START7 before the start of the second half of the season: The European Championship stars in the points check

World champions, Olympic champions, European champions – Denmark completed a hat-trick of titles in front of their home crowd with what is arguably one of the best teams of all time. No fewer than eleven players from the German top flight contributed to this historic success. Once again, Mathias Gidsel led the way. The Berlin fox was not only the tournament's top scorer and MVP, but also ran circles around the competition in START7: 1,254 points with a market value of £2.4 million – simply world class.

This accolade also applies to his compatriot Simon Pytlick (636 points, €2.5 million), who was voted into the All-Star Team as the second-best scorer in the European Championship and strongest left-back. Together with Emil Jakobsen (467 points, €2.4 million) and Frederik Bo Andersen (410 points, €1.9 million), they are four of the five Danes in the top 20 START7 points scorers – the small kingdom is so good that coach Nicolaj Jacobsen was able to simply leave the fifth member of the group, Jacob Arenth Lassen (506 points, €1.8 million), simply leave him at home. One more Danish superlative to finish with: Magdeburg's Magnus Saugstrup (204 points, €2.4 million) is currently the only player in the world who, in addition to the most prestigious titles with the national team, is also the reigning Champions League winner and German champion – it doesn't get any better than that!

Nevertheless, in the final in Herning, it felt like less than seven goals separated the German national team from the new European champions. With some outstanding performances, Alfred Gislason's team took a big step forward and seems to be back among the world's best for good. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff (308 points, €2.4 million) played a decisive role in this. With the most saves of any goalkeeper, the Kiel native was rightly voted into the All-Star Team. Second place in the START7 goalkeeper ranking behind Sergey Hernandez (443 points, €2.5 million) should be additional motivation to continue providing spectacular moments in the league. Captain Johannes Golla (539 points, €2.4 million) was similarly consistent, finishing just behind Jannik Kohlbacher (595 points, €2.4 million) in Fantasy Manager, but was delighted to be named the best pivot of the European Championship.

However, Germany's success was primarily based on a strong team performance and the much-cited depth of the squad. Justus Fischer (490 points, €2.4 million), for example, who had already impressed with Die Recken earlier in the season, played an outstanding tournament. Julian Köster (657 points, €2.5 million), the best START7 left-back, was once again a safe bet at the front and the back. But players who didn't make the headlines also delivered reliably. These included Matthes Langhoff (248 points, €1.2 million), Tom Kiesler (164 points, €471,000 thousand euros), Franz Semper (294, 1.5 million euros) and Mathis Häseler (104 points, 646 thousand euros) – players who are exciting transfer options, especially for managers with smaller budgets.

DAIKIN HBL's reputation as the ‘strongest league in the world’ was impressively confirmed during the European Championship, and not only by the 28 Bundesliga players in the final. The selection of August Pedersen (407 points, €1.9 million) and SCM playmaker Gisli Kristjansson (418 points, €2.5 million) for the All-Star Team also underlines the quality of the league. Kristjansson also shone as the tournament's best assist provider and narrowly missed out on a medal with Iceland. A total of ten Bundesliga professionals were in the Icelandic squad, including Omar Ingi Magnusson (784 points, €2.2 million), Ellidi Snaer Vidarsson (310 points, €2.1 million) and Erlangen's Viggo Kristjansson (439 points, €2.4 million). Elvar Örn Jonsson (222 points, €2.3 million) had a bitter experience, having to withdraw early after a good start due to a broken hand.

Bronze ultimately went to Croatia, which also relied on several Bundesliga players. The goalkeeper duo Dominik Kuzmanovic (79 points, €1.7 million) and Matej Mandic (5 points, €754,000) played a particularly important role, but still have room for improvement in START7. The same applies to Marko Mamic (65 points, €382,000) and David Mandic (91 points, €946,000), who are inexpensive and could carry the momentum of their strong European Championship performances into the new season.

The latter could also apply to the Faroe Islanders Hakun West av Teigum (232 points, €1.5 million), Vilhelm Poulsen (103 points, €445,000) and Elias Ellfsen a Skipagötu (707 points, €2.5 million), who narrowly missed out on a sensational entry into the main round.

We can also look forward to seeing all those who watched the European Championship from their sofas. How will Kai Häfner (554 points, €2 million), Florian Drosten (360 points, €1.5 million), Aaron Seesing (295 points, €1.4 million) and Vincent Büchner (247 points, €1 million), who are all buy recommendations on paper, fare after the break? We will know more on Tuesday!