Thomas, 27, has been a soccer fan since childhood, as many people are. He had played a few games, notably MPG (Mon Petit Gazon), but found them to be somewhat simplistic, so he didn't particularly enjoy them. Additionally, he had experience with a game called Oulala, one of the early fantasy soccer games. This game initially offered a free league, where players had a budget to construct a team for each weekend, and depending on their performance, they could win prizes. After a while, he took a break from playing because he couldn't find anything that truly captivated him. Eventually, Thomas stumbled upon Sorare somewhat serendipitously. He recalls being among the first recipients of Sorare's targeted advertisements, seeing one on Instagram. This happened back in November 29, 2020, when he decided to sign up. After registering, he began purchasing a few cards, and from there, things took off. Thomas experienced rapid growth in his Sorare portfolio, especially as the value of ETH increased over time.

First card purchased

Bourak Yilmaz for 44 euros or 0.089 ETH—another era, indeed! It marked Thomas's first card, which he held onto for a while. Eventually, he had to let it go at the end of the season prior to Yilmaz's departure from Lille. Thomas successfully sold it in July 2021, realizing a profit of approximately 200 euros. During that period, prices were consistently on the rise. It was a time when buyers could be confident that their investments would appreciate, regardless of a player's on-field performance.

Budget management

At the outset, Thomas's approach was to experiment, so he invested 1 ETH, equivalent to 500 euros at the time. With this initial budget, he assembled a team to compete for the thresholds. Those tresholds held greater allure than they do today. Within a mere 2 to 3 months from his Sorare debut, he had already multiplied his investment, reaching a total of 1,500 euros. Subsequently, after a year and a half, Thomas decided to withdraw his initial stake as a precautionary measure. The market had experienced substantial growth, and card prices had surged well beyond his original acquisition costs. Thus, he chose to safeguard his gains. The value of ETH had climbed to nearly 2,000 euros, and Thomas withdrew 0.85 ETH. This strategic move allowed him to continue playing without exposing himself to financial risk. From that point onward, he has never deposited ETH into Sorare again. Occasionally, he has withdrawn funds or reinvested, but by and large, his account balance remains consistent with his initial investment.

Boris's note: This represents a fine performance, since at the time of recording the interview Harkinka had a gallery valued at 10 ETH, i.e. more or less 17,000 euros.

Indeed, a significant profit was achieved, but at one point, it had reached 80,000 euros.

Starting strategy

When Thomas embarked on his Sorare journey, his primary objective was clear – to play and embrace the thrill of competition. He had a gambler's spirit, driven by the desire to secure valuable cards. In terms of tactics, he swiftly made a strategic decision to assemble two teams: one for the Challenger division and another for the All-Star division. His early knowledge of the limited club options in the Challenger division guided his choices, with Porto, Belgium, and Russia being the available choices at the time. Notably, the Netherlands had not yet entered the scene. Consequently, his initial card acquisitions were notably Belgium-focused. Furthermore, Thomas made calculated investments in players returning from injury, placing his trust in their potential impact on the game. Among these acquisitions were Tolisso and Bernat.

In the initial phase of his Sorare journey, Thomas achieved some successes, although they didn't materialize immediately. It took some time to grasp the intricacies of the game fully. What truly catalyzed his early progress was receiving a substantial referral reward, a rare occurrence at that time. This reward presented him with Carlos Acevedo, a goalkeeper valued at 0.6 ETH, significantly bolstering his portfolio.

As time went on, Thomas began accumulating cards through his growing roster, creating a virtuous cycle of progress. During this period, the All-Star Rare division offered accessible tiers. Consequently, Thomas primarily engaged in competition within the two Rare divisions: All-Star and Challenger Europe.

Key strategic developments

Over the course of his two-year journey on Sorare, Thomas has implemented several significant changes in his tactics. One notable shift was his transition towards U23 players, drawn by the potential of young talents. As he delved deeper into the Challenger division, he identified promising young players who had the potential to join major clubs, increasing their exposure to the wider audience. This insight prompted him to invest in the U23 category. One such acquisition was Diogo Costa, secured before his value surged. Although already recognized as Porto's number 1, Costa had yet to gain widespread recognition.

Thomas harbors a dream of attaining a Mbappé card in the Rare category, with a particular focus on the U23 variant. While he came close on multiple occasions, he has yet to achieve this milestone. However, as far as divisions go, the Challenger division has remained his primary focus, which he regards as a sound strategy.

For a significant period, Thomas maintained a core strategy centered around the Challenger, U23, and All-Star divisions. His achievements within this framework allowed him to secure two Lisandro Martinez cards consecutively, the best player in the game when Martinez made his debut with Ajax. This served as a significant boost to his Sorare journey. Subsequently, he ventured into the Rare Pro division, purchasing Super Rare (SR) cards. This transition, however, faced initial challenges, with some early SR choices proving less successful. Nevertheless, over time, Thomas found his footing, particularly by selecting more modest players who eventually performed well.

Recent developments in his strategy saw Thomas opt to streamline his gallery. The sheer volume of teams and players had become overwhelming, negatively impacting his overall performance. Prioritizing performance over extensive buying and selling, he made the decision to consolidate his holdings. While he acknowledges occasional overpayments for cards that didn't live up to expectations, he decided to tighten his portfolio. While he hasn't sold everything, he has parted with a significant portion. His focus now centers on Super Rare to participate in Super Rare tiers, with one or two Rare teams maintained on the side. He aims to limit his lineup to three or four at most, ensuring he can effectively manage and follow each one. He plans to wait until the end of the transfer market to make informed decisions about his acquisitions. His vision includes a formidable Rare team, a Cap 240 Super Rare team, and possibly a fun-themed team. As a loyal Lyon fan, he entertains the idea of assembling a Lyon stack, even if it poses challenges due to the team's performance in the current season.

These three major tactical shifts underscore the evolution of Thomas's approach on Sorare.

Recommendations for playing the thresholds

At this point, Thomas considers his Roster to be nearly complete, consisting of 13 Super Rare (SR) cards, with three of them currently unavailable due to unfavorable transfers. Approximately ten of these cards are in a playable condition. He has doubled up in all positions except for the goalkeeper, primarily because SR goalkeepers tend to come with a steep price tag. His goal was to venture into the Championship division, but limited options prompted him to opt for Begovic, the most budget-friendly choice available. This decision was influenced by Begovic's age and the fact that he has only one year left on his contract.

Thomas firmly believes in having more than one goalkeeper in the Roster. This provides a safety net in case of unexpected circumstances. However, maintaining two permanent goalkeepers can be financially demanding, especially when striving to compete at various divisions. Allocating a budget for a player who won't see much playtime doesn't seem like a prudent move. Therefore, he has chosen to rely solely on Begovic, even though this comes with some inherent risk due to the absence of a backup with cards.

Furthermore, Thomas advocates having a backup player for every position. This approach allows for greater flexibility when constructing Lineups of 15 players. Acquiring only a handful of players limits maneuverability and can lead to difficulties in certain situations.

He explains, "A good technique is to have 10 cards:

• The goalkeeper + his number 2
• 2 regular defenders
• 2 regular midfielders
• 2 regular strikers”

When considering the inception of a Cap division, Thomas strongly recommends focusing on starters, as having a variety of starters can provide significant advantages. Furthermore, it's currently possible to acquire Super Rare starters without overpaying. For example, in his Cap 240 team, Thomas recently obtained Ken Sema through an auction just two weeks ago, and the cost was a reasonable 0.12ETH, especially considering he's a Super Rare player. Sema is a regular starter for Watford. Additionally, Thomas has a defender from the same team. While the defender-midfielder combination may not be the most optimal setup, it still offers advantages over not having starters in the Cap division.

Boris’s note: A "titular" stack of 1x or 2x two players to play the Cap 240 may be a technique to consider.

Indeed, there was a point when Thomas contemplated building a collection, but given the relatively high levels of his cards and his infrequent trading, he ultimately concluded that the effort wasn't justified. The recent Cap rules that incorporate XP into the calculations have worked to his advantage, thanks to his long-held Super Rare (SR) cards, which have accumulated substantial XP.

When it comes to goalkeepers, Thomas doesn't prioritize them as the highest-scoring players in his lineup. Instead, he seeks a goalkeeper whose performance in Lineup 15 (L15) doesn't need to be exceptional. In terms of player recruitment, his approach involves selecting a player he deems the number 1 choice if they are in the starting lineup. For the number 2 spot, he looks for an L15 player with a lower rating than the number 1 player. While he doesn't specify exact ratings, on a Cap 240 team, this translates to each player contributing 48 points. Consequently, targeting a player with an L15 rating of, for instance, 65, might pose challenges. Thomas recommends choosing players who might not be the most prominent or well-known but can deliver decisive performances and offer intriguing scoring potential for a Cap. A prime example of this strategy is Ken Sema, who consistently contributes with scores around 45 or 50 points in each match as a starter and occasionally shines with a match-winning performance.

Thomas points to the second SR player he acquired as an ideal example. Anto Grgic from Sion epitomizes the kind of player profile he values for Cap divisions. Grgic consistently contributes with scores around 45 or 50 points and occasionally makes a decisive impact. Last year, his performance was muted with Sion due to their poor season, but he found new life after being transferred to Lugano, where he plays regularly in European competitions and league matches. Thomas purchased him for 0.8 ETH, and Grgic effortlessly earned him 0.5 or 0.6 ETH, all without Thomas selling him.

While goalkeepers may come with a higher price tag, in terms of Cap value, Thomas believes they should have the lowest L15 rating. For him, the player with the highest score potential should be the defender because they offer a reliable choice. In a Cap team, the defender is the player relied upon to consistently score in the AA range. The defender is the cornerstone of the team, expected to achieve a minimum of 50 points and ideally 60. If a player with an L15 rating of 55 or 60 is available, Thomas would choose them for a defender position. This is because defenders should exhibit more consistency than forwards. Thomas also has a preference for midfielders who score in the AA range, while when it comes to forwards, their performance can be more variable, swinging between decisive and unimpactful. As for goalkeepers, they are a baseline requirement for Thomas. He is content with finding a goalkeeper who may not secure clean sheets but also doesn't concede three goals because they'll make enough saves to earn around 40 points, aligning with his preferred strategy.

He explains: "If I had to give you an order, I'd say:

• DEF in 1
• MID in 2
• FOR 3
• GK 4”

Recommendations for gallery management

The approach to building a Sorare gallery can vary depending on a player's means and preferences. However, doubling up on positions is generally considered the minimum strategy.

For other divisions, Thomas doesn't provide specific recommendations but suggests that when playing in multiple Rare divisions, having cards that can be utilized across all of them is advantageous. For instance, when participating in the Challenger and U23 divisions, having U23 players eligible for the Challenger division can be beneficial because you can switch between divisions depending on the game week.

If you examine Thomas's gallery, you'll notice a significant number of players who are compatible between divisions because he primarily focused on the U23 and Challenger divisions. He did have some U23 players eligible for the Champion Europe division when he found them interesting. Still, he didn't venture too much into MLS and Asia due to limited knowledge about those leagues and his preference for the European calendar. His focus remained on Europe, except when one of his players was transferred to MLS. In such cases, he adapted accordingly. Thomas prioritized U23 and Challenger players, with a few U23 Champions that he either had a strong preference for or believed were underrated and had the potential for price appreciation or improved performance.

For someone starting from scratch, Thomas recommends focusing on compatible U23 and Challenger players. If there are exceptionally promising European Champions players one wishes to make leaders, one or two of those can be added. The interchangeability of these players provides a competitive advantage based on matchups and weekends.

In such a scenario, Thomas advises giving priority to one lineup over the other. For example, he prioritized the U23 division and placed the team he expected to perform less well in the Challenger division.

If one were to start from scratch and play both the Challenger and U23 divisions, Thomas suggests starting with four goalkeepers, including their backups, for a total of four goalkeepers. Then, selecting ten outfield players consisting of four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards would suffice. Thomas personally favors lineups with two defenders, as he believes defenders are a safe bet and can consistently deliver scores of 70 or 80 points with careful scouting.

In terms of player profiles, Thomas recommends having roughly 60% of players who are eligible for both divisions out of the 14 players. If one aims for a more even split, like 50/50, Thomas suggests increasing the number of cards to 16 or 17, as more players would be restricted to one division. This way, if the need arises for a similar profile in another division, there's an extra player available.

Rewards: Quantity VS Quality

Thomas emphasizes that when aiming for the 1% reward, there's significant uncertainty regarding whether it will include a player like Mbappé. It becomes highly unlikely to consistently achieve a top 3 ranking in subsequent weeks if you don't perform well in other game weeks. This would involve selecting players with very high standard deviations, meaning they might score 100 points in one week and 10 points in another. In essence, it's a strategy similar to playing the lottery.

However, if the primary goal is to play with the intention of winning, the focus should be on selecting cards that can deliver reliable and consistent performances, generating good scores regularly. If you have the budget to invest in top-scoring players, it's a wise choice, as they are essential for pursuing top rewards due to their consistent scoring range of 80 to 100 points. Otherwise, you can adopt Thomas's initial tactics, targeting players who regularly score 60 or 70 points without necessarily aiming for the highest scores. It's important to note that players achieving top scores significantly drive up card prices. However, by assembling a lineup with players consistently scoring 60 or 70 points, you can quickly accumulate a total score of 350 or 360 points, often enough to secure rewards. Earning rewards along the way allows you to gradually increase your budget and pursue higher-caliber recruits.

Thomas doesn't believe that having a substantial initial budget and immediately purchasing the best cards is the only viable option. He prefers starting with cards that can consistently score 50 or 60 points and gradually targeting players who can provide higher scores as rewards accumulate.

While Thomas doesn't closely scrutinize his statistics, a blank game week would undoubtedly frustrate him. Even though he doesn't focus on the specific number itself, his goal is to increase it. Last season, he secured 2 or 3 rewards per game week, even though he had lined up 8 or 9 teams. Therefore, it's crucial for him to see that number rise.

Ultimately, Thomas follows a strategy aimed at increasing the percentage of winning lineups each weekend, believing it's a more sustainable and rewarding approach.

Resale strategy

Thomas acknowledges the significance of the transfer market. Given his intention to streamline his gallery and focus on Rare and Super Rare, he is not inclined to retain players who cannot consistently deliver top scores for his Rare team. In the past, he kept players who were good but not necessarily at the top because he sought variety, especially in the U23 division. There was a period in the U23s when many managers had similar lineups, so standing out was crucial to achieving success. However, he is now in the process of selling some of those players.

In contrast, in the Super Rare division, Thomas did not sell many players because he still has many who align with his objectives. Additionally, some players' prices in the Super Rare market dropped significantly at one point, making it unattractive to sell them for very low prices. Instead, he chose to retain them. Thomas notes that the Super Rare market has lower liquidity, making it challenging to sell certain cards when the demand is low. He holds onto his Super Rares because he believes that over time, the number of Super Rare lineups will increase. Currently, he sees it as a good opportunity to enter the Super Rare market due to relatively affordable prices, particularly for those who are well-established in the Rare division. He hopes that the Super Rare market will become more liquid in the future.

Boris's note: I'm convinced. There are so few Super Rare cards compared to Rare that the market is very illiquid at the moment. In 4 to 5 years, it will be a different story.

“I can see that some players already have twenty or so cards. This improves liquidity. I'm looking at a Mertens Super Rare. In the last month there have already been three sales, something that wasn't there before.”

Boris's note: I think it's been a great time for the last 6 months with a budget of 20,000 euros to be competitive in Super Rare, because in 3 to 5 years' time, there will be more players and monstrous gains to be made. Not least thanks to the economy around tiers and dynamic rewards. Since the launch of Super Rare, these cards have been undervalued. There will come a time when Super Rare will be properly valued. That day has not yet arrived.

“No, indeed, that didn't happen. Afterwards, these cards were undervalued because, in the game, the usefulness of Super Rare was very limited compared to Rare.”

Boris's note: Absolutely, that said, you could earn Super Rare cards by playing in the Super Rare division, and in the long term people who in 3 or 5 years' time will say that the Super Rare division wasn't worth it after all. I'm convinced that the people who have had large Super Rare galleries from the start will be rubbing their hands.

“I agree with you. I would have gone into Super Rare starting out, that would be a different story. You'll have to ask ZeNoob ;)”

Sorare's vision for the next two years

Thomas expresses his belief in Sorare's continued growth. He notes that the company has been working on various aspects, particularly regulatory compliance with features like Cash Wallet and securing licenses, with almost all licenses in place.

Thomas also recognizes the need for increased awareness and education about Sorare, especially in dispelling misconceptions related to cryptocurrencies. He mentions that some individuals are still hesitant to join due to fears about cryptocurrencies and concerns that Sorare might be a scam. However, he emphasizes that understanding how Sorare operates reveals that it's not a scam. He sees ongoing efforts to address this issue and educate the public.

Additionally, Thomas mentions the importance of defining tax rules related to Sorare and anticipates that clarity will emerge in the future.

Regarding growth strategies, Thomas believes that Sorare should focus on expanding its user base by offering real-life (IRL) content rewards. This would involve providing opportunities to win tickets to matches, unique experiences, and other gifts related to football, such as meetings with players, jerseys, and merchandise. He considers this a priority as it could attract more people who may not be solely interested in winning cards but would be enticed by such rewards and experiences. Thomas hopes to see the development of these IRL content rewards as a means of broadening Sorare's appeal.

Hall Of Fame

• GK: Carlos Acevedo (first referral reward that boosted his Sorare adventure)
• DEF: Lisandro Martinez (won 2 in a row in GW202 and 203 after a 4th and a first place)
• MID: Joey Veerman (his goat since his card came out, he bought him very quickly and he loves the player IRL)
• ATT: Gianni Bruno (He's had his card for a long time and he loves the player's journey, full of twists and turns... In the end, he didn't score much for him, but it's become a running gag with the members of the discord FR)
• Extra: Josip Sutalo (his IRL favorite and he has his champion edition card)