Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
One plucky Ladbrokes punter had a weekend to remember when they turned £4.29 into £56k using a combination of savvy in-play betting, carefully crafted predictions and timely use of the cash-out feature.
The bettor in question played the markets over three days between Saturday and Monday, starting his coupon off with a couple of in-play moves from Germany and Italy.
The punter, who wishes to remain anonymous, guessed the Bundesliga game between Arminia Bielefeld and Union Berlin would finish goalless at 13/2 to get things going.
In Serie A, it took 16 minutes of madness and a 96th equaliser from the visitors in the Sampdoria vs Cagliari game on Sunday to keep the bet alive, with the customer backing the draw after Cagliari took an early lead.
Sunday selections hit the mark
A day later, the online customer correctly predicted United would go on to win the Manchester Derby 2-0 at 12/1, placing his wager during the game’s half time interval, while a second successful Sunday bet backed Athletic Bilbao to beat Granada…..though the hosts needed a 92st-minute winner.
Tottenham were also backed to beat Crystal Palace later the same day, and Spurs didn’t disappoint with a comfortable 4-1 triumph over the Eagles, inspired by the brilliance of Gareth Bale.
A nerve shredding Monday
It was Monday evening that had the plucky punter really sweating however. Having already backed West Ham to beat Leeds and correctly predicted the score of Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton, the last of the coupon’s eight legs needed Inter to beat Atalanta 2-0 in another correct score punt.
Inter took a second-half lead through defender Milan Skriniar in the 54th minute, and with a massive cash-out offer of £56,352.52 on the table, our savvy punter pushed the button.
And he was right to do exactly that, as Inter failed to add to their tally, meaning the customer would have won absolutely nothing had he let the bet ride.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “In-play bets, correct scores, last-minute goals and the savviest cash out we’ve seen all season, this bet really did have it all.”
Bet Slip in full
- IN-PLAY Man United to win 2-0 v Man City – 12/1
- IN-PLAY Under 0.5 goals in Arminia Bielefeld v Union Berlin – 13/2
- IN-PLAY Sampdoria v Cagliari to finish a draw – 11/4
- Chelsea to beat Everton 2-0 – 13/2
- Inter to beat Atalanta 2-0 – 11/1
- Tottenham to beat Crystal Palace – 6/10
- West Ham to beat Leeds – 21/20
- Athletic Bilbao to beat Granada – 31/50
TOTAL STAKE – £4.29
TOTAL RETURNS – £56,532.52
TOTAL POTENTIAL RETURNS WHEN BET WAS STRUCK – £750,109.29
TOTAL RETURNS HAD BET BEEN LEFT TO RUN – £0
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