Weekend Review: Layers laud acca-busting results in exhilarating “dream weekend” draw fest
Betfair saw £1.5m matched on a Spurs victory at 1.02 and under before West Ham snatch stunning equaliser in 3-3 thriller
A flurry of draws across the Premier League left the layers on top this weekend as West Ham and Southampton scored last-minute equalisers to bust accumulators across the country.
Manuel Lanzini thundered home a 25-yard strike in the 94th minute to secure a 3-3 draw for the Hammers against rivals Tottenham despite being 3-0 down at half time in North London.
Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “Another wild weekend of football with goals and drama to boot! Obviously, West Ham’s last-gasp equaliser against Tottenham, who were 3-0 up at half-time, was nothing short of amazing. At half-time, a 3-3 correct score was 80/1 with us.”
That celebration ? @manulanzini pic.twitter.com/TbdDKjWywk
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 18, 2020
As Spurs raced into a seemingly unassailable lead, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son’s telepathic partnership continued to flourish after they assisted one another, a market backed by several punters at 66/1 with Sky Bet, with one winning £56 from a stake of 84p. Another punter on Twitter took home £670 after making a £10 wager on the “Return The Favour” market.
Elsewhere, there was £1.5m matched at 1.02 or below for Tottenham to win on Betfair after taking a three-goal lead.
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill told EGR it was a “dream weekend” for the operator.
Gill said: “An absolutely dream weekend in the Premier League as we managed to come out ahead on all eight games played so far, with Man City’s low-scoring win over Arsenal grabbing the most margin.
“All told, five draws and a shock win makes for a weekend about as good as it gets,” he added.
Aston Villa continued their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 victory over an injury-hampered Leicester City to leave them in second place with four wins from four games.
FOUR
OUT
OF
FOUR
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 18, 2020
Yeomans said: “Leicester don’t seem the same team without Vardy, and they slipped up to Aston Villa, who were backed into 5/2 on Sunday. Leicester, who were 1/2 on Thursday ended up going off at 23/20 – they were friendless.”
“In what is a crazy season so far, Aston Villa are now into 66/1 to win the Premier League – they couldn’t, could they?” he asked.
In horseracing, Champions Day at Ascot made the bookmakers sweat but they breathed a sigh of relief thanks to Hollie Doyle’s second-place finish in the final race of the day.
Part of racing’s new Golden Couple with Tom Marquand, the pair won four of six races on the day between them.
This is Hollie Doyle's world, we're just living in it! @HollieDoyle1 strikes for her first-ever Group 1 winner as Glen Shiel prevails in a thrilling Qipco British Champions Sprint.
What a day, what a season! #ChampionsDay pic.twitter.com/qGJjRKBZ6M
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 17, 2020
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “Hollie has become with Betfred punters a kind of Frankie figure, inspiring tremendous loyalty, and we were spared a seven-figure payout courtesy of various accumulators when she could only manage second on Sir Michael Stoute’s Solid Stone in the last so huge relief all round.”
William Hill’s Rupert Adams added: “Champions Day was very challenging for punters and race-by-race we did very well. But there were a number of lucky fifteens that managed to get the bigger prices, so it was definitely not a slam dunk of a weekend.”