Just in time for the European Championship of 2016, the Swedish developers released this game giving all football fans what they were eagerly waiting for: action, excitement, gameplay, and the chance of some big payouts.
This is NetEnt’s first attempt to create this kind of slot, and it’s a job well done. Both football fans and gamblers will be enticed by various enjoying elements- beautiful graphics, football-related bonus features, and a cheering crowd reacting to everything that’s happening in your game.
The slot has Medium-High Volatility with an initial RTP of 96.82%.
Personal testers’ opinion about Football: Champions Cup slot (Review and recommendations from the testers’ team)
Regarding the base game
Even though we’re not into football ourselves, this game has a lot to offer to anybody who’s in for some exciting gameplay, and naturally, for football fans, it’s double the fun! The machine often triggers winning combinations in the regular game: 1) fewer with decent payout, 2) mostly with smaller than the bet rewards.
The random triggering of Wild overlay footballs bouncing on the field also gave some good cash, and they were triggered quite often, we noticed.
Regarding the bonus game
The Penalty Shooting bonus game is pretty entertaining and keeps the suspense high, just like real life. As with most other games from NetEnt, the bonus features are triggered with high frequency or in a series of a few bonus games with short intervals between them and long ones between series.
The bonus game here does not offer big payouts and is usually much less than 100x bets, which at most only makes up for the loss in bankroll during the base game.
The Free Spins feature is activated by landing 3 or more Scatter symbols. They usually come in twos, while the bonus game series are slightly larger and can come in fours or even fives in one series. Of course, the win potential for Free Spins is much higher than the bonus game.
Not only does it generate decent winning combinations during the spins (which give an average win of 20x – 80x total bets), but overall, you’ll see more successful spins with a big payout that can issue more than 200x total bets.
All in all, this NetEnt slot got our heart rates up and might have sparked a love for football after all!
Hidden parameters and settings of the slot (data from testing)
- Volatility is 5.56 out of 20 (average).
- The cycle length is average.
- The rating of the slot machine for the wagering is 5.05 out of 10.
- The frequency of triggering the bonus feature is statistically every 79th spin (1.26%).
- The probability of a hit (any winning) is 29.56%.
- The winnings distribution is 59% in the usual spins and 41% in the bonus feature.
- The maximum payout during our tests was 552x.
- The average winning from the bonus was 46x.
- RTP of 96.82% allows getting a positive mathematical expectation of winning at the Canadian online casino.
Secrets of the slot machine
- We found out that the slot showed low sensitivity when we were performing tests in a free mode.
- It was possible to trace some small changes in the cycles of win/loss, so we began betting on winning and changing rates (different amounts and values of coins).
- It is possible to earn good money in the bonus round with a successful penalty.
- The only real possibility of hitting a mega winning is to “win at the tournament” during the Free Spins feature, where the additional balls-Wilds appear.
Slot’s symbols and features
- This is a game with a 3×5 playing field and 20 fixed win lines.
- High win symbols – Player, Shirt, Shoe, Glove, and Whistle.
- Low win symbols – A, K, Q, J, and 10.
- Wilds substitute for all the symbols, except for Scatters and Bonus symbols.
- Overlay Wild Symbols appear randomly during the main game.
- Scatters – 3+ activate the Free Spins round.
- Bonus symbol – 3+ activate the Penalty Bonus game.
- Good news The Wild symbols are paid.
Penalty Bonus game
Score 3 bonus symbols and the Penalty Bonus round is triggered. It’s a Pick and Click feature, divided into 5 rounds, which in turn are divided into 2 parts. In the 1st part, you pick 1 of the 4 corners and attempt to score big time. In the 2nd part, you are the goalkeeper and pick a corner, trying to keep the ball out of the goal.
Free Spins round
Score 3 Scatters, and you will enter the Free Spins tournament. Choose your favourite team and start playing for the number one spot. The maximum amount of Free Spin rounds is 4 since you start from the round of 16 and try to advance to the top spot.
During the Free Spins, 2 different kinds of Wild symbols will appear on the reels, red and blue. Blue Balls appear on reels 1 and 2, red ones on reels 4 and 5, triggering goals for the players’ team and the opponents’ team. For every winning combination, including a blue ball, you lose 1 goal and for every red Wild – you win 1 goal.
Once you reach the top 3, you will be rewarded with 20x, 100x, or 500x. The purpose is to win the tournament with your team and to score the Mega Win.
Settings
- Provider – NetEnt
- Payment lines – 20 (fixed)
- Default range of bets – 0.20 to 100 CAD
- Volatility – from Average to High
- Hit rate – 28.30%
- Playing field – 5х4
- The maximum winning is – 1000x the total bet
- Bonuses – Wilds, Additional Wilds, Scatters, Mini-game, Free Spins with Special Wilds
- Free Spins – Yes
- RTP – 96.82%
How to win at the Football Champions Cup slot? (Conclusion)
- Typically, our first tip is to experiment with the game in DEMO mode before starting to play for real money.
- We recommend this game for both: playing with real money and wagering the bonus money. In both cases is wise to establish what ‘mood’ the slot is in before you try your luck.
- If you start your session with a losing streak, we recommend the strategy of changing the denomination (coin value). It’s possible to shift the winning cycle this way and shake the machine to behave better.
- We recommend starting with a balance of approximately 300x bets, which should be sufficient to catch all the Football Champions Cup slot bonuses.
- Keep in mind that the greatest potential is in the Free Spins. Especially when you win the tournament, you’re in for a big payout.
- Both types of bonuses often come in series, so when you successfully play some of them, don’t be hasty to move on to the next slot. In a small time frame, it can initiate some bonus again.
