje Balteskard (all 22 pts) clogging it up at the top.
League Five
Timo N (30 pts) continues to lead the way in Division 1, with Moray West trailing on 25 pts, and Allister Rees a further three points back; while in Division 2, Louise Chennel (31 pts) has a three-point edge over Michael Jackel. David Bowman (28 pts) has shot to the top in Division 3, but Dylan McCullough and Taymur Reza Hossian (both 26 pts) are on the case. Swagart Satpathy and Richard Harte (both 25 pts) are the new leaders in Division 4; and Darren Wright (28 pts) has taken over top spot in Division 5, but El Presidente and Reece Newell (both 26 pts) are also in the running. It’s a five-way tie in Division 6, with Paul Buchanan, Jamie Gamble, Andy Kiely, Krisztián Balázs, and Iain McMahon all wedged on the Podium with 25 pts. It’s almost as crowded in Division 7, where Wayne Sturman, Juho Kalliokuusi, Nick Fincher, and John Choy are locked together on 22 pts. With a five-point lead, Dejan Nikolic (28 pts) has no such concerns in Division 8; but it’s a two-way tie in Division 9, with Michael Du Toit and Brandon Walsh (25 pts) taking a turn at the front. With 28 pts, Will Evans has no need to share in Division 10, but Paul Whittenham and Michael Green (both 25 pts) will beg to differ. In Division 11, Andrew Gibson (31 pts) might have hoped for a bigger lead following his impressive start, but Andy May-Heggie (28 pts) is still within reach. It’s much tighter in Division 12, where Alex Daish and Dibbendu Mukherjee (both 25 pts) are the new leaders in a congested field. Steve North and Robert Turner are in pole position in Division 13; as are Daragh Shirazi and Atte Kinnunen (both 28 pts) in Division 14. Geoff Browitt (26 pts) is the new leader in Division 15; but has Simon Smith (25 pts), and Rahul Mohnani (24 pts) in close pursuit. Finally, Stephen Puddicombe (26 pts) is joined at the top by Erik Void in Division 16; but the chasm to Daniel Schallmayer in 3rd is only two points.
League Six
If we ignore the dormant Gameweek 7, two Managers have maintained their perfect start: In Division 22, Anders Söder Wintergren (34 pts) has opened up a massive 11-point lead, whereas in Division 9, the equally perfect Daniel Owen has a nine-point advantage. Looking at the half-time scores in their Gameweek 13 fixtures, both will have work to do to maintain their winning records.
At the other end of the table, some Managers were still seeking their first win (or even points), so let’s raise a glass to Prem Yadew (Division 23), who won in GW12, and will have a chance to move off the bottom with another victory in GW13. Well done also to Lee Hall, in Division 27, who picked up a first point in GW12, and is eyeing a first win this week. Richard Meddings (Division 16) remains winless, but has a half-time lead in his GW13 fixture. Fingers crossed.
League Seven
The star performers in League 7 are Aße (Division 8), Chirag Kalwani (Division 19), Tavish Bhagat (Division 24), Ben Thompson (Division 38), Shubham Agarwal (Division 46), and Wee Kee Ho (Division 57), all of whom have a six-point lead at the end of GW12. Paradoxically, Brian Melican’s 33-point haul in Division 41, is only good for a five-point lead. The Managers most in need of a lift are Rahul G (Division 2), Ondrej Marthefka (Division 4), Sophoan Met (Division 11), Alec Wenhold (Division 38), and Gunjan Bhujel (Division 44), all of whom are still seeking their first victory. Hang in there.
League Eight
FPL Dragao (34 pts) (Division 47) is still breathing fire in League 8, and has won every match actually played. Mark Pitfield (33 pts) (Division 32) is almost as impressive, but also takes an eight-point lead into GW13; while John Rees-Williams (33 pts), is tearing it up in Division 116). Other high performers include Akhil K Balachandran (Div 11), Ujjwal Tiwari (Div 18), Ragnar-Mario Mägi (Div 54), Turtle Bear (Div 61), Jason Stipicic (Div 68), Christopher Brena (Div 76), Nigel Bennet (Div 82) and Tipsey Pee (Div 104), who all have big leads in their respective Divisions.
Those slower out of the League 8 blocks include Sarthak Jain (Div 1), David Crouch (Div 25), Morgan Larsson (Div 26), Kitsz Rev (Div 34), Nanakwesi Osei Tenkorang (Div 36), Patrick Dolan (Div 45), and Graham Pickett (Div 111), all of whom are still seeking their first win. But let’s save our best sympathies for Daeng Rusle (Div 60) and Cuban Knight (Div 80), who are still seeking their first point. We’ve all been there. The future is brighter for Chris Bell (Div 11), Ananthu Muralidharan (Div 39), Avis Nicolas Sebugwawo (Div 49) and Kara Sara (Div 51), who secured their first victories in GW12. The only way is up.
League Nine
This is normally the point where my eyes glaze over, and I lose the will to live, but League Nine is where some of the best FPL Managerial talent resides; not least Nikhil Narang (Division 15), who continues to hold the only 100% record across all H2H Leagues; and I like his chances in GW13. Gerald Treacy (Div 7) might also have been perfect but for the blank in GW7; and the same applies to Joe Clarkson in Division 27, VG (Div 34), Naoise Kennedy (Div 100), Nathan Brown (Div 105), WF Smith (Div 191) and Mohamed Vali (Div 209).
Well done to the over-performers, but spare a thought for those still chasing their first win, namely: FP Randabot (Div 62), Kev Mather (Div 69), Jo Green (Div 88), Scott Gillespie (Div 96), Austin Osuntoyinbo (Div 100), Ricky Remruatpuia (Div 128) and Syed Suhaib (Div 180). Maybe the Fantasy World Cup is worth a punt?
As promised, I’m also tracking the progress of World No. 1, Fábio Borges, as he strives to work his way through the Leagues, Wimbledon-style, and who knows, maybe win the FA Cup and get a career in Hollywood. Last time we checked, Fabio was on the cusp of the promotion slots in Division 172, but a run of three successive defeats sent him hurtling in the wrong direction; and it took a win in GW12 to recover to mid-table obscurity. The promotion slots are currently filled by Darren Lyttle and Richard Joseph (both 28 pts), Gareth Yeo (25 pts), Andy Tang and Paul McParland (both 23 pts); and Fabio is in 11th place on 16 pts. The maestro has work to do.
That’s all for now; my apologies if I didn’t find room to shine a light on your team’s progress, but you could always follow Steve Tanner’s (AKA YorkieCity) excellent example, and use the comments section to illuminate what’s happening in your League. I’ll be back after Gameweek 16 with another round up to sustain us during the break for the World Cup.
Stay safe.