FCF Championship Preview: Surging Zappers Face Top-Seeded Apes in Title Game

The Zappers and Bored Ape FC will square off in Fan Controlled Football's People's Championship

Who: Bored Apes FC vs. Zappers, Fan Controlled Football championship game
When: Kickoff Saturday, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. C
How to Watch: NBCLX over the air, on cable, on LX.com and on your favorite streaming platform.

The people's champion soon will be crowned.

The top-seeded Bored Ape FC will take on the surging Zappers in the People's Championship game in Fan Controlled Football, a league where fans call their team's plays. Coverage of the game begins Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCLX.

The unexpected matchup in the title game follows semifinal performances in which the Apes, a team that started the season 5-0, returned to form and Johnny Manziel's Zappers, a team that started 0-4, extended their Cinderella run.

That created a final between the league's top team and a team peaking at the perfect time.

The Apes are unbeaten in games that quarterback Deondre Francois both started and finished. His injury midway through Week 6 possibly prevented what could have been a perfect season for a team that led the league in total offense.

Francois, with his dual-threat ability, finished sixth in the league with 226 rushing yards, while also running for six touchdowns. He's joined in the top 10 by teammate Jakobie Baker, a superback who ran for 168 yards and six touchdowns to help give the Apes the most rushing yards in the league this season. Baker is part of a formidable backfield tandem that also includes Darren Woods, who ran for two touchdowns in the Apes' 38-32 semifinal win over 8oki and then revealed the team's new motto.

"Bored Ape train is gonna keep rolling," Woods said after the game. "The new slogan is "#ApeShip' baby. We're going to the 'Ape Ship.'"

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There they'll also have the league's top-ranked defensive unit, known as the "Heavy Hitters." Anchored by linebacker Cecil Cherry and Qwan'tez Stiggers, two candidates for Defensive Player of the Year, the Zappers selected the unit in the final weekly FCF draft ahead of the semifinals with the first overall pick they were awarded for being the best team during the regular season.

Going up against the Apes' potent offense and a swarming defense combines to make the Zappers' final obstacle of the season their most challenging. And that says a lot for a team that capped an 0-4 start by becoming the first team to get shut out in FCF history.

Along the way, the Zappers used eight different quarterbacks, dealt Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens in the league's first trade, had to cut the quarterback who was leading their resurgence after his touchdown celebration broke the rules and the law, survived a Man Up Showdown to make the playoffs and then upset the Shoulda Been Stars 50-24 in the semifinals

Kelly Bryant is returning from injury to play in the final game of the regular season and help propel the Zappers into the postseason. The quarterback seemed to tweak his ankle late in the semifinal win, which could lead to an increased workload for Manziel, the team's backup/coach. The former Heisman Trophy winner was back in uniform in the semifinals, throwing a touchdown to former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams.

Johnny Football could be called upon again with the championship on the line, as the Zappers look to upset the Apes and go from worst to first.

Watch Fan Controlled Football's People's Championship this Saturday, June 11, on NBCLX over the air, on cable, at LX.com and on your favorite streaming platform. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET with kickoff at 8 p.m.