Eleven million people played Fantasy Premier League last season. One of them, a 23-year-old Danish medical student named Erik Ibsen, finished first overall — and he had never played the game before. That is not a small caveat; Ibsen himself says it was a central reason he won.

"1,000% being new to the game helped me," he told BBC Sport. "I didn't pay for a service or listen to influencers. I used all my own research and choices." Between summer exams, he has already mapped out his chip and transfer strategy for 2025-26. Below are the five principles he is willing to share publicly.

1. Consistency beats panic

Ibsen started the 2024-25 season ranked eight-millionth in the world after Gameweek 1. The manager who eventually finished second was inside the top 100 at the same point. He recovered because he did not overreact.

"Many people have a bad week and then burn everything trying to fix things immediately," he said. "Instead, be patient. If you can plan three or five weeks ahead by looking at upcoming fixtures, that's a great start." With 38 gameweeks in a season, one poor round rarely defines a campaign — though it can feel that way mid-September.

2. Budget enablers unlock the big names

Ibsen's squad-building philosophy centres on value spread across all 15 players rather than concentrating funds on four or five stars. The tool he uses to achieve that is the budget enabler — a cheap player who contributes meaningfully in his own right while freeing up money elsewhere.

He namechecks Pascal Gross (£5.5m at Brighton) as an example: a set-piece taker who covers penalties, free-kicks and corners at a price that creates headroom for more expensive options. The second half of this tip involves targeting defensive contribution (defcon) points — clean-sheet and save bonuses for defenders and goalkeepers. "There was never a terrible week," Ibsen said. "Every week was pretty much OK because I had defcon points coming in."

3. Be ruthless about your own club

Supporter bias is one of the most common sources of avoidable FPL points losses. Ibsen, an Everton fan, is blunt about it: he likes Thierno Barry, but Barry shares minutes with Beto, which makes him an unreliable asset regardless of affection. "Mixing these two worlds is possible, although it will be harder for some teams," he said. "If you're a Manchester City fan, of course you can pick Erling Haaland. If you support Hull, well, good luck."

4. Pay the £15.5m for Haaland

Haaland is the most expensive FPL player of all time at £15.5m for 2025-26. Ibsen had him "pretty much constantly" last season and is planning to do the same again. His argument is structural: because Haaland absorbs so much of the budget ceiling, the rest of the price list looks relatively accessible, and the remaining squad can still be strong. There is also a captaincy dimension. "If you're in doubt about who to captain, you always have him," Ibsen said. For managers who spend hours agonising over the armband each week, that certainty has a value that does not show up in the raw price tag.

5. Roll transfers to create a mini-wildcard

FPL allows managers to carry over unused free transfers up to a maximum of five. Ibsen treated that banked allowance as a tactical weapon rather than a comfort blanket. When a favourable double fixture appeared — he uses the example of Chelsea playing two weaker sides back to back — he could bring in three Chelsea assets simultaneously without paying the four-point hit that additional transfers normally incur. "Last season my strategy was to mostly transfer two or three players at a time," he said. "I'd be very patient, saving up to make big rotations." Five rolled transfers, used at the right moment, function almost identically to a wildcard for that specific run of games.

None of these tips is especially complicated, which may be the point. Ibsen won by doing straightforward things consistently over 38 weeks rather than chasing the optimal move every single gameweek. The market will have noted his approach. Whether 11 million people can replicate it is another question.

Frequently asked

What are the best FPL tips for beginners?
Last season's overall winner Erik Ibsen recommends focusing on consistency over 38 gameweeks, using cheap budget enablers to free up funds for premium players, and targeting defenders who regularly earn defensive contribution points to floor your weekly score.
Is Haaland worth picking in FPL 2025-26?
Ibsen, who finished first overall in 2024-25, says yes. At £15.5m Haaland is the priciest player in the game, but Ibsen argues his price forces cheaper choices elsewhere that are still good value, and he also removes captaincy uncertainty every single gameweek.
How do rolled transfers work in FPL?
You receive one free transfer per gameweek. If you don't use it, it carries over — up to a maximum of five banked transfers. Using all five in a single week lets you reshape large parts of your squad without taking points hits, acting as a targeted mini-wildcard around a run of fixtures.