The final Match Week of the FC Pro Open Group stage left just two spaces available into the FC Pro Open Finals, with Group D, known as the ‘Group of Death’, drawing to a close on Monday night.
Levi De Weerd came into Match Week 8 on top of the group, but there was still hope for Fouma, Obrun, The1OS, and Tekkz – who had given himself a mountain to climb after his display in Match Week 4.
The most expensive drafts yet were assembled this time around with players handed their biggest ever budget of 17 million coins, and the requirement was that each position (ATT, MID, and DEF) had either a TOTY or TOTY Icon item selected.
Let’s take a look at how each player drafted, and how their choices influenced their performances on the night, with the final FC Pro Open Draft Review of the Group stage.
Teams in full
Fouma - TOTYHM Ederson, Thunderstruck Davies, TOTY Renard, WW Yashin, WW Laudrup, TT Ginola, Radioactive Valverde, TOTY Rodri, RTTK Dembele, TOTY Smith, TOTGS Mbappe
Levi de Weerd - Cech, Thunderstruck Davies, van Dijk, TOTY Renard, Cafu, Putellas, TOTY De Bruyne, TOTYHM Alexander-Arnold, TOTY Haaland, Base Ginola, Mbappe
Obrun - van der Sar, UCL Hero Bompastor, WW Yashin, TOTY Renard, Thunderstruck Cafu, Putellas, TOTGS Bellingham, TOTY De Bruyne, Mbappe, TOTY Kerr, Hamm
Tekkz - Schmeichel, Thunderstruck Davies, Kim Min Jae, van Dijk, TOTY Batlle, Trailblazers Cancelo (In CM), TOTY Xavi, Ronaldinho, TOTY Putellas, Hamm, Trailblazers Hansen
The1OS - Cech, Thunderstruck Davies, van Dijk, TOTY Renard, Cafu, TOTY De Bruyne, TOTYHM Valverde, Thunderstruck Vinicius Jr, TOTY Smith, Dynasties Haaland, WW Pele
FC Pro Open Match Week 8 FC Pro Draft Review
The performance of Tekkz was one of the early standout factors in Match Week 8, and he produced one of the most impressive drafts across the entire Group stage.
TOTY Xavi had plenty of influence across every match, with his long ball pass playstyle plus crucial in helping unlock fullbacks making overlaps down the left flanks. That opened up space in the middle of the pitch for Ronaldinho, Mia Hamm, and Trailblazer Caroline Graham Hansen, who were all in top form on Monday night. TOTY honourable mentions Kim Min-Jae also proved to be an astute investment, with solid performances despite a modest price of around 200k coins.
Levi De Weerd also enjoyed success and opted for a similar strategy to Tekkz, with his selection of Honourable Mentions Trent Alexander-Arnold allowing him to play long balls into dangerous areas, while the Team Gullit star was also clinical with TOTY Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder was precise with his passing into attacking areas, but he stoodout most for his ability to shoot from outside of the box – especially in the round three win over Obrun.
David Ginola was also in form in Match Week 8, though item versions of him only featured in the sides of Fouma and Levi De Weerd.
TOTY Wendie Renard could have performed better with some animations that lacked conviction, though another French defender did standout in Sonia Bompastor, who put in a strong display against Tekkz for Obrun in Round 4 – the same match in which Franck Ribery made an impact with excellent dribbling inside the box before a strong left-footed finish.
Some percentages from Match Week 8 of the FC Pro Open
The streak ends! A version of Virgil van Dijk has previously been selected in every team at the FC Pro Open, but the extra budget available and TOTY requirement in each position saw two teams (Obrun and Fouma) not select him. He was selected in 33 of 35 teams (excluding Icon Week in Match Week 3) at the FC Pro Open (94.28%).
Cech’s two selections in Match Week 8 took his total on his base version to 5 (14.29%), but Schmeichel maintained his place as the most popular goalkeeper at the FC Pro Open – with 11 total selections (31.43%) after he was picked by Tekkz in MW8.
Alexia Putellas and RTTK Modric were the two most individual items in midfield, both being picked in 40% of times, though the Barcelona Femeni midfielder was selected most across all of her item versions, with 19 picks seeing her feature in 54.28% of teams during the FC Pro Open Group stage.
No base gold item was picked more than Kylian Mbappe, who was selected 28 times (80% of teams across the eight Match Weeks.
Here’s how the group looks after Match Week 8 of the FC Pro Open
Team Gullit’s Levi De Weerd maintained his grip on the group from MW4, and went through as the group winner, which sees him avoid his teammate Emre Yilmaz in the next round where he will face Umut.
A Tekkz turnaround was close after winning his first two games, but a 3-3 draw against Obrun meant his time at the FC Pro Open was over after round 4.
2023 eWorld Cup semi-finalist Obrun claimed the last seat in the FC Pro Open Finals after his 4-3 victory over Fouma in the final match of the group stage.
The1Os couldn’t find form and finished bottom in arguably the most difficult group from the FC Pro Open.
Who won the draft on Match Week 8 of the FC Pro Open
Levi de Weerd’s selections of TOTY Haaland and De Bruyne were expensive but certainly paid off as the Dutchman secured qualification by round three, though Tekkz makes the strongest claim as the Match Week 8 draft winner after his turnaround in performance levels.
Each player looked to have been selected with a plan in mind, and it was clear that he was looking to use each individual item’s playstyles to their maximum efficiency, especially with the choices of Xavi and TOTY Alexia Putellas.
An all-round excellent draft by Tekkz, who shone on the night with the biggest budget yet at the FC Pro Open, and he was unlucky not to go through to the FC Pro Open Finals after picking up 10 points in MW8.
Who do you think won the draft? Let us know on X at @EASportsFCPro.
Cast your vote on the FC Pro Open Finals Squad Requirements Poll
That brings the FC Pro Open group stage to a close, but we need your help for the FC Pro Open Finals that are set to take place this Saturday.
The draft requirements have created plenty of discussion over the past eight weeks, and now you can decide what restrictions the pros will have in the Finals.
You have three options to choose from which are: One Item Rarity, Two Players Per OVR, and Unlimited Budget with MIN FOUR SBCS. Cast your vote on the official poll on X here.
