Monthly Archives: March 2019

Biggest underdog wins in history

A great way to earn extra income is betting on sports – but who are the biggest sports underdogs in the betting world, well here’s a guide to helping you pick out the best underdogs!

Whether its UFC, football and the most popular horse racing event as it is held for three-days, The Grand National. A horse racing event like The Grand National has seen many underdogs in its time, for an example – Non-professional jockey William Dutton’s story had one of the most interest and lucky wins of all Grand National history. Before the race, William heard from the audience, his friend shouted “You could win the race if every other horse fell down”, and funnily enough, that’s exactly what happened. He won the race. The odds were 100/1 because of the experience of the jockey.

Let’s talk about a popular sport, football. The Leicester City win in the 2016 Premier League shocked every football fan and the supporters of the club. The small club to advantage of being the small unlikely to get a Premier League victory and defy all the odds against them. Their odds stood at 5,000/1 – with the title’s winners from Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Kasper Schmeichel.

In 1985, Boris Becker, the 17-year old German who focused his preparations at Queens Club. The young tennis player was declared as ‘Future Wimbledon champion’ by the event commentators – three weeks later he goes to win the tennis tournament of the summer. He was then the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion, at just 17 years old. Then the youngest Cincinnati Open winner. Thought to be an underdog, but brought records.

The UFC has seen some greatest fighters – Conor McGregor being one, after his 13-second knockout against Brazils, José Aldo. But Conor would not be an underdog as he reached the UFC championship with popularity and a swift left hand. The underdog of this entertaining sport goes to Holly Holms as she defeated Ronda Rousey – “Rowdy” Rousey was at the peak of her career going into the fight after winning all three previous fights in seconds. Rousey was clear to win the fight against Holly Holm, until Holms made a devasting kick in the second round that knocked Rousey.

Formula One, the intense high-speed circuit racing with tight corners and close tire to tire racing which has seen some devastating crashes and some incredibly fast laps. While Michael Schumacher holds the record for most championships at seven before his tragic skiing accident and with Lewis Hamilton catching up with 5 championships after winning 2018’s World Championship – there’s rarely underdogs in Formula One. Niki Lauda, as he really is no underdog – Born from a rich family and driving for the riches, fastest at its time. His story is very compelling. After his accident in Nürburgring which burnt the side of his face. He eventually returned, which shocked fans – Lauda after his return went on to win the 1977 and 1984 titles. Nobody thought he could become F1 champion again.

The moral of all these stories is to not pay attention to the people that will undermine your talent, and never giving up. No matter where you come from, rich or poor. There’s always a unique opportunity to make it in something you enjoy.

Warriors Set to Be Biggest Finals Favorites in 23 years

The Golden State Warriors have run roughshod over the rest of the NBA over the last few years, with the team clinching three of the last four championships en route to becoming the latest league dynasty. And while there are plenty of teams looking to end that dominance, the Warriors are the biggest favorites to win the NBA Finals entering the NBA Playoffs since the 1996 Chicago Bulls.

Since NBA futures odds were tracked in 1984, only the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987 (-250) and the Bulls in 1996 (-400) have been greater than a -200 favorite to win the title before the playoffs. Golden State is currently around -225 to win the championship and given that the Warriors have suffered some injuries this season, that standing is even more impressive.

Fortunately, the injury bug has not impacted the core four players of the Warriors too badly, but it has hurt their new acquisition in DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was supposed to add another layer of offensive prowess to this Warriors team, but he hasn't been able to do so due to the constant setbacks that he's faced throughout the year. Even so, the Warriors have proven time and time again that any champion is going to have to go through them.

One of the latest instances of the Warriors proving that they are by far the league's best team was their dominant win in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. Oklahoma City always has revenge on the mind when it plays the Thunder due to Golden State's taking of Kevin Durant. But all of the motivation in the world couldn't make one of the best teams in the Western Conference good enough to hang with a team that is clearly ready for whatever the playoffs have to throw at them.

It is fitting that the Warriors are doing something that has never been done before, revolutionizing basketball at the same time that the sports betting industry is being revolutionized as well. Just as Golden State have always been a historically big favorite with so many scoring options, the sports betting industry is experiencing growth in the number of options players have with respect to things they can wager on and ways they can fund said betting.

Years ago, you wouldn't have been able to withdraw your gambling winnings with PayPal in some locations. But just like most teams weren't able to win championships with three-point shooting in years past, both the Warriors and the sports betting industry have pushed the envelope to make what seemed impossible possible.

The question now for the Warriors is whether or not they will be able to finish the job as favorites once again. They are likely to face tough competition from the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, along with the Denver Nuggets, two fresh faces to the list of title contenders. But if the Warriors even approach their best basketball in the next few months, they'll make it four out of five titles without any sweat.

How to Make a Killing on the Stanley Cup Odds

There’s less than one month left of the NHL regular season with each team scheduled to play fewer than ten more games. Despite many playoff places yet to be decided, there is one thing that’s certain: the Tampa Bay Lightning are the best team in the league.

At the 71-game mark, the Bolts sat way atop the overall standings with 112 points and an almighty goal difference of +90, placing them 17 points ahead of their next closest competitor, per washingtonpost.com. So, with the Lightning being so dominant and the heavy favourites to win the Stanley Cup, what’s the point in betting on any other team?

The Bolts will meet a Western team

Any NHL fan will tell you that the Tampa Bay Lightning have the best team in the league and are playing the best ice hockey. They continue to go from strength-to-strength with their non-superstar players having as much of a part as the likes of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Victor Hedman. The team is incredibly deep and destined for the Stanley Cup Finals.

At odds of 9/4 to win the Cup, the Lightning are still a viable option in the outright betting. Given their overwhelming strength, it’s tough to see any other Eastern Conference team making to past them to get to the Finals. But, in the Finals, the Lightning will have to face a Western Conference team.

There are some very good teams in the Western Conference who could cause the Bolts some problems across a seven-game series, but the best way to take advantage of the odds is by going each-way. As it stands, the San Jose Sharks are at 7/1, the Calgary Flames are at 8/1, the Vegas Golden Knights are at 12/1, and the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are at 14/1, with moplay.co.uk offering half-odds for each-way bets.

So, if you back any of these teams each-way, they make it to the final but lose, you’ll still get a return at half the odds, putting predicting the finalist from the Western Conference at longer odds than if you were to back the Lightning to win it all.

Which Western team will make it to the Finals?

For much of the season, the Central looked to be the stronger of the two Western Conference divisions, with the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators playing consistently well and winning games. Both of these juggernauts have cooled down as the end of the season has crept in, but both made significant trade deadline deals to improve the team.

The Jets added Kevin Hayes to become their second line centre, which was one of the strongest moves of the deadline, while the Predators added the likes of Wayne Simmonds, Brian Boyle, and Mikael Granlund to attempt to improve their woeful powerplay numbers, as shown by thehockeywriters.com.

Right now, however, the two teams that are tussling for the top of the Pacific Division look to be the top contenders for a place in the Finals. The San Jose Sharks are wisely being tentative with the return of superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson, per yahoo.com, but have still been notching wins. The Flames continue to be streaky but incredibly dangerous nonetheless.

Postseason experience and general team experience gives the Sharks the nod over the Flames, who may be incredibly talented and exciting, but could burn out early as other teams of their ilk have done in a long-awaited return to the playoffs.

Anything can happen in the playoffs, regardless of the quality of the team, but in the Western Conference, as it stands, the Predators and Sharks look to be the ones to battle in the Conference Finals to get into the Stanley Cup Finals.

Biggest Wins in Soccer History

Soccer is a popular game the world over where matches and tournaments are played virtually every day. Infogol games records show that this sport has been played for decades and there have been some exhilarating matches over the course of its history that have taken both fans and teams by surprise. Fans betting on the games could have never predicted these outcomes and while every sport comes with its share of one-sided games, these matches are a cut above the rest.

2001 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

The biggest win of all time in an international soccer match goes to Australia during a qualifying match in 2001. Australia were playing American Samoa to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup when they destroyed their opponents, scoring a staggering 31 goals to American Samoa’s zero. Archie Thompson scored a record 13 goals for Australia during this match, with David Zdrilic not far behind netting eight.

1975 Pan American Games

During the 1975 Pan American Games, in a Group D encounter, Brazil demolished Nicaragua by an astounding 14 goals – three of these were scored in just the first five minutes! By the end of the match, Brazil’s top scorer was Luis Alberto who earned four of the goals.

2006 Qualifier for Euro 2008

The Germany v. San Marino match took place in September 2006 as a qualifier for the Euro 2008 tournament. Both teams took to the pitch in Serravalle, San Marino, to battle it out in what would become a record-breaking margin by any team in the European Championships. Germany succeeded in scoring 13 goals, four of which were scored by Lukas Podolski, knocking San Marino out of the competition.

UEFA Euro 1984 Qualifying Game

Held in Seville, Spain, in 1983, the Group 7 qualifying game between Spain and Malta made headlines when Spain knocks 12 goals into the opposition’s net. They conceded just a single goal, leading to Spain topping their group.

Australia’s 2002 Qualification Campaign

Although Australia experienced a heart-breaking defeat against Uruguay in the playoffs of the 2002 World Cup, they certainly enjoyed some victories along the way, not least in their game against Tonga in 2001. They had nine goal scorers in the win that made history for being the biggest win in a FIFA-observed international soccer match and it became one of six wins in an undefeated run during the Oceanic Stage of the tournament’s qualification.

Euro 2012 Qualifier in Eindhoven

In September 2011, Netherlands took to the pitch with San Marino to fight it out for Euro 2012. The roaring crowd watched Netherlands defeat their opponents by 11 goals, with Robin van Persie earning top scorer with four goals during the match.

2012 Qualifier in Bahrain

There’s nothing quite like winning on home soil and that’s precisely what Bahrain did in 2012 when they played Indonesia to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. FIFA actually ran an investigation into this match due to the weak side Indonesia fielded for this game, but Bahrain ended up winning by 10 goals to a disappointing zero from their rivals.

Enhancing your odds through the Full Time Result & BTTS market

As getting behind the both teams to score market now ranks as being almost as appetising as backing teams to win, there’s been more options for how you’re able to do this. Even when it became more popular to create BTTS tips, there was only the most basic edition of the market, but the rise in demand has also led to a larger selection of ways in which you can utilise the BTTS market.

From the handful of primary options for placing bets on BTTS tips, the Full Time Result & BTTS market is one of the most casual, as it can be added to your football accumulator without removing the cash-out option. It also occurs frequently in a lot of football fixtures, making it something that people will mostly include to boost their odds, rather than being something that could be detrimental to landing their bets.

The difference between general BTTS tips and other markets

There’s as much to the both teams to score market as there is to the match result market, with it all depending on each team scoring at least once over ninety minutes. This could even make it far easier to land than predicting the match winner, as you could be betting on a game where one team is winning by four goals to nil, only seeing the selection land as long as the other team scores before the final whistle.

It’s clear to see why the Full Time Result & BTTS market could come into use, as it will combine both the match result and the both teams to score market to produce BTTS tips with a more appealing price. The odds aren’t likely to skyrocket by doing this, but it will be an accurate combination of the price you’d get for both markets, with some bookmakers even being generous enough to improve the price merely by them being added together into a larger but technically less likely outcome.

As you’re given the option of a cash-out even if you’ve chosen to include a Match Result & BTTS market, you won’t be ruining your bet by opting to boost your odds with one included. Bookmakers will often make these a worthwhile option in your BTTS tips too, allowing you to see a tempting cash-out on your bet if either both teams have scored or if one team is winning, allowing it as an option of something to boost your odds in-play.

The Biggest British Shocks in the Europa League

With the round of 32 in this season’s Europa League underway, the ties fell favourably for the English clubs with Arsenal pitted against Belarusian BATE Borisov (who they beat in last year’s group stages 10-2 on aggregate) and Chelsea facing Swedish side Malmö for the first time in the club’s history; however Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic have a tricky test against Valencia, who currently find themselves out of the European places for next season. You can find the Europa League winner odds on Betfair. But while there are bound to be shocks during the knockout stages, let’s take a look back at some of the British sides who’ve caused an upset in the Europa League.

FULHAM v Juventus – March 2010

Fulham sparked an unbelievable comeback at Craven Cottage on March 18, 2010 overturning their 3-1 defeat to Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico, to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate and secure their place in the quarter-finals. It didn’t look good for the English side when David Trezeguet scored in the opening minutes, but a quick equaliser from Bobby Zamora offered a glimmer of hope. Two goals either side of half time for Zoltan Gera levelled the score on aggregate and a late winner from Clint Dempsey prevented extra time, securing the win. Juventus were hampered with disciplinary issues with Fabio Cannavaro and Jonathan Zebina both receiving straight red cards; but the Cottagers marched on to the final, eventually losing out to Atlético Madrid in extra time.

BOLTON v Atlético Madrid – February 2008

Bolton Wanderers made it out of the group stages after three draws (notably one against table-toppers Bayern Munich) and a win out of their four games. A tough test against unbeaten Atlético Madrid followed in the round of 32. A solitary goal in the first leg by El Hadji Diouf separated the sides at The Reebok Stadium, before the Trotters held on to a goalless draw in the return leg in Spain for a memorable victory and a place in the last 16. The next round proved difficult with the English side going out to Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on aggregate, but manager Gary Megson’s main priority by that point was cementing their place in the Premier League – six defeats in eight matches during February and March saw them slump down the table.

MIDDLESBROUGH v Steaua Bucharest – April 2006

Middlesbrough provided shock after shock in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup, topping their group with 10 points and without losing. The knockout stages proved challenging with the away goal rule seeing them victorious against Stuttgart in the round of 32 and Roma in the round of 16. After going down 2-0 to Basel in the first leg of the quarter-finals, Steve Maclaren’s side were victorious in the second leg, winning 4-1. But the biggest shock came in the semi-finals. Boro found themselves 3-0 down on aggregate after 25 minutes of the second leg and an inspired substitution saw Massimo Maccarone score within eight minutes of coming on. With under an hour left to play and thee goals to find, Stewart Downing became provider for Mark Viduka and Chris Riggott – and a last-minute header from Maccarone sent the Riverside into raptures! The final saw Sevilla lift the trophy, running out 4-0 winners in what was Steve Maclaren’s last game in charge, before becoming England boss.

via ytCropper

Bayern Munich v NORWICH – October 1993

Norwich City made history on October 20, 1993 when they became the first English team ever to beat Bayern Munich at their own ground in a European competition. The Canaries were two goals to the good after half an hour, with strikes from Jeremy Goss and Mark Bowen proving decisive. Although Bayern pulled one back before the end of the first half, the first leg stayed at 1-2 and the return leg finished in a score draw (despite Bayern going ahead). Despite making history, Norwich were knocked out in the third round, losing to Inter Milan by the odd goal in both legs. The goal scorer both times? A certain Dennis Bergkamp.