Want to win your Fantasy Premier League (FPL) mini-league but need some expert advice? Introducing Erik Ibsen, the 23-year-old Danish medical student who, out of the 11 million players who took part last season, finished first overall despite never playing the game before. In between his summer exams Everton fan Ibsen has already planned out his entire chip and transfer strategy for the upcoming season, but stresses inexperience and a more laid-back approach can end up being a huge advantage.
"1,000% being new to the game helped me win," he told BBC Sport. "I didn't pay for a service or listened to influencers, I used all my own reasearch and choices." But what exactly were those magic "choices" that led Ibsen to glory? Buckle up - the reigning FPL champion has agreed to share his secrets with the BBC.
"The biggest thing is being consistent," says Ibsen. "A lot of people have one bad week and then give up on the game. "I didn't start well and was eight millionth in the world after week one, whereas the person who came second was in the top 100.
"It's easy to forget there are 38 gameweeks and that things can change so much. "Many people have a bad week and then burn everything trying to fix things immediately. If you could plan three or five weeks ahead by looking at upcoming fixtures that's a great start." Concentrating your funds on a few superstars or spreading out your budget to get 16 dependable players?
Ibsen believes it's the latter. "Every single draft I've made so far has been about value across the whole team," he said. "One of my biggest tips is to find those cheaper enablers - those budget players who provide value while also enabling you to include more big-money players.
"Pascal Gross of Brighton is an amazing choice if you want to save money, but also have a great player at the same time. "He takes penalties, free-kicks, corners and only costs £5.5m. You need these kind of picks.
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