Rules of the game

Selecting teams

Ahead of each calendar month of EPL fixtures, each player must select one EPL team from each round of games that coming month. If the chosen EPL team wins, the player receives 3 points; if the team draws, the player gets 1 point; if the team loses, the player receives no points. Goals scored for and against selected teams are recorded.

• During the first half (19 rounds) of the season, each player must select a different EPL team for each round (i.e., they cannot select any team twice). During the second half (final 19 rounds) of the season, each player again has to select 19 of the 20 EPL teams but this must include the EPL team that they didn't use in the first half of the season. As a result, by the end of the full season, every player will have selected 18 of the 20 EPL teams twice and the remaining 2 once.
• A player cannot select to play against the same opposing EPL team more than 5 times over the full season and more than 3 times during the first half of the season. Infringing this rule will result in a 4-0 defeat being recorded against any ineligible matches.
• Players can make their selections for as many of the coming months as they like. For example, a player could make all their selections for the full season before the season starts.
• If a player hasn't submitted their chosen teams for the month by the time of kick-off of the first EPL match that month, they will automatically be assigned the lowest teams in the EPL that they haven't previously chosen for all rounds that month.
• Players’ selections for the coming month are only revealed to the whole group once all the players in that group have made their selections for that month.
• If a scheduled EPL match is postponed or abandoned (e.g., due to cup competition commitments, bad weather, serious player injury, etc) after a player has selected one of the teams competing in the match, the selection is retained until the game is eventually played.

Awards

LEAGUE CHAMPION: Awarded to the player who has the most points at the end of the EPL season. Should two or more players end up on the same number of points, whoever has the larger goal difference is the winner. Should they still be level, the player who’s accumulated the most goals scored is the winner. In the very unlikely event that two or more players at the top of the league still can't be separated, the title of League Champion will be shared between them. OTHER LEAGUE POSITIONS: Depending on the size of the group of players, runner-up (≥5 players) and third place (≥8 players) in the league will also be recognised.

MANAGER OF THE MONTH (MOTM): There are 10 MOTM awards throughout the season from August 2024 to May 2025. The winner each month is the player who accumulates the most points from the rounds of matches scheduled to be played that month. Scheduled matches that are postponed to a later month do not count towards MOTM either for the month they were originally scheduled to be played or for the month where they are eventually played.

GOLDEN BOOT: Awarded twice, first to the player whose selected teams have scored the most goals during the first 19 rounds of matches, and awarded a second time to the player whose selected teams have scored the most goals during the final 19 rounds of matches. Should two or more players top the list of most goals scored, they share the award.

GOLDEN GLOVES: Awarded twice, first to the player whose selected teams have conceded the least goals during the first 19 rounds of matches, and awarded a second time to the player whose selected teams have conceded the least goals during the final 19 rounds of matches. Should two or more players top the list of least goals conceded, they share the award.

Prize money

This game can be played for prize money if all players within a group agree to do so. Where a prize fund is to be established for the group, each player must submit the agreed wager before the season starts. The sum of all these wagers becomes the prize fund and will be distributed in full as prizes throughout the season. For example, if a group of 10 players each wager £50, the prize fund will be £500 and would be allocated as follows:

• League Champion £160
• Runner-up £70
• Third Place £25
• Golden Boot £25 (awarded twice)
• Golden Gloves £25 (awarded twice)
• MOTM Dependent on the number of games played each month, e.g., 2 rounds = £7.63 and 7 rounds = £26.71

We can calculate the allocation of the prize fund on your behalf.

Charity the monkey

Charity, our overconfident, football-mad monkey, believes she can beat you at this game picking and revealing all her selections at the start of the season. In reality, her selections are randomly generated but with a bias towards EPL teams playing at home. She frequently beats experienced players at this game and is not to be underestimated. Where a prize fund is in operation, any money won by Charity
will be donated to CALM

The game is played over the full Premier League (PL) season (38 rounds).

Unusual situations

Very occassionally (we are only aware of one instance) the Premier League move a match to accommodate another tournament. If it is moved to a later date that is a straight-forward postponement. But if it is moved forward, prior to the start date of its round, it has some implications for LEAGUES.

Because players can make or modify their team selections all the way up to the start date of the round, once the moved match has been played we are in the situation of having one result known and selections still being open. All uncertainty is removed and players could simply pick a winner (assuming it was not excluded from them by other LEAGUES rules).

If this situation occurs, the following happens:

1. The match is no longer available for selection
2. Players who have not yet selected, or have selected other teams need do nothing
3. Players who have selected a team in the moved match have their selection nullified and are notified by email
4. Notified players need to re-select for that round
5. Players are reminded to make their selections as usual as the round deadline approaches
6. Players who have not completed their selections by the deadline have their selections made for them by LEAGUES