Dundee United v Celtic – Leigh Griffiths Super Mega Minutes

This month we have introduced a fantastic new market available on all the big, live football matches; Super Mega Minutes. This market works similarly to traditional Player Goal Minutes, but with one dramatic difference; the minute of a player’s second goal is doubled, and if he scores a third, that minute is trebled! This has led to some spectacular makeups this month, but perhaps none more so than that of Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths in Celtic’s trip to Dundee United.

Pitched at 45-52, buyers of Griffiths were no doubt a little uneasy after the Celtic hitman drew a blank in the first half against mid-table United. Things were to change drastically in the second half however as Griffiths almost immediately broke the deadlock with a clinical finish after 47 minutes. This goal seemed to break the spirit of a youthful Dundee United side, and the champions began to dominate the game. Griffiths got his second on 65 minutes, tapping in from close range after the ball had rebounded off the post. This left buyers of his Super Mega Minutes delighted, with the market already sitting on 177. Could Griffiths complete his hat-trick? As the clock ticked towards full-time Celtic were awarded a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Gary Mackay-Steven. The foul appeared to take place outside the box but, no doubt roared on by buyers of Griffiths Super Mega Minutes, referee Willie Collum pointed to the spot. On a hat-trick, Griffiths of course took the responsibility and slotted home. His 84th minute goal was thus trebled, resulting in a final makeup of 429, a profit of 377 units for ecstatic buyers. Griffiths’ performance demonstrates perfectly the thrill of a trade on the Super Mega Minutes market, but for sellers will not be one to dwell on…

Bayern Munich v Porto – Marcano Player Card Minutes

Player Card Minutes is another market we have been expanding recently, adding it to the service for more and more live games. The market settles on the minute(s) a player is shown cards, with the minute doubled in the case of a red card. This can be a great market to get involved in, particularly in big derby games or hostile Champions League atmospheres.

The second leg of Bayern Munich v Porto was always going to be a tense occasion, with Bayern needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg. English referee Martin Atkinson was selected by UEFA to officiate, and he may well have expected a tough night ahead. As it happened the packed Allianz Arena roared Bayern into a 5-0 half-time lead. The shell-shocked Porto players trudged back to the dressing room knowing that their Champions League dream was realistically over. At this point the game could easily have fizzled out, with both teams knowing their fates were decided. Porto centre back Ivan Marcano had other ideas however. The hot-headed Spaniard needlessly clattered into Thomas Muller on 71 minutes, leaving referee Atkinson with no alternative than to show him the yellow card. With his Player Card Minute quote having been 24-28, buyers had already made a tidy 43 unit profit.

With the tie decided, one could have expected Marcano to calm down and play out the final few minutes. To the delight of his Card Minute buyers he had no such intention. This time his victim was Bayern midfielder Thiago, Marcano scything him down on the edge of the box. Despite his protestations, Marcano was rightly dismissed, resulting in a staggering 245 makeup for his Card Minutes market. Buyers rejoiced, whilst sellers were left cursing the idiotic Spaniard.

IPL – Bangalore v Mumbai – Multi-Wides

Spreadex offer a vast array of markets on the Indian Premier League matches, from individual player markets to markets on wides, 6s and 4s. In this encounter between Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore our traders had pitched Multi-Wides at 18-22, the market settling at the number of wides bowled by Mumbai multiplied by the number of wides bowled by Bangalore. With an array of world-class batsmen on display, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, it was perhaps to be expected that the bowlers may struggle.

Mumbai batted first, making a huge 209/7 from their 20 overs. This total was aided in no small part by the Bangalore bowlers bowling a dismal 13 wides. Sellers of Multi-Wides will have been lamenting the ill-discipline of the Challengers and hoping the Mumbai attack, featuring Lasith Malinga, would keep things a lot tighter. Buyers meanwhile sat back and hoped for more of the same, knowing that just 2 wides in the second innings would guarantee them a profit. Despite their monstrous total, Mumbai knew they were not home and dry, facing a daunting batting line-up featuring Chris Gayle alongside Kohli and de Villiers.

As the run chase progressed, buyers cheered on wide after wide, and by the end of Bangalore’s innings Mumbai’s bowlers had somehow managed to equal Bangalore’s 13 wides. This will have not been too much of a worry for Mumbai as they did successfully defend their 209 run total, but sellers of Multi-Wides will have been fuming with the sloppy bowling display. With the market settling at 169, buyers were left to celebrate a 147 unit profit.

Snooker World Champs – Trump v Ding – 50ups Supremacy

Two of the tournament’s big names clashed in the quarter-finals as Bristol boy Judd Trump met Chinese superstar Ding Junhui. Trump was installed as slight favourite for the match by our traders, with his 50ups supremacy set at 18-48. This market settles at the aggregate points in breaks over 50 by Trump minus aggregate points in breaks over 50 by Ding. So our traders expected Trump to have a slight edge in this market, but as it turned out his superiority was anything but slight.

Trump raced into a 5-0 lead, with 4 breaks of 50+, and a 50ups lead of 138. Sellers were in dire need of a Ding fightback, but found no real respite. Ding managed to claw a couple of frames back to trail 6-2, but a fightback looked unlikely. Trump started the second session with 3 more 50+ breaks, and although Ding managed to take a couple of frames to get back to 10-4 he was unable to deliver many 50ups for sellers. Trump polished off the match in style with back-to-back centuries in frames 15 and 16, and added a 66 break to complete a dominating 13-4 victory.

In total Trump had rolled in 380 50ups to Ding’s paltry total of 46, leaving the 50ups supremacy to settle at 334. Sellers were left to rue the Bristolian brilliance of the Juddernaut whilst buyers toasted Ding’s disastrous display.

Grand National day at Aintree – Squared Numbers

Grand National day at Aintree, a pillar of the British sporting calendar; a day when legends are made and the nation stops for the big race. For buyers of squared numbers however, this year’s Grand National day was one to forget. This was a day for sellers to rejoice in a remarkable sequence of low-numbered winning horses. With the large fields on display, including of course the 40 runner National itself, Spreadex traders pitched squared numbers at 827-881. With the prospect of a high numbered horse covering that quote on its own, it took a brave soul to sell.

With numbers 9, 4, 8 and 6 winning the first four races all eyes turned to the National. Entering the final mile of the contest the whole range of numbers still were in with a chance, with number 40 Royale Knight in a chasing pack behind number 2 Many Clouds. With makeups ranging from 4-1600, pulses must have been racing for those with a position. Over the final fence and Many Clouds was still repelling all rivals, with only number 24 Saint Are sustaining a realistic challenge. As Saint Are inched closer, the line came in time for Many Clouds, who held on to take National glory. Sellers of squared numbers were delirious as only 4 points were added to the squared numbers total, and with just two races left on the card. For buyers, Many Clouds had ruined National day; this was one cloud that certainly came without a silver lining! The final makeup of the market was 338, meaning sellers had cleaned up with a spectacular 489 unit win. Buyers were left to lick their wounds and avoid the replays on the evening news.