Michał Cieśla is the best in the 2024 Eliga Manager campaign. “The game delivers a lot of emotions”

The FIRESTONE team won this year’s Eliga Manager game campaign, which included real PGE Ekstraliga matches. The virtual manager of the team was Michał Cieśla, who supports the Częstochowa WŁÓKNIARZ and more on a daily basis. In a conversation for ekstraliga.pl, he summarized the gameplay and shared his approach to playing in the mobile app.

Mr. Michał’s team scored a total of 40 major points, just like the second team – BWteam. The deciding factor was the small “eyes”, thanks to which FIRESTONE achieved victory in the 2024 campaign. For our interlocutor, it was not the debut year he participated in the speedway Ekstraliga app fun.

– Before the previous season, two of my colleagues got me interested in it. As I’ve always been passionate about strategic games, I got into this fun right away. It was last year that I developed an Excel file, which I slightly improved this year. In the first season, there were much fewer people playing, and it was League B, where I ranked in the top 50 out of 14,911. This year, there was no division into groups A and B, so as many as 26,125 players participated, and I got the victory – said the 43-year-old in an interview for ekstraliga.pl.

A successful strategy sometimes requires time for analysis and finding the “golden mean”. How did it look for the manager of the winning team? – The game itself doesn’t take up much time but requires strategy. That’s why I created a table in Excel. In the evenings, when the kids were already asleep, I thoroughly analyzed the data, thanks to which I knew who to buy before the transfer window. The Excel table contained: the KSM coefficient, player prices, average points in home and away matches. I also considered the competition schedule for the next transfer window to make the right decision on which player is worth acquiring or exchanging – explained Michał Cieśla.

– All strategic decisions I made myself, I calmly analyzed the PGE Ekstraliga standings and player statistics. However, I have a colleague who is quite deeply embedded in the speedway world, used to ride in WŁÓKNIARZ himself, who sometimes shared some details from the so-called “secret knowledge” – the perspective of a speedway rider – he added.

Apart from virtual emotions, Mr. Michał closely follows not only the struggles of KRONO-PLAST WŁÓKNIARZ, but also other teams from Częstochowa. – Due to my place of birth, I have always supported Częstochowa clubs in every sport discipline. Therefore, WŁÓKNIARZ Częstochowa was an obvious choice for me, both in better and weaker seasons. However, I have my speedway favorites in other clubs, and playing Eliga Manager allows them to ride for me and my team – noted this year’s campaign winner. – I wasn’t interested in speedway for years. It was somewhat distant to me because I myself trained basketball and represented the city in first and second league competitions. Sports have accompanied me throughout my life, and I pass on the passion to my daughters, who play and train volleyball, representing our region in Poland. In 2012, I took my dad to a WŁÓKNIARZ match as one of his birthday presents. It was that match that stuck strongly in my memory. I liked the competition, the family atmosphere, the roar of engines, the danger, and the adrenaline. And that’s how my participation in speedway matches, cheering for the Częstochowa team began – he said.

Can playing Eliga Manager be as exciting as watching matches from the stadium stands? – Of course, the game delivers a lot of emotions. My work involves analyzing data, strategizing, and setting directions in business. The game itself requires these elements, while also delivering a lot of excitement and emotions and quick reactions to events – presented the FIRESTONE manager.

– The most important advice I recommend is investing in KSM, calm calculation, and not being afraid to take risks. I wish all players, above all, to have fun and a successful season. Also remember, mistakes are inevitable and not everything can be predicted. It’s important that both the game and the speedway competitions give pleasure – concluded Michał Cieśla.