NMA-11 Cup: Semifinals Results

Mini-double gameweek 36 saw the semifinals of the NMA-11 cup, and as is typical of double weeks, even those featuring only two teams, there were some big scores. Eight teams scored over 200 points, and one of those was a cup semifinalist, so we clearly have some of the cream of the league left in the competition. Indeed three of the four semifinalists are now ranked in the league’s top 20.

Here are the semifinals results:

As you can see, 183168 — the only remaining ‘Premier League’ team and the big favourite for the cup — has fallen. It shows the depth of talent in our league this year that none of the teams ranked in the top 20 at the end of game week 20 has made it through.

Lets look at the two results in more detail:

GREEK SUNSEEKER was the biggest scorer in the competition this week with an impressive 210.5 points, fourth overall for the league this week. They managed to avoid double-game team rotation, playing Felipe (an excellent single-gamer, 14 points for a price less than $2) and ten double gamers who all played twice (if not all for the whole of both games). There were underwhelming performances from Mitoma (3.5 points) and Botman (7 points), but all the others were in double figures, led by Callum Wilson’s 47.4 points and 20+ for Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimarães and Lewis Dunk.

Their opponents 183168 have been in terrific form recently, currently sitting in 5th place overall, but they surprisingly fell a little short this time with 175.5 points. They also had Mitoma and Botman, but also Alexis Mac Allister who was surprisingly benched for the second game and then picked up a yellow card when he came on, leaving him with a miserable 0.5 points over the two games. This team still holds Haaland at $7, which could be a great help in GW37, but for GW-36 there were better scores to be had from the double gamers if you could pick right. Add in Levi Colwill, who looked like an inspired choice after scoring 13.5 points in the first game but who was then injured for the second, and Joe Willock who was taken off injured during the second game, and that left this team 35 points short of its opponent.

The other tie was a little closer; this time only 18 points separated the two teams. It was Team MIFFY_FC who were victorious, with 177.5 points. This team is the analogue of Sheffield Wednesday, and it was fitting that on the same day they made it to the NMA-11 cup semifinal, the real Sheffield Wednesday overcame a 4-0 deficit from their League 1 playoff semi final first leg to eventually advance on aggregate through on penalties. They’re still a long way off the Premier League though, unlike their fantasy equivalent team who now sit 16th overall. Their score was close to that of 183168, and they unsurprisingly share a lot of the same players, including Haaland at $7. They chose 5 players each from Newcastle and Brighton, including once again the disappointing Mac Allister, Mitoma and Botman, and went for Jason Steele in goal, who for much less outlay scored nearly as much as Nike Pope. As with all the other teams so far, Callum Wilson was present for his 47.5 points.

Their opponents Paphos Toffees were the lowest-ranked team left, and sadly for them they performed like it, scoring 159.5 points which was fairly mediocre for the double week. They took a real chance with their midfield and it did not pay off. Facundo Buonanotte played only 67 minutes across the two games for a measly 2.5 points, alongside Jacob Murphy who did not play at all. Sadly, Paphos Toffees completed their midfield with Mac Allister and Mitoma, meaning that the four midfielders totalled only 6.5 points between them. The rest of the team was good, but couldn’t overcome this.

So that means we now know the finalists:

This should be a close-fought match - the teams are separated by only 17.5 points over the entire season! The final will take place in game week 38, the final week of the EPL season, when as per tradition, all ten matches kick off simultaneously at 3:30 pm GMT on Sunday 28th May.

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How was DGW-36 for you? Would you have made it through, had you not been knocked out earlier? Are you one of the finalists - or a beaten semifinalist? We’d love to hear from you in the comments. Make sure you join us on 28th May as we see the final matches unfold.