The Scout analyses the strategies of 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League champion Michael Coone, so other managers can learn from the best.
Use chips for Doubles and Blanks
Perhaps at first glance, Coone's first Wildcard of 2020/21 was not an obvious success.
He waited until Gameweek 15 to play the chip and collected 45 points, dropping from 250th position in the overall rankings to 475th.
Indeed, his Gameweek rank of 2,970,048th was his second-lowest of his season up to that point.
But the Irishman's forward-planning meant he was not concerned over its immediate impact.
"I had my eye on a Double Gameweek that was coming up and I was using the Free Hit to manage the Blank before it," Coone explains.
"Using your chips around that and getting through that is a key factor that takes a bit of time to really consider."
Free Hit success
Coone's new squad had been set up to take advantage of Double Gameweek 19, when 10 teams all played twice.
By taking this approach, it allowed him to use his Free Hit chip and build a temporary one-week team for Gameweek 18, when only 12 sides had a fixture.
The champion tripled up on players from Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for his Free Hit and scored 53 points.
That took him up to 147th position, the first time he had broken into the top 150.
Defenders deliver
In Gameweek 19, Coone's planning paid off again in spectacular fashion.
He played his Bench Boost chip to profit from a host of players with two matches, including Man City pair John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan, along with Leicester City's James Justin and West Ham United's Vladimir Coufal.
Those four players alone earned him 71 points and helped Coone to his season-high haul of 132 points.
It also propelled him into 21st position in the overall standings.
Maximise the chips
Coone employed a similar tactic of playing back-to-back chips in Gameweeks 25 and 26.
"There's a lot of strategy around your chips and Double and Blank Gameweeks," he says.
"They're absolutely key, you have to get them right and you have to maximise the amount of players you're playing twice in your Double Gameweeks."
He played his second Wildcard in Double Gameweek 25 to have a full quota of three players from Leeds United, one of only two teams to play twice in that round of matches.
That trio of Pascal Strujik, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford combined for 36 points, with the latter handed the armband for the only time this term.
Plan ahead
Crucially, Coone had also built his new squad with his focus on Double Gameweek 26, when 14 teams played twice.
Indeed, he used his final chip, the Triple Captain, on Harry Kane for Spurs' matches against Burnley and Fulham in Gameweek 26.
That helped him total 107 points, one of four triple-figure scores in his title-winning campaign.
It also lifted him further up the standings to second overall, as the champion continued his ultimately successful quest for the No 1 spot.
See: Get your FPL season in review
Also in this series
Part 1: Captain Mane makes Irish Liverpool fan FPL champion
Part 2: FPL champion: It came down to the last kick
Part 3: FPL champion's tips: Look for value in defence early on
Part 4: FPL champion's tips: Don't take risks with the captaincy
Part 5: FPL champion's tips: Plan ahead with transfers
