The FIFA World Cup is finally over, with Argentina’s team celebrating victory. Bet365 customers also celebrated as many of them won prizes thanks to their clever sports bets and predictor wagers. The operator said that the $122,000 prize for its pre-tournament free-to-play Tournament Predictor game has been won. In addition, around 15,000 punters shared a payout of $488,000.
Freeth Talks about the Numbers
According to Steve Freeth, bet365’s PR man for soccer, the 2022 World Cup Final was all about the spectacular clash between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. Freeth noted that many experts believe this final to be the best of all time. He is sure that many bettors now believe so too in the wake of their winning bets.
Argentina had been top of bet365’s outright liabilities for some time, having been backed from 8/1 into 11/2 in the lead-up to Qatar and they weren’t put off after the opening game defeat to Saudi Arabia. La Albiceleste drifted out to 9/1 but that would prove to be but a minor bump in the road.
Steve Freeth, bet365
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was backed for the Golden Ball with odds going from 12/1 to 8/1. The soccer pro was also backed for the Golden Boot with 16/1 turning to 10/1. Freeth noted that bet365 barely dodged one of these bets. At the same time, the operator reported that many people took up its 33/1 bet about Enzo Fernandes’ claim for the Young Player of the Tournament trophy – a prize he ended up winning.
Another wager bet365 had to pay out was its 2 Goals Ahead Early Payout offer. Freeth said that the country’s team already cost the operator “a few quid” when it lost a 2-0 lead against the Netherlands and has now cost the operator even more by surrendering another two-goal lead.
Because of Mbappe, Argentina failed to win in 90 minutes and completed the Mbappe & Messi Shot on Target Super Boost, taking bet365’s payouts into 8 figures. In addition, the operator’s spokesperson reported that the Extra Time Extra Chance offer paid out bets that would have been losing ones but were not since the game had been prolonged into extra time.
Bets in the Extra Time
Bet365’s Super Boost concerning Mbappe and Messi shooting on target (4/6 to 6/4) was the operator’s most costly boost since both athletes fulfilled the condition and also landed their shots. In the meantime, the Early Payout Offer saw Argentina paid out as a winner in the 90 minute market. This was all thanks to Angel Di Maria who fired home in the 36th minute. Furthermore, all Bet Builders looking for Argentina to win in 90 minutes were counted as winning ones.
Bet365 managed to avoid a few payouts when Giroud and Dembele were substituted before half-time. However, these bets did not benefit bet365 either as they were voided thanks to the operator’s Substitute Guarantee.
Lastly, the operator listed a few selections that landed in extra time through its Extra Time Extra Chance market:
• Messi to score 2 or more
• Mbappe to score a hat-trick
• Messi extra SOT
• Mbappe extra SOT
• Mac Allistar extra SOT
• Paredes to be Booked
• Montiel to be booked
Tournament Predictor Results
One amazing sports pro managed to score 830 points in bet365’s Tournament Predictor. Each correct prediction in the group stage netted them 10 points while each correct prediction in the final 16 netted 20 points. Since many of the fan-favorite teams were performing well, many players managed to boost their Tournament Predictor score.
A correct prediction in the quarter-finals was worth 40 points, although a few players could not cash in on that, because of a few unexpected developments. A correct semi-final prediction netted 80 points and predicting the victor correctly earned sports fans 160 points.
As mentioned, the top 1 player took $122,000 back home. The second and third places were awarded $30,000 and $18,000 respectively. 13 players tied for fourth place and each one was awarded $12,000.