Ups & Downs…2016’s biggest wins & most frustrating losses

FootballPredictions.com’s Ignacio del Valle Ruiz reviews 2016 biggest football wins, in what was a year full of thrills, surprises, underdog and comeback stories.   

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Let’s face it – we all love lists, and there’s always some betting mishaps or fortunes that become viral and everyone talks about them. I gathered some during the year and would love to share it with your readers, as a bit of fun look back at 2016.

It’s been a crazy year in football. Portuguese are the unexpected (some even say controversial) winners of the Euro 2016 and Leicester City is the winner of Premiership that really no one saw coming.

And in all of that madness, some people managed to score big. With a little insight and loads of luck, a few lucky punters made some pretty awesome bets. So here is a short list of 2016’s craziest betting scores.

  • Boxing Day Miracle

Let’s start with a recent crazy win. The owner of this Reddit post called it a Boxing Day Miracle!

Winning £8 333,33 in BetVictor’s Golden Goal Competition isn’t the biggest win on our list, but the way it was won certainly makes it special.

To win the overall prize of £25 000 you had to guess who will score the first goal and in which exact minute of the Hull vs. Manchester City game. Our lucky winner correctly predicted that Yaya Toure will score in the 72nd minute, and ended up splitting the prize with two other visionaries who had as much insight as he did.

To win the prize, the goal had to happen between 71:00 and 71:59. The ball crossed the line at exactly 71:59! One more second and our fortuitous football fan wouldn’t had won! Talk about perfect timing!

  • A Real Rollercoaster Ride!

Things are getting a little bit more serious as our second contender for the luckiest punter of the year cashed out £72 000.

An anonymous supporter of Leicester City made a £50 bet, back when odds of his preferred football club wining the Premiership were 1/5000!

He decided to cash out in early March, and became richer by £72 335!

This in itself would have made an excellent story, but it didn’t end there. Although he says he is happy with his earnings, and plans to use it on a vacation in Spain and covering the mortgage, if he had waited for just a few more hours he would have gotten another £19 000.

Leicester were playing against Watford that same afternoon, and won 1-0!

If he had had enough patience to wait for the end of the game, a second vacation in Spain (plus a little more to spare) would have been in his pocket.

  • £108 000 Richer for being a loyal fan

Obviously, Leicester’s unlikely win is the football story of the year. No one saw it coming, since only a year ago the club was almost downgraded to Championship.

But this once-in-a-lifetime success story means that a few lucky loyal fans got to score big by betting on their club to win the Premier League.

Another anonymous supporter of the Foxes cashed out £108 000 in April, after placing a £20 bet at the beginning of the season.

If he had not lost his nerve, by the end he would have ended up with £133 000, but his win is still one for the records!

  • No Luck Just Skill!

Now for something a little more complicated. To correctly guess 16 different pairs and win £180 000 after placing a single pound bet, it takes more than just pure luck.

But this is exactly what happened to a 27-year-old father of three. The skillful gambler plans to spend the money on a house, since he currently lives with his wife, three kids and four other people.

  • A Big Payoff!

The absolute winner of this year is a guy who made the best of Leicester’s unprecedented success.

With odds of Leicester wining the Premiership being 1/2000, this lucky punter decided to place a £100 bet. And, let’s be honest, this is the kind of money you and I don’t bet with, even when the odds are much, much better!

But having more faith in his team than most people have in Earth being round, he patiently waited till the very end. And, boy did it pay off! Today he is £200 000 richer!

  • Dishonourable Mention: £2500 Lost on Leicester City

Not everyone had the balls of steel needed to win on Leicester this season.

This courage-lacking fan ended up with just 45 pence, after he placed a bet of 50p on Leicester at the beginning of the season and backed out immediately after the first game (which Leicester won).

Back then the odds were 1/5000 and if were patient enough, he would have gotten £2500 by the end.

It is unclear why he backed out, especially considering that his bet really wasn’t high and the potential loss was minuscule. This really shows how lack of conviction and courage really doesn’t pay off!

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