KFC SuperCoach BBL winner Andrew Langley on how he won BBL11 competition
Andrew Langley is $25,000 richer and boasts the title of Australia’s top KFC SuperCoach BBL player after producing one of the greatest last-round comebacks in fantasy history.
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Four balls — and some gutsy trading — changed the destination of this summer’s KFC SuperCoach BBL title.
Andrew Langley produced SuperCoach’s own version of Steven Bradbury’s Winter Olympics gold medal when he rose from 11th with one round to go to finish atop the BBL11 rankings.
The 50-year-old, from Taggerty about two hours northeast of Melbourne, was hit hard in the penultimate round of the season when a late fixture change caused Renegades and Hurricanes players to have a bye.
Undeterred by the setback, he made a bold decision not to settle for a top-11 finish and to opt for unique selections in the last round.
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The all-or-nothing play paid off handsomely when Renegades spinner Cameron Boyce snared four wickets in four balls on his way to a Round 13 score of 201 points.
It was enough for Andrew’s team Diabolical Point to finish 23 points clear of second in one of the closest KFC SuperCoach BBL finishes in history.
There was only 83 points between first and fifth as Andrew’s aggressive last-round trades delivered the ultimate reward.
“I was in two minds whether to play a bit conservative and try for top-10 or just throw it all out the window and I went, ‘bugger it, I’m throwing it all out the window’,” he said.
“You do that sometimes and it pays off.”
His unique selections included Renegades paceman Josh Lalor (623 teams), Mitch Swepson (1144 teams), Michael Neser (2311 teams) and Boyce (1543 teams).
“After a couple of years finishing in the 80s, when I was 11th I thought ‘bugger it, I’m not going safe and hoping for top-10,” he said.
“All or nothing. You’re either going to be first or 50th.’”
Perhaps his biggest risk was going without popular picks Sean Abbott, Mark Steketee and Josh Philippe, a strategy which paid off when the trio all scored 50 points or less in Round 13 despite their doubles.
Andrew said he considered his gamble a “10 per cent chance” of coming off.
“I didn’t think they would all not do well. (I thought) at least one of them has got to have a huge game,” he said.
“When I looked at the other (SuperCoach) teams, they all sort of had one or the other, Philippe as well.
“I just thought, ‘I have got the two Hobart keepers, so I don’t need Philippe’.”
Andrew hopes to use the $25,000 major prize to take his family on a much-needed holiday to “somewhere more luxurious than we’re used to”.
HONOUR ROLL
This year’s KFC SuperCoach BBL top-11 teams
Diabolical Point, Andrew — 12,687 points
Nobbies Penguins, Troy — 12,664 points
Challenge It Watto, Stephen — 12,639 points
So No Head, Sam — 12,632 points
Wiffy, Tim — 12,604 points
ABs runners, Adrian — 12,578 points
Stoins Loins, Andrew — 12,505 points
3 Monkeys, Jarrod — 12,503 points
Ben Late Cutting, Luke — 12,474 points
Kas’s Killers, Kasun — 12,431 points
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Originally published as KFC SuperCoach BBL winner Andrew Langley on how he won BBL11 competition