Team of the Year is the most chaotic time in EA Sports FC Ultimate Team. Pack animations turn blue, the market spikes and crashes within minutes, and every player is chasing that one big pull. In this stream recap and strategy guide, we break down a full "Team of the Year Friday #2" session and turn it into actionable tips for your own club.
The streamer kicked off the second TOTY Friday with a clear focus:
Right at content time, several key things hit at once:
Throughout the stream, the creator monitored prices, opened a huge number of packs, completed upgrades and objectives, and still struggled to pack a single full TOTY card – a reality many players can relate to.
During TOTY, the transfer market becomes a live event of its own. The streamer repeatedly emphasized one golden rule: sell into hype.
Several market-moving factors played out on this Friday:
The streamer warned that with leak-based hype, a lot of people buy cards blindly. When the actual requirements or upgrades don’t match expectations, late buyers are left holding overpriced items. His consistent recommendation: if you own tradable cards that are spiking purely because of leaks or hype, sell first and think later, then decide if you want to buy back after the initial wave cools off.
One of the biggest pieces of content was the long-rumored right-wing evolution that finally went live. It was even stronger than many expected.
The evolution offered:
Because the requirements allowed a range of right-wingers and attackers, players flooded the market trying to secure the "perfect" base card. Some examples of trends observed:
At the same time, there were leaks of future 87-rated evolutions "coming soon". That alone was enough to push popular 87-rated special cards up in price. The streamer repeatedly cautioned players: until the requirements are confirmed, don’t over-commit. If you can take a profit now, secure it.
Another core piece of content was the ongoing Honorable Mentions evolution chain, where you essentially construct your own upgraded card step-by-step.
The second stage of this evolution gave players multiple playstyle-plus choices, such as:
Each path not only added a playstyle-plus but also applied different stat boosts, making it hard to theorycraft without testing the card in-game. The streamer stressed the importance of thinking about:
For example, First Touch+ might be perfect for a smaller, agile attacker, whereas Long Ball Pass+ suits deep-lying playmakers who control tempo. The lesson: don’t just pick the flashy option – pick what fits your tactical plan.
Two major Flashback SBCs launched: Francesco Totti and Matthijs de Ligt, alongside a TOTY challenge for defender packs.
Flashback Totti arrived with multiple high-rated squads, making the SBC very expensive. The streamer’s reaction was clear: the card looks fun and nostalgic, but from a pure value perspective, the price was hard to justify, especially during TOTY when:
Unless you are a Roma or Totti superfan, the advice leaned toward skipping or at least waiting, especially if fodder spikes again.
Flashback De Ligt looked like a premium central defender, with:
The main drawback was the lack of Intercept playstyle, which some players consider essential for top-tier center-backs. The streamer compared De Ligt to other meta defenders and concluded that while the card is strong, you must judge:
The TOTY Challenge SBC awarding an 85x3 defenders pack required an 85-rated squad with a Team of the Week. For many clubs, that’s reasonably attainable during TOTY, but the streamer's experience highlighted the reality: he completed the SBC and still did not hit a blue.
This reflects the core principle of TOTY packs: even “juiced” rewards are still random. They’re great for stocking fodder and giving yourself a shot at a TOTY, but you should never assume you are "due" a blue.
Alongside SBCs, EA released new objective sets offering valuable packs, including:
The streamer emphasized grinding modes such as:
He also worked through recurring objectives like silver league play, gauntlet attempts and fanatics-style tasks to generate a steady flow of packs.
One key issue that came up repeatedly was duplicate management. With so many packs opened, untradeable duplicates quickly piled up. To avoid wasting value, he recycled dupes into:
This kind of efficient crafting loop is crucial during TOTY if you want to maximize your club without burning out.
Visuals are a huge part of TOTY. The streamer took time to explain how pack animations work:
He also inspected the store pack odds, highlighting that some packs display the percentage chance for TOTY and Honorable Mentions. His preference was clear: if he spends coins or FIFA Points, he prefers packs with many players rather than single-player picks, because volume increases the chance of hitting something usable—even if the probability of a TOTY remains low.
One of the most painful moments in the stream was opening a newly released store pack costing 550,000 coins. Expectations were sky-high, but:
This is a perfect illustration of why many experienced players warn against expensive coin packs. Even during TOTY, store packs are not guaranteed profit; they’re entertainment with a price tag.
Throughout the session, the streamer tested and demonstrated several trading strategies suitable for TOTY and beyond.
Whenever leaks or early menus hinted at upcoming evolutions, players rushed to buy “potentially meta” cards. His approach:
He noticed that the new right-wing evolution could drive down some attacker prices because cheaper cards could be evolved into near-meta options. His take:
This is especially relevant for TOTY investments; picking a TOTY CB or CM might be safer than a TOTY winger in a week loaded with attacker evolutions.
Beyond big-name cards, the streamer also highlighted low-stress profit methods:
He even bought a Pedri, then picked up another at a lower price later, showing how live price tracking can create multiple entry and exit points.
All of this grinding, market watching and SBC decision-making comes down to one resource: coins. During TOTY, it’s easy to drain your balance on risky packs or overpriced hype cards. That’s where planning a sustainable coin strategy becomes essential.
For many players, that strategy includes a mix of gameplay, trading and occasionally using a reliable external marketplace. If you’re looking for an option to boost your budget for the next cycle or prepare early for FC 26, platforms like ItemD2R.com can be part of that plan when used responsibly.
On ItemD2R.com, you can find fc 26 coins for sale with clear pricing and multiple platform options. Having an extra coin cushion at the start of a new game can completely change how you build your club: instead of scrambling to catch up, you can buy key meta cards early, complete important SBCs on day one and focus your time on gameplay rather than constant trading. If you mainly play on Microsoft’s console and want to get ahead in the first weekend league of the new cycle, you can also buy fc26 coins xbox to strengthen your squad quickly.
Of course, coins alone don’t guarantee success – you still need to make good decisions about which SBCs to complete, which evolutions to invest in and when to sell your high-value players. But combining smart in-game strategy with a reliable coin source can ease the pressure during major promos like TOTY. Instead of risking half a million coins on a single store pack, you might allocate a portion of your budget to long-term upgrades while letting ItemD2R.com handle some of the heavy lifting for your starting capital in the next title.
Despite opening a huge number of packs, completing multiple SBCs and even spending 550k coins on a store pack, the streamer never packed a full TOTY during this session. His only real W was a desired campaign card, Christian Eriksen, from a campaign player pick – a card he had been chasing for a while.
He checked which evolutions Eriksen would fit and consciously decided to wait, so he wouldn’t raise the card’s rating and accidentally block future evolution options. That patient approach sums up the bigger message of this TOTY Friday:
He ended the day still determined to keep grinding objectives, upgrades and trading, planning to return after a short break. For you as a player, the takeaway is simple: TOTY is a marathon, not a sprint. If you combine smart market decisions, selective SBC completions, disciplined pack opening and a solid coin plan (whether purely in-game or supported through services like ItemD2R.com), you give yourself the best possible chance to enjoy the promo—whether or not the next tunnel lights up in gold and blue.