10 Great Sports Betting Upsets

Ten of the biggest upsets that punters cashed in on

Bookmaker News

History is littered with a number of the most unlikely of sporting results. These are the familiar ‘upsets’ which are familiar to most punters. Here are just a few memorable sporting triumphs which defied all the odds in the sporting world, including a famous win by a horse named ‘Upset’.

The beauty of ‘upsets’ for punters? For even a small stake, punters involved in any of these remarkable wins would have made a very handsome return on their investment.

2012 St Leger, 1/3 favourite Camelot beaten by 25/1 outsider, Encke –

The 2012 classics in Britain were supposed to be all about one horse, Camelot. Hailing from the formidable Aidan O’Brien stable, Camelot was billed as potential great. Having eased his way to winning the first two classics of the season, (2000 Guineas & the Derby) Camelot looked ready to cement himself in racing history, as his bid to complete the triple crown saw him start as the 1/3 favourite in the St leger. The final classic of the season. However, outsider Encke had other ideas. The Godolphin trained Encke stayed on willingly in the closing stages to upset the party and return home the 25/1 winner, beating Camelot by ¾ lengths.

Greece win 2004 European Championships –

At massive odds (150/1), rank outsiders Greece, pulled off one of the biggest upsets international football has ever seen, by going all the way at Euro 2004. Having done well to qualify from the group stages, the Greeks were in no mood to stop, beating both France and Czech Republic in the knockout rounds, before taking the final 1-0 against the hosts Portugal. A true upset!

2003 British Golf Open, Ben Curtis wins at 300/1 –

Going into the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St Georges, Ben Curtis had never won an event on tour before and was making his debut in a major championship. Quoted at 300-1 beforehand, Curtis seemed one of the certain no-hopers. However, this didn’t stop the American handling the tough conditions to win the tournament outright. Even a small bet on the supposed outsider would have given punters a whopping return on their investment, for just a £10 stake, a massive £3010 could have been won.

1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes, 100/1 outsider, Upset beats Man o’ War –

If ever there was a horse perfect for an upset, it has to be the 1919 Sanford Memorial stakes winner: ‘Upset’. Aptly named, Upset was able to overturn the legendary Man o’ War, who after a bad start, finished half a length behind the 100/1 outsider. It was that very upset, caused by Upset himself, which would be Man o’ War’s only career defeat.

Goran Ivanisevic wins Wimbledon in 2001 –

In 2001 Goran Ivanisevic found himself a lowly 125th in the world rankings, and it was only down to a wildcard that the Croatian was able to take his place at that years’ Wimbledon. Priced at 150/1 the 29 year old wasn’t given a chance by the bookies. Punters who took advantage of this price would have been in high spirits after the Croatian fought his way through the tournament knocking out the likes of Andy Roddick and Tim Henman, before finally beating Pat Rafter in the final. The 150/1 outsider became both the first wildcard and lowest ranked player ever to lift the trophy.

1990, Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson –

1990 saw Mike Tyson return to the ring in a fight billed as “Tyson is back!”. The undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion was short odds to claim what was supposed to be a routine victory over Buster Douglas, a boxer then ranked outside the top 5 in the division. When you consider that a boxing match involves only two fighters, the 42-1 available on Douglas was a huge price. Such was the superiority Tyson was expected to showcase. The fight turned out to be anything but one way traffic from Tyson, who was eventually knocked out by Douglas in the tenth. Taking all 3 belts from Tyson (WBC, WBA, IBF), 42-1 shot Buster Douglas’ upset, cemented itself forever in boxing history.

2009 Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird wins at 50/1 –

In the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird became the biggest priced horse to win the race in over 85 years. Trained by Wooley, Jr. The 50/1 outsider – who was in last place as they turned for home – made tremendous ground up the inside to go on and win the race by 6 ¾ lengths. The biggest winning margin in over 60 years. The joint largest outsider in the race, rewarded his punters support with a 50/1 return on their investment.

England beat Australia in the 3rd test 1981 –

The third test between England and Australia in 1981 saw the English lying in a dismal position. Australia had posted a first innings total of 401-9 (declared), before bowling England out for 174 and enforced the follow on. As they slumped to a poor 135-7 the match looked all over for England. Such was the certainty of defeat, Bookmakers quoted a colossus 500-1 for England to come back and achieve victory. Anyone seemingly stupid enough to have even £10 on such a ridiculous bet, would have helped themselves to an enormous £5000 profit! Ian Botham went on to score 149 not out, before Bob Willis blew away the Australian batsman, taking 8/43. The rest, as they say, is history.

Robert Thornton wins the 2012 UK Darts Open –

Ahead of the 2012 UK open, Robert Thornton was one player bookies were happy to take on. Some firms went out as big as 250/1 on the Scotsman who had been struggling for form over the past year or so. This however, didn’t prevent Thornton from taking down some big names en route to beating the biggest name of all, Phil Taylor in the final. Anyone on at 250/1 was in for a big payday after the outsider became the unlikeliest of winners.

Liverpool beat AC Milan from 3-0 down in the 2005 Champions League Final –

Having scraped through both the preliminary qualifying round and the group stages, Liverpool

continued their run with the narrowest of wins over Juventus and Chelsea before the unlikeliest of finals was about to take place. Set to face AC Milan, Liverpool weren’t what you’d call massive underdogs, despite Milan being favourites. It was the manner in which the game unfolded that lead the Merseyside club to pull off one of the greatest upsets in football history. After a poor start Liverpool found themselves 3-0 down at half time. The game all but over. During half time Liverpool were priced at a massive 100-1 to turn things round. Liverpool went onto score 3 second half goals, before securing victory via a dramatic penalty shootout. Truly a miracle for those brave enough to take a punt on their side at massive half time odds.

For those punters with a keen eye to spot an upset, betting exchanges like WBX are the perfect solution as they offer the opportunity to ‘Lay’ a bet, meaning that your bet will win if any other entrant wins. In horse racing sometimes favourites can be priced far too low, providing a chance to lay them for minimal risk and a big payday if any other horse is first past the post.

Sign up with WBX to make the most of their welcome bonus which offers up to £25 in free bets and take advantage of their competitive odds as you bet on the next big sporting upsets.