Millions Fantasy Premier League Managers endured a disappointing start to an empty Gameweek 29, as popular picks all but emptied and many free hit chips failed to deliver the expected rewards.
With only four devices taking place, more than 2 million fantasy bosses left Son Hyung-min For Tottenham Hotspur's trip to Fulham (£10.0m), it was only the second time in history that a player had surpassed the 2m mark in a game week.
The last time a player was bought for such a large number, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to earn 13-points at home to Newcastle United in Gameweek 4 of the 2021/22 season.
But on this occasion, Son was unable to repay his new owners as Spurs lost 3-0, failing to win for only the second time in five matches.
The most bought players of the GW29 game week
| player | Sports week | Replaced by | points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronaldo | GW4 2021/22 | 2,206,177 | 13 |
| son | GW29 2023/24 | 2,091,060 | 2 |
| son | GW5 2020/21 | 1,991,731 | 13 |
Son wasn't the only disappointment on a sad day for most fantasy managers. Four of the five most bought players were hitless in Saturday's game.
Evan Toney (£8.2m) He failed to score from any of his three attempts on goal in Brentford's 2-1 defeat at Burnley. To make matters worse, he picked up a yellow card and ended the day with a point.
As the miserable afternoon continued James Madison (£8.0m) and Pedro Boro (£5.8m) collected just three points between them at Fulham.
His goal away to Aston Villa last weekend saw more than 1.7m converted at Maddison, but he failed to put his stamp on the game at Craven Cottage after 65 minutes.
GW29 Most Purchased Players
| player | Replaced by | points |
|---|---|---|
| son | 2,091,060 | 2 |
| Tony | 1,838,997 | 1 |
| Madison | 1,729,191 | 2 |
| will go | 1,441,391 | – |
| Pedro Boro | 1,413,138 | 1 |
All eyes will now turn to West Ham United's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday, the final match of the round.
Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) was high on Fantasy managers' shopping list, with £1.4m adding him to their squad. The Hammers' talisman has averaged 5.6 points per match against Aston Villa and scored when the two sides met earlier in the season.
Most Free Hit Chips Played in a Gameweek
A limited set of devices saw 1.7 million people play their free hit, a record for the most used chip ever in a gameweek.
This figure surpasses the previous high of 1.4m from Gameweek 18 of the 2020/21 season.
Most free hit chips enabled
| Sports week | Free hits played |
|---|---|
| GW29 2023/24 | 1,705,262 |
| GW18 2020/21 | 1,410,195 |
| GW12 2022/23 | 1,063,311 |
It's only the third time in fantasy history that more than a million people have used their free hit chip in a single round.
FA Cup disruption
The empty Gameweek 29 coincides with the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend, and as a result, there are only four Premier League fixtures taking place.
For many FPL managers, their squads have been decimated by the postponement of six matches.
But the reduced schedule gave them the perfect opportunity to use the free hit chip, as it only allowed them to fully acquire players for one game week.
GW29 is the most captained players
| player | By Capt | points |
|---|---|---|
| son | 2,536,870 | 2 |
| Watkins | 822,083 | – |
| Tony | 499,417 | 1 |
Son and Tony joined the top three captains Ollie Watkins (£9.0m).
Watkins made it one of his six double-figure goals this season when Aston Villa hosted West Ham United in Gameweek 9.
A repeat of his 11-point score was welcomed by the 822,000+ who gave him an armband.
Most captained by 100 managers since GW29
| player | By Capt | points |
|---|---|---|
| son | 88 | 2 |
| Tony | 10 | 1 |
| Madison | 1 | 2 |
| Watkins | 1 | – |
If it's any consolation to those suffering a frustrating day, Son's popularity with the masses was mirrored by Fantasy's top 100 managers, with 88 of this elite group awarding him the captain's armband.
Toney was the main difference pick while Maddison and Watkins were backed by one manager each.