Fantasy Premier League 2023/24 champion crowned

Jonas Sand Labakk has been crowned 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League champion, winning the world title by 51 points and becoming the first Norwegian to claim the prize.

Labakk was 46 points ahead going into the final day and increased his lead thanks to hauls from Phil Foden (£8.5m), Alexander Isak (£8.4m) and Pedro Porro (£5.9m).

"Winning FPL, wow! I have no words," said Labakk. "I don’t know what to say, but I have a bottle of champagne in the freezer. It means a lot to me. I have played this game since I was a little kid. Winning is a dream that never even struck my mind!"

The day started with unwelcome news for Labakk as Bukayo Saka (£8.8m), his only signing for Gameweek 38, was left out of the Arsenal squad.

However, any nerves he may have felt soon evaporated as Foden scored early before, crucially, Isak found the net ahead of half-time.

Isak was one of only two differentials between Labakk's side, Onkel Blaa, and his closest challenger, Pinky and De Bruyne, managed by Euan Thompson.

Differentials between top two managers

Thompson needed a miracle if he was going to overhaul Labakk's substantial advantage heading into Gameweek 38.

Both of his differentials returned, with Kai Havertz (£7.6m) scoring and Brennan Johnson (£5.8m) supplying an assist, but it wasn't enough, particularly with Isak contributing 14 points for Labakk.

Where the title was won and lost

Chip strategy was pivotal to Labakk's success. 

In the second half of the season two popular approaches emerged, focused on how to navigate Blank Gameweek 29 (BGW29), a round with only four matches.

The first was to use the Free Hit chip in BGW29, to ensure a full playing XI, and save the Wildcard for later in the season.

Meanwhile, the second approach favoured playing the Wildcard in Gameweek 30 and planning for BGW29 using free transfers.

Labakk adopted the second approach and it paid dividends as it allowed him to save the Free Hit for Double Gameweek 34 (DGW34), when he totalled 143 points. The Norwegian hit five double-figure returns including 29 points from Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.1m), the biggest Gameweek score of the campaign.

Thompson, in contrast, scored 38 points fewer than Labakk in DGW34, having deployed his Free Hit in Gameweek 29.

Free Hit points for top two managers

*Free Hit played

Former No 1 Sundeep Jaswal, the leader for nine out of 11 rounds between Gameweeks 23 and 33, was another to employ the ill-fated Free Hit BGW29 strategy. 

But he at least enjoyed a positive end to the season, with his team Alexandra Greats bagging 83 points, 12 more than Labakk, and finishing an impressive fourth overall.

Tobias Marti, from Switzerland, was the biggest mover on the final day, going from 30th to ninth place thanks to an 87-point haul.

Using his two free transfers for Gameweek 38, Marti added Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) and Saka to his team, MadandTrista.

Eze scored twice and provided an assist as part of an 18-point return in Crystal Palace's 5-0 win over Aston Villa, while Saka was replaced in Marti's starting XI by Isak, his first sub.

Cup final stalemate

The FPL Cup final also took place on the concluding day, with Finlay Glidden and his team Glidd's Galacticos taking on Lovro Vukomanovic's My little Toney.

The two managers, whose teams shared 14 out of 15 players ahead of the showpiece event, both recruited Michael Olise (£5.7m) in place of Anthony Gordon (£6.4m), while Vukomanovic used his extra free transfer to swap out Pedro Porro for Gabriel (£5.4m).

It's a decision he may come to regret, with Porro outscoring Gabriel by 14 points to one.

In the end, both managers fielded exactly the same XI, meaning the cup final will be decided by a virtual coin toss on Monday.