In a quiet backroom in deepest, darkest Oxfordshire the First Round fixtures were set.
The sixteen competitors were “seeded” based on last season’s final league positions, then drawn at random. All sixteen will play one team from each pool, just like the new UEFA Champions League format.
As the teams were drawn, pool-by-pool, they were placed into the slots below.
Here’s the draw in full, twice randomised…
And your First Round fixtures are (drumroll please)…
Round 1: Every team plays four games. All sixteen will be in the same group.
The 2025/26 tourney begins with the holders Gloopy Yarbles facing 2024 Best-ish winners and current #1 side – Hung Like a Bony. They played in the opening gameweek of the season and even though HLAB scored more goals (Haaland’s two to Salah’s one), Gloopy still won the match 73.5 – 61.5. Haaland didn’t face Everton when they last played in April (ankle injury), but he did play the Toffees on Boxing Day… and missed a penalty in the second half of their 1-1 draw. Gloopy’s Mo Salah on the other hand did score a penalty last time he faced this weekend’s opponents, Man United, and has in fact scored thirteen goals against them in the last 11 games (blanking in only two).
Two previous Champions League winners – Mighty Fine and All Star Gunners also face off in Matchday 1. The three league leaders in the CL (all 6-1 teams) – Wives Fave, Barons and BattleVAR – all seem to have easy opposition next weekend – AFC Chester (2-5), Alleviate the Tedium (2-5) and Atletico Topo Chico (0-7) respectively, but CL gameweeks have a tendency to re-awaken sleeping beasts!
Reigning multi-format champions De Bruyne Trousers (BFFA Championship & The Big One) have scored 380 FPts so far, just 5.5 more than their first opponents Smash & Grab (less than 1 per week!). This promises to be a close game, perhaps unlike their GW1 matchup where a goalkeeper-less DBT walked in a 75-56 victory. That one was a high-scoring thriller, 4-3 on goals scored, but S&G had six players returning 5 points or less, including two negatives (perhaps it’s better to have no ‘keeper than Sa against Man City?)
Shams Army stormed League Two last season, collected the most league wins of all 40 teams, and won the Champion-of-Champions postseason tourney. They face second-placed Preliminary Version who missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the final game of last season. PVFC are on a hot streak right now – four wins from the last four, three of which were by 20 matchpoints or more.
And finally, the 2025 Dynasty champions The Phenoms are set to clash against last season’s Best-ish winners Peltier. Both are sitting midtable in the Championship during the international break; The Phenoms are a win ahead despite Peltier beating them 50.5 – 48.5 in Gameweek 5. Both teams scored two goals – Matty Cash & DCL for “home team” Phenoms, and Bruno Fernandes & Jaidon Anthony for Peltier. Currently, none of the forty have collected more yellow cards than Phenoms, and no-one has had more missed PK’s than Peltier.
At the end of the round:
1st-4th: 》The top four will get a bye to Round 3 (the QFs).
5th-12th: 》The teams in places 5th-12th will playoff in Round 2;
(A) 5th v 12th // (B) 6th v 11th // (C) 7th v 10th // (D) 8th v 9th. Two legs.
13th-16th: 》The bottom four will be eliminated.
If tiebreakers are needed, it will be decided on Goals Scored, then Best-ish ranking, then trackback weekly scores.
From Round 3 the highest-ranked teams will face the lowest-ranked teams (rankings decided by the Group Stage positions). R3 is also two legs.
Round 4 is the Semi-Finals.
Again, the highest-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked remaining side. SF also two legs.
And then the Final takes place in Gameweek 22. One leg – No replay if drawn.
Enjoy.
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