Dive into the last draft of the #CLVolleyM Fantasy Game

The business end of the CEV Champions League Men is scheduled this week, so the winners of the competition, as well as the winner of the CEV Champions League Men Fantasy, will be crowned.

The first-of-its-kind experience for CEV, gave fans the opportunity to become the coach of their own team across the men’s and women’s European premium competitions. Contestants can pick a team of twelve players with specific assigned positions inside a dedicated team budget of 100 million euros.

Haven’t you already signed in and chosen your team? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 

So, the rules are quite simple and can be found here. To start, you must select a squad of 12 players with an initial budget of 100 million fantasy euros. The initial squad selection must consist of: three outside hitters, three middle blockers, two setters, two liberos and two opposites. You must select 7 players from your squad of 12 players to form your starting roster for each game week.

With only four teams left standing in the competition and everything to play for, we have suggested our starting seven for the Final Four, where heavy hitters are in place.

KEY PLAYERS

Marek Šotola (€13m): The Czech star is by far the top scorer in the Fantasy game this season, with 658 points, 158 more than his teammate, Dick Kooy, and over 300 points more than the second opposite, Lukasz Kaczmarek. Will this translate into more points in this Final Four? Šotola is a scoring machine and has 206 points this season in the Champions League, with an average of 4.9 points per set, which makes him the third scorer in the competition. With tough opposition, Šotola will be needed by Halkbank, but the sheer penchant of pushing matches into the decider can bring more points for the Czech superstar.

Tomasz Fornal (€14m): Twice have Jastrzębski Węgiel made the final in the past two seasons and twice they have lost it. They will be close to home in Łódź and will aim to deliver a good performance and this is why Fornal got into the team. Another reason is that he’s the second outside hitter in terms of points in the Fantasy game before the Final Four, with 388 points, being a clear weapon for Jastrzębski Węgiel this season, just as he was in the previous ones.

Simone Giannelli (€9m): We really spent high in this final draft and we selected Perugia’s setter, Simone Giannelli, in our line-up. It was a coin toss between him and Halkbank’s captain, Micah Ma’a, but we went with Giannelli, who has scored 206 points this season in the Fantasy game. Giannelli is a powerhouse to be reckoned with, and he scored 26 points this season, as well as having the third best setter percentage of the season, 60.67%, in the 24 sets he played so far.

KEY DIFFERENTIAL

Aaron Russell (€13m): Qualifying for this Final Four is a huge achievement for Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, which had a very well-balanced side to get here. We picked American Aaron Russell as the second outside hitter, with his 324 points in the Fantast game convincing us of his potential. He is also Zawiercie’s top scorer in this season in the Champions League, therefore making him a key player for the Polish side in their bid to win the trophy.