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The top men’s and women’s 5-a-side teams in the UK and Ireland went head-to-head at the Ladbrokes Players Cup on July 13 in Birmingham for a £10,000 prize pot.The annual tournament climaxed after qualifying heats spread across six cities - Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Barnet, Birmingham and Cardiff - between May 18-23.Separate competitions for men and women took place side by side, and GOAL has ranked the teams that stood out for a variety of reasons during this year's Ladbrokes Players Cup.<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Ladbrokes Players Cup Power Rankings: SE Dons & Starz League reign supreme in annual UK and Ireland tournament

SE Dons x Kings were one of eight teams which made up the finals. Going up against some top opposition including 2023 winners, Slough Scorpionz, and one of the big favourites, International FC.They got off to a rocky start losing 1-0 to Jordan Allstarz in a tightly contested match, however they shook off that poor result with victories over Slough Scorpionz and BRFC meaning the SE Dons topped their group.Runners-up of Group B, EMEM, stood between the SE Dons and the final. Another close game saw the SE Dons run out 2-1 victors, setting up a rematch and a grudge match with the Jordan Allstarz in the final.Despite some heroics throughout from the Jordan Allstarz goalkeeper the SE Dons managed to grab a 1-0 victory and bag themselves the £10k winners pot.

THE MEN’S WINNERS | SE Dons x Kings

Another hotly contested tournament amongst the women’s teams. Last year's winners, The Golden Olders, set the tone, winning their group with a goal difference of +24, winning all four of their matches. Other semi-finalists included The OGs, Up The Cheadle FC, and Starz League, who all lost one but won the rest of their group stage match-ups.In the semi-finals, the Golden Oldies encountered their toughest opponents yet as Starz League were too much, eventually winning the match 2-0, setting up a final against their previous group opponents, Up The Cheadle FC, who they had lost to earlier in the day.However, there was no mental advantage as Starz League appeared to have learned lessons from the previous game, winning 1-0 and triumphing in the tournament outright.

THE WOMEN’S WINNERS | Starz League

The standard was so high during the tournament that it was difficult to separate the teams. However, after being allocated to this years ‘Group of Death’ by going up against the two finalists - SE Dons and Jordan Allstarz, as well as 2023 Champions of Slough Scorpionz - we have to give special praise to BRFC, who kept their matches tight and even beat the Scorpionz missing out on the knockout rounds on goal difference. Unfortunately for them, Denerson’s contribution with three goals wasn’t quite enough to carry them through.

THE TRIERS | BRFC

After the Ladbrokes Players Cup, the women’s and men’s winners were given an opportunity to earn extra cash for themselves and the other finalists by taking on a team of famous faces: ex-England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain, five-time Premier League champion Wes Brown, Champions League runner-up Jermaine Pennant and other familiar faces including Harriet Pavlou, Kris Boyd, Liane Sanderson and Jack Downer.SE Dons managed to get the better of the Boss Level team, running out 2-1 victors, while Starz League, despite a closely battled game, lost 1-0 thanks to a Jack Downer wondergoal.

THE BOSS LEVEL

Ladbrokes Players Cup Power Rankings: SE Dons & Starz League reign supreme in annual UK and Ireland tournament | Goal.com UK

A national 5-a-side competition - with £10,000 on offer for winners - climaxed on July 13 with all-star ‘Boss Level’ matches featuring football icons