The FPL Bonus points system has been a vital part of the official fantasy football game since its launch back in the 06/07 season. For any managers new to the game, FPL bonus points are awarded at the end of each match to the top three players (according to statistics supplied by Opta). If there is a tie one BPS system then more than three players can get bonus points.
From the 06/07 season to 11/12 season the official FPL game used a ‘man in the stand’ system where I assume someone from FPL towers would pick their top three players for a match and award three, two, and one extra point to the players respectively. As the game grew bigger and bonus allocations seemed to get more bizarre by the week, many managers were unhappy with it due to the lack of transparency and rightly so. Therefore a new EA based system was introduced in the 11/12 season which lasted for only a solitary season and since 13/14 they have been using the new BPS (Bonus Points System).
Although the new BPS is not perfect, it is at least transparent and not random like the ‘man in the stand’. With a system like this, it shifts the game more towards skill/strategy rather than luck as you can over time see which players are ‘bonus magnets’ and which are not, and you aren’t relying on human choice. Most definitely progress in the world of fantasy football.
The BPS uses a range of statistics supplied by Opta that capture actions on the pitch, to create a performance score for every player.
The players with the top three BPS in a given match receive bonus points – three points to the highest-scoring player, two to the second-highest, and one to the third.
If the BPS points are tied they are resolved as below:
- If there is a tie for first, the top two players receive three points each and the third will receive one point.
- If there is a tie for second place, the top player will receive three points, and players two and three will receive two points each.
- If there is a tie for third place, the top player will receive three points, second-best will receive two points and then the third and fourth players will both get one point each.
A more detailed breakdown of the BPS and its scoring metrics can be seen below:
*Net successful tackles is the total of all successful tackles minus any unsuccessful tackles. Players will not be awarded negative BPS points for this statistic.
The metrics are pretty straight forward and it’s not hard to know what to look out for. For example looking out for which defenders are making interceptions, which strikers are taking more shots on/off target than others etc. Over time it is clear to see which players are more prone to picking up more BPS than others. Certain players are outliers due to how good they are. Mohammed Salah gets penalised a lot from the BPS system due to the number of chances he misses and also the amount of times he gets tackled. He usually needs more than one attacking return to get any bonus but because he does he still gets a fair amount of bonus points. On the other hand, Kevin De Bruyne is a bonus point magnet. Due to the number of key passes and attempted assists he makes it gives him a better chance of bonus with any attacking returns. An example of the Belgian midfielders BPS power is, in gameweek 34+ in 2018/19 season Manchester City won five goals to nil against Newcastle. The City midfielder only got a solitary assist, whereas Sterling, Mahrez, Jesus, and David Silva scored, but he still ended up with one bonus point.
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One thing is clear with the BPS system that it favours forwards the most, followed by midfielders and then defenders and goalkeepers. Scoring goals gives the most points and also the highest BPS and with forwards getting more BPS than midfielders and defenders its clearly in favour of attacking players. If we look at the total bonus points the 2018/19 season this is quite clear.
Top 10 forwards
| Player | Bonus points |
| Ings | 40 |
| Aubamayang | 37 |
| Vardy | 34 |
| Jimenez | 33 |
| Rashford | 31 |
| Pukki | 21 |
| Wood | 21 |
| Maupay | 21 |
| Abraham | 20 |
| Firmino | 20 |
Total = 278
Top 10 Midfielders
| Player | Bonus points |
| De Bruyne | 35 |
| Mane | 27 |
| Willian | 26 |
| Salah | 26 |
| Sterling | 20 |
| Grealish | 19 |
| Bruno | 18 |
| Son | 18 |
| Mahrez | 17 |
| D.Silva | 15 |
Total = 221
Top 10 Defenders
| Player | Bonus points |
| Alexander Arnold | 24 |
| Robertson | 20 |
| Dunk | 17 |
| Azpilcueta | 16 |
| Digne | 16 |
| Wan-Bissaka | 16 |
| Lundstram | 15 |
| Aurier | 15 |
| Doherty | 15 |
| Tarkowski | 14 |
Total = 168
Top 10 Goalkeepers
| Player | Bonus points |
| Pope | 23 |
| Foster | 17 |
| Guaita | 16 |
| Henderson | 16 |
| Ryan | 14 |
| Ramsdale | 13 |
| Lloris | 13 |
| Alisson | 11 |
| Leno | 10 |
| Schmeichel | 10 |
Total = 143
Although the above tables are quite a simplistic view, it can still serve as a good guide to which players and positions are more prone to bonus points and can help aid in picking your players and formation a bit easier.
As the season goes on the bonus ‘magnets’ and ‘repellents’ become clear and therefore we can start to make informed decisions based on this. Important to note it shouldn’t be a primary factor in your transfer decisions but more something you should look at if you can’t decide between two players for example.
Where can I see the bonus points?
The bonus points are usually confirmed about an hour after the final match of the day has ended. But you don’t have to wait until then to get a sense of which of your players, or your rivals might be rewarded for their performances. Fantasy managers can actually check their live BPS in play while the matches are being played to see where their players are ranked.
By going to the ‘fixtures’ tab and then clicking on the game of your choice you can open the information, which gives you goals, assists, yellow/red cards, saves, BPS breakdown, and the final bonus points.
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Do you have access to the actual number of points each player gets to earn their BPS? Would be interesting to see what sort of average scores are needed to get them.