As punters, we look high and low for signals – from tipsters to speculative, and often unfounded, team news updates on social media.
But perhaps the savviest angle we can take is to simply bet against any pick made by the Canadian rapper Drake, who has a remarkable knack for getting all sorts of selections beaten.
The latest victims of the ‘Drake curse’ are Argentina, who drew 0-0 with Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday before succumbing to a Ferran Torres goal in extra time.
Drake wagered a whopping £1.1 million on the Argentines to successfully retain their trophy – no doubt buoyed along by the Messi factor, but was left to rue a professional performance by Spain against what was a senselessly aggressive Argentina side.
It continues the rapper’s hapless streak of losing bets, with £750,000 lost when backing Conor McGregor to defeat Max Holloway at UFC 329 the other week.
The likes of Tyson Fury, Jannik Sinner, FC Barcelona, Arsenal and the New England Patriots are just some of those that have lost as favourites having been backed by Drake.
But the World Cup final produced a more favourable outcome for other punters; including one Sky Bet customer who completed a staggering seven-fold outright acca nearly a year in the making… trousering more than £103,000 from their £10 stake!
They Don’t Like Cricket (They Love It)
Could you imagine placing an outright accumulator that started in October and wouldn’t be completed until July the following year?
It takes remarkable patience and the foresight to look at sporting events months into the future and make accurate predictions as to who will prevail.
| Date | Event | Selection |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | New Zealand v Australia T20 Series | Australia to Win |
| Jan 2026 | PDC World Darts Championship | Luke Littler to Win |
| Jan 2026 | Big Bash T20 Cricket Tornament | Perth Scorchers to Win |
| Mar 2026 | ICC T20 World Cup | India to Win |
| May 2026 | Champions League | PSG to Win |
| May 2026 | Europa League | Aston Villa to Win |
| Jul 2026 | FIFA World Cup | Spain to Win |
The punter started with Australia’s T20 series with New Zealand last October. They backed the Aussies to take care of business on Kiwi soil, and that’s exactly what they did – scores of 85 and 103 from Mitchell Marsh helping them to a 2-0 win.
The Antipodean adventure continued with the Big Bash, which is Australia’s premier domestic T20 competition.
On the betslip were the Perth Scorchers, who topped the league phase before trouncing the Sydney Sixers twice in the knockout stage to cap an almost perfect tournament – that man Marsh again amongst the runs.
Cricket’s T20 World Cup took place earlier this year, and this time the Sky Bet customer left Australian connections well alone – India was their pick for the trophy.
They enjoyed home advantage and a comfortable group, before surprisingly losing to South Africa in the Super 8.
India won their other two games to reach the semi-finals, where they took on England in a thrilling contest – the hosts just about defending a mammoth total of 253 despite Jacob Bethell’s outstanding century.
That set up a final with New Zealand in Ahmedabad, with India posting another formidable total of 255. This time, the Kiwis couldn’t get anywhere near as Suryakumar Yadav’s side romped home by 96 runs.
Reign in Spain
At around the same time as the Big Bash was playing out, the PDC World Darts Championship was unfolding at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Our punter had backed Luke Littler to lift the iconic trophy… and why not? The teenager is comfortably the best dartist on the planet.
Littler didn’t even have to get out of first gear until the fourth round, when former world champion Rob Cross gave him an almighty game. But it was ‘the Nuke’ that would prevail 4-2.
Victories by margins of 5-0 and 6-1 in the quarters and semis highlighted Littler’s superiority, before a potentially fascinating final against Gian van Veen became little more than a procession as the then 18-year-old demolished his Dutch opponent 7-1.
All of which left three-season ending finals to follow in the Champions League, Europa League and World Cup.
PSG were favourites against Arsenal in the former, but struggled to find a way past the trademark resolute defending of the Gunners.
Penalties came to the Parisiens’ rescue as Gabriel and Eberechi Eze missed crucial spot kicks for the Londoners.
This value hunter had backed Aston Villa for the Europa League; perhaps seduced by Unai Emery’s fantastic record in the tournament. And the Villains did not disappoint, cruising through the competition before thrashing Freiburg 3-0 in the final.
All of which left the World Cup on the punter’s ledger, with Spain starting out as favourites, drifting as France impressed, before downing Les Bleus and taking their place in the final against Argentina.
And the rest, as they say, is history…
A £10 stake returned £103,228 in what goes down as one of the finest outright accumulators you’re ever likely to see.