Fantasy Football: League winner announced and a season in review

And breathe everyone – last Sunday (May 25) marked the end of the Premier League 2024/25 season, as well as the much more dramatic bookend to a rip-roaring inaugural season for the Insurance Times Fantasy Football League. 

Liverpool may have been announced as champions in the Premier League, but Insurance Times knows that everyone actually cares much more about the insurance sector’s very own winner. 

So, with that in mind, a massive congratulations to Hiscox Europe’s head of data, Bernardo Gomes. 

Gomes almost the entire season in the Top 10 of the Insurance Times league, making good use of his data acumen to select the best performing players and beat the competition. 

The league’s inaugural winner ended up on 2,639 points – 14 points ahead of Marsh’s Alex Vasey in second, who himself led Milliman’s Ian Penfold by 35 points. 

Outside of the podium positions, the rest of the Top 10 was made up by Mike Seals-Law, David Ugolini, Dan H, Katie Cartwright, Kai Ellis, Kenny Graves and Chris Gooden. 

And outside of the Top 10 – by an excruciating one point – was Insurance Times news editor James Cowen. Cowen had been in the Top 10 as late in the day as gameweek 37, which makes the failure all the sweeter for his colleagues. 

Back in gameweek 12, Cowen, in my absence, even published one of our weekly Fantasy Football articles lambasting my own fall from the Top 10 – so all I can say is, how do you like them apples, James? 

Cowen has reliably informed his colleagues that he will improve next year, which is delightfully ironic from an Arsenal fan. 

Another Insurance Times colleague – publishing director Phil Davison – finished 97th in the league. But, with his team Sunderland now promoted to the Premier League via the Championship playoff victory over Sheffield United, his next season promises to be an interesting one.

Monthly winners

While Bernardo Gomes came out on top of this year’s league – and look forward to a Q&A with him soon – different managers also managed to take home accolades as the winners for each month. 

Congratulations to all of them.

• August: Burns and Wilcox’s Phil Jarvis
• September: H Kumar
• October: WH&R McCartney’s Alan Kirkwood
• November: Beth Crawford
• December: Ecclesiastical’s Shon Douglas
• January: Craig Taylor
• February: Markerstudy’s Richard Rhee Q&A
• March: Finn Griffin
• April: FJN Solutions’ Kai Ellis Q&A
• May: David Ugolini

The Insurance Times Fantasy Football League will be back next season – do you think you have what it takes to outsmart your insurance industry colleagues?