Welcome back to Round 3 of the Hive FPL Cup.
Round 2 saw a few more high ranking casualties as we stripped the field down from 64 to 32.
Chief amongst the sides to lose in Round 2 were Creekside FC (ranked 2nd in the league), Skander (ranked 3rd) and Suffragette City (ranked 5th). That means of the top 5 within the classic league at this stage, only 4th placed Hungry Lions remain.
To say then that things are looking pretty open for the title would be an understatement. In fact, we had 3 teams during round 2 who breached the 100 point mark for GW33 including Twycejoy who are currently ranked 56th and We are back again FC who are 61st!
The final team to get a 100+ score this round was BlockchainFPL who along with several other Division 1 sides must now fancy their chances of progressing to the later stages of the tournament.
Inzanagi FC won their all Division 1 tie against Nonz FC despite only recording 60 points. They'll need to do better next time out not only for their hopes in the cup but also to ensure they remain in top flight.
At the other end of the spectrum, a couple of low ranked and idle teams in the form of Michupa Brasil F.C. and Cygnus FC have now left the competition. As we'll see below, there are a few similar teams still floating around who sides will be keen to draw in what looks an easy route through to the final 16.
Round 1 results
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevenson FC |  @stevenson7 | 38 | 108 | @BlockchainFPL | @blockchainFPL |
| The Urge |  @kenzzi | 23 | 65 | FC McKane | @McKane |
| Twycejoy |  @twicejoy | 101 | 62 | Beyond Horizon |  @beyondhorizonmm |
| AbdulBasit FC |  @abdulbasit20 | 76 | 74 | Suffragette City |  @talesfrmthecrypt |
| 11 idiots | n/a | 34 | 42 | legaliza |  @legalizabrazil |
| HappyBoys FC | @Happyboy1 | 76 | 23 | CorkScrews |  @deraaa |
| Hungry Lions | @GvKanten | 76 | 68 | Newton Heath FC |  @samirich |
| EVIAN CF |  @nasfyneboy92 | 59 | 73 | Testing FC |  @sperosamuel15 |
| Cygnus FC |  @donjuan | 47 | 59 | Danny fc |  @goldendash |
| Creekside FC |  @pappyelblanco | 65 | 76 | I Feel Qatari |  @deniskj |
| Folox fc |  @thelonegreywolf | 73 | 84 | Augment Fc |  @vickoly |
| Lazz | @Martinlazizi | 82 | 71 | HighWay2Anfield |  @kenechukwu97 |
| The Destroyers |  @thewill12 | 39 | 62 | Rosh FC |  @officialrosh1 |
| Mount Everest |  @khaleesii | 65 | 73 | thoth442FC |  @thoth442 |
| Yahuzah |  @yahuzah | 79 | 58 | George Of D Jungle | @George-dee |
| WhyteFC | @Ipalibo | 66 | 81 | Apples and Pears |  @stuartcturnbull |
| 21st Ave |  @metaboy21 | 43 | 64 | Styles |  @nwabosodpp |
| Roboski | @Gentleshaid | 89 | 66 | Major League |  @aghedopromise |
| Tequeños United |  @aaalviarez | 89 | 61 | Tengo Rangers FC |  @tengolotodo |
| Lens world fc | @Lensworld | 66 | 75 | Legion Fc |  @b0s |
| Skander TN |  @skanderh | 67 | 83 | Hibadurahmon |  @hibadurahmon |
| Samostically |  @samostically | 56 | 77 | KingDavid | n/a |
| dwayne16 |  @dwayne16 | 76 | 79 | Formidable Milano | @Damolexy |
| valchiz fc |  @valchiz | 63 | 39 | Michupa Brasil F.C. |  @michupa |
| Stom FC |  @stomade | 80 | 62 | MUFC |  @tiyumtaba |
| Nonz FC |  @nonsowrites | 41 | 60 | Izanagi FC |  @belemo |
| Simcard fpl |  @akomoajong | 66 | 71 | Hiveheadz |  @borran |
| Likodra FC |  @teofilex11 | 71 | 65 | Uwabbs Fc |  @uwabbs001 |
| We are back again FC |  @gone-hive | 113 | 82 | Diistroyers |  @diikaan |
| The Amirians |  @amirtheawesome1 | 65 | 86 | Chris Football Club |  @hive-world |
| Levy Club |  @jmehta | 63 | 49 | RHYDA1 |  @rhyda1 |
| Arfantasy FC |  @arfa | 92 | 54 | The inferno Squad |  @jimah1k |
Prizes for Round 2
We had 32 winners in round 2 including KingDavid who do not currently have a Hive account linked to their team. Therefore the 10 Hive will be split evenly between 31 accounts meaning a prize of 0.322 Hive for all those teams who progressed.
This will be on the way to your wallet shortly.
Round 3 fixtures
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testing FC | @sperosamuel15 | v | Hungry Lions | @GvKanten |
| I Feel Qatari | @deniskj | v | AbdulBasit FC | @abdulbasit20 |
| Tequeños United | @aaalviarez | v | Chris Football Club | @hive-world |
| Augment Fc | @vickoly | v | legaliza | @legalizabrazil |
| Twycejoy | @twicejoy | v | Roboski | @Gentleshaid |
| Likodra FC | @teofilex11 | v | @BlockchainFPL | @blockchainFPL |
| Arfantasy FC | @arfa | v | Formidable Milano | @Damolexy |
| Hiveheadz | @borran | v | valchiz fc | @valchiz |
| Rosh FC | @officialrosh1 | v | FC McKane | @McKane |
| Hibadurahmon | @hibadurahmon | v | Izanagi FC | @belemo |
| We are back again FC | @gone-hive | v | thoth442FC | @thoth442 |
| KingDavid | n/a | v | Styles | @nwabosodpp |
| Legion Fc | @b0s | v | Lazz | @Martinlazizi |
| Levy Club | @jmehta | v | Yahuzah | @yahuzah |
| Stom FC | @stomade | v | HappyBoys FC | @Happyboy1 |
| Apples and Pears | @stuartcturnbull | v | Danny fc | @goldendash |
One of the key factors coming into round 3 will be that GW34 consists of 13 fixtures including double game weeks for the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. Expect a few chips to be flying around as teams look to take full advantage of the the big points on offer.
Some of the key fixtures to look out for this week include...
Testing FC (ranked 24th) are up against Hungry Lions (ranked 4th) who are the top ranked side left in the cup. Testing FC actually outscored Hungry Lions in GW33 thanks in no small part to the Division 1 side having 3 players who delivered zero points.
Both sides have already played their wildcards so we have a fair idea of what their squads are going to look like. Both teams will need to overcome the fact that they have 2 Spurs players in their side with the North London club not playing this week. Hungry Lions currently have a player advantage in as far as those involved in the double game week.
Legaliza (ranked 71st) are the lowest ranked team left in the competition and are up against Division 1 Augment FC. To be honest, Legaliza have been lucky to get this far, recording just 42 points in Round 2. Having not updated their side for a long time, it's unlikely they'll be able to field XI players this week making for a relatively easy progression for Augment (famous last words).
Last week's 100 point scorers Blockchain FPL are rewarded with a difficult match against Likodra FC who are currently ranked 6th. It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see a free hit used in this fixture which could go a long way to deciding the winner.
Arfantasy FC didn't join one of the head to head leagues this season but are enjoying a little run in the cup instead. They'll be up against Formidable Milano who themselves are chasing promotion to the top flight. Arfantasy are certainly looking better prepared for the double game week!
Defending champions thoth442FC are up against We Are Back Again FC whose total of 118 was the highest across all Hive competitions last week. Given that they've not updated their team for some time that was more luck than judgement and you'd be surprised if they can pull that off again.
One final all Division 1 fixture sees Legion FC take on Lazz. Lazz are currently ranked 13th in the classic league and are safe in the head to head. It might be that they are better able to focus on the cup compared to their opponents who are very much still involved in a relegation battle.
Good luck to everyone in their Round 3 cups matches this week!