I won FPL last season - here are my five best tips
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Erik Ibsen, a 23-year-old Danish medical student and Everton fan, finished first overall among 11 million Fantasy Premier League players last season despite never having played the game before.
- Ibsen credited inexperience as a "1,000%" advantage, saying he used only his own research and ignored paid services and FPL influencers entirely.
- Consistency over 38 gameweeks was his top tip: he was ranked 8 millionth after week one while the eventual runner-up sat inside the top 100, but patience across the full season carried him to victory.
- Budget "enablers" like Pascal Groß of Brighton at £5.5m — who takes penalties, free-kicks and corners — and a focus on defensive contribution points let him spread value across the squad and fit in premium players.
- Erling Haaland at a record £15.5m remains non-negotiable in Ibsen's plans, with a squad built around him alongside Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai and Joao Pedro.
- Transfer patience is undervalued, Ibsen said, noting players can bank up to five transfers and deploy them as a "mini-wildcard" to exploit fixture swings.
- Tottenham's defence at roughly £5m per player is his bonus pick, while he wants Liverpool's attack under incoming manager Andoni Iraola but explicitly warns against trusting Iraola's defence.
Why it matters: With nine clubs set to start the new Premier League season under new permanent managers — a record for an opening round — Ibsen calls this "the most difficult to predict ever," sharpening the stakes for the millions entering FPL mini-leagues this week. His blueprint undercuts the premium-advice industry: a novice who ignored paid tipsters and influencers beat 11 million players, with concrete tactics (budget enablers, transfer banking, fixture-led patience) that any player can replicate.
Ask SkimNews
