Thursday's Big Winners 26.08.2022

Thursday night carried on the European football action with West Ham booking their place in the Europa Conference League Group stages with a comfortable win over Viborg, before Bulgarian side Ludogorets edged past Zalgiris in extra time in a dramatic affair. There was also action in the Hundred as Southern Brave beat Trent Rockets with an inspiring batting display.

However, who were the big winners and what markets brought punters the most joy?

We review Thursday’s action and highlight where canny punters could have struck gold on our spread betting markets.

Please remember that unlike fixed odds betting, when spread betting losses can exceed deposits.

VIBORG VS WEST HAM – CROSS BOOKINGS – SETTLED AT 200

Last night saw West Ham comfortably beat Viborg to book their place in the Europa Conference League group stages to ensure the Hammers fans get to witness back-to-back European campaigns.

West Ham’s new talisman Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring in the 22^nd minute with a deft flick before both Said Benrahma and Tomas Soucek rounded off the win in the second half with smart finishes past the Vibrog keeper Lund Pedersen.

But where was the value for the punters?

With Scamacca giving the visitors a comfortable three goal lead over the two leagues early on meant the final 68 minutes were played in a good-natured fashion with only three yellow cards being picked up, one for Viborg (10 points) and two for the Hammers (20 points) meaning the cross bookings market settled at 200 (10x20).

With a pre-match spread of 450-520, punters who decided to sell will have ended the evening with 250x their opening wager!

ZALGIRIS VS LUDOGORETS – SHIRTS X BOOKINGS – SETTLED AT 11,600

The opening minute of this closely contested Europa League qualifying match foreshadowed what was to come in a dramatic 90 minutes with Fabien Ourega opening the scoring in the first minute of the match for Zalgiris while Matias Tissera for the away side received a booking.

The fast action continued throughout the first half which saw another goal scored for each side and another four bookings meaning Zalgiris headed into the second half with a 2-1 lead which left the two sides level over the two legs at two goals apiece.

The action continued into the second half with a goal for either side and another three bookings which sent the game into extra-time where a 120^th minute Olivier Verdon penalty booked the Bulgarians spot in the Europa League group stage.

But where was the value for the punters?

With all the chaos which occurred in the 90 minutes punters would have been forgiven at missing the size of the shirt numbers of the goalscorers with the highest being the opening scorer Ourega who donned the shirt number 92!

This alongside the sheer number of bookings meant the Shirts x Bookings market made up at a massive 11,600. With a pre-match spread of 575-700, punters who decided to buy were partying long into the night as they earned 10,900x their initial stake!

SOUTHERN BRAVE VS TRENT ROCKETS – WIDES-SQUARED – SETTLED AT 225

Thursday’s final sporting action came at the Ageas Bowl as an Alex Davies and Ross Whiteley partnership turned the game on its head to keep the Trent Rockets waiting on the confirmation of their play-off spot.

Southern Brave won the toss and decided to bowl on what looked to be a difficult batting wicket. Dawid Malan scored his sixth 50 with the only notable score from the Rockets which left the away side on 138-6 at the halfway point which looked under par even on a difficult wicket to bat on.

However, the Rockets' bowling attack cut through the Brave opening order within form batsmen Paul Stirling and James Vince both leaving for ducks leaving the home side in a precarious position. Then came in Davies and Whiteley whose remarkable partnership turned the game on its head keeping the Brave’s slim chances of qualifying for the next round alive.

In a relatively low scoring game in the Hundred the value actually came off the wasteful bowling with the two sides racking up 15 wides, nine of those coming from the Rockets! This mean the Wides-Squared market made up at 225, which with a pre-match spread of 104-119 meant that punters who decided to sell earnt 106x their initial stake!

Please note that these are examples of winning bets from the past week, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit.