This has been a month in the making and several months in the planning, but we’ve finally reached the CM9798 Cup final. This is how we celebrate 20 years of CM9798

Here’s a reminder of the path to the final:

Dortmund won the toss and will be at home. Remember the rules of the competition are that if it’s a draw, the away side will win. We are a bit limited by the rules of a friendly. I recorded the final for you entertainment below, or I’ve summarised it beneath the video.

Here’s how the two sides lineup:

Two very strong lineups I’m sure you’ll agree, as both stick with their successful formations from the previous two rounds.

The match itself was a very one sided affair, with Dortmund taking a 3rd minute lead thanks to Jovan Kirovski, who bundled in following some pinball in the Ajax box following a set piece. It was soon 2-0 when Stephane Chapuisat notched, leaving Ajax with a mountain to climb. Ajax did pull one back, only for it to be disallowed, which probably deflated them further. A final nail was hammered in by Chapuisat, adding his 2nd and Dortmund’s 3rd just before the break.

Mark had little choice but to go for it, and he adjusted his side to a 4-2-3-1

Sadly for Mark, it didn’t help a great deal. Kirovski added his second on 70 minutes before Chapuisat had the final word, securing the match ball with Dortmund’s fifth. Incredible!

One of the more one sided matches you’ll see, a day where Dortmund were magnificent and Ajax sadly had an off day

A landslide in the end! Van der Sar kept it down to 5, but Dortmund were excellent.

You can hear Dan’s comments in the video, but Mark was mic-less so his comments are below:

I think I have done well to get there, beating Barca and Real but this was a step too far. Bit embarrassing in the final and nobody, except VDS performed. Well done Dan!

Dan wins the coveted CM9798 Trophy for his efforts, which he’ll no doubt put on Twitter when it arrives.

Once again, thank you to all 8 competitors and to all of you for interacting with the various competitions. Speaking of which…

The Prize Bundle

So, somebody has to win this

I asked you to predict the score, first goalscorer and time of first goal. We had over 100 entries, and it’s no surprise that nobody predicted 5-0.

That meant we were looking for Jovan Kirovski as first goalscorer which narrows it down to 8 entrants:

So next we look at who is closest to the first goal time of 3 minutes…

Congratulations @s4ooter! I’ll be in touch to get the delivery sorted. You win all the prizes pictured plus £25 of vouchers from Classic11. Please treat Footix Tamagotchi like a son.

Kirovski 12th minute. Dortmund 3-1

— Daniel J (@s4ooter) 25 October 2017

What next?

Although the celebrations are drawing to a close, there’s still plenty coming up.

I’ll be back next weekend with a new blog save. It’s not going to last forever by any means but just a new project which I’m excited to bring you.

The first post is pretty long by my standards and will be with you next Sunday, but here’s the great unveiling…

Before all that though we have a special Champ Man & Me with Marc Duffy from SI Games. That’ll be with you tomorrow (Monday).

Thanks for reading!

The CM9798 Cup was proudly sponsored by Classic11