A Portsmouth football fan has landed £997,385 from a £4 accumulator bet on corners in 12 English Football League matches, with odds of 249,345-1. The unnamed 45-year-old only realised he had won about half an hour after all the games had finished.
Bet Details and Winning Conditions
Every match on his slip needed at least 12 corners for the bet to succeed. The 12-fold accumulator included 10 games in League One and two in the Championship, with the matches averaging 14 corners each. Among the fixtures that helped secure the prize were Oxford Utd against Bradford, Reading against Barnsley, and Stevenage against MK Dons.
The Aston Villa supporter described his reaction after checking his account. He said: "I didn't actually realise it had come in until about half an hour after all the games had finished."
Winner's Reaction and Plans
His day had begun with a trip to watch Villa with his son, followed by a rain-soaked walk home. He said: "I'm an Aston Villa fan and was out with my son watching the early kick-off, which started the day really well. Then we walked back home and got soaked with the weather, and when I checked my account I couldn't believe it. I don't know how to describe it really. It was emotional, I felt a little bit sick at first making sure it was real, and then obviously the reality kicked in."
He wanted his wife to verify the balance. He said: "My wife was out at the time when I checked, I needed her to come back to clarify the amount that was in there. I kept asking her, 'This is right, isn't it?' It didn't seem real. It's hard to put into words. I didn't sleep much last night, thinking about what we can do with the money. It's a really good feeling, it's brilliant."
Spending Plans and Other Big Wins
Paying off the mortgage, buying a new car for himself and his wife, and taking a family holiday are on his list. He also hopes to spend more time watching Aston Villa with his son. He said: "Me and some friends usually do an accumulator on the weekend for a bit of fun, we all pick a leg and put them in our group chat, both teams to score usually, and I like to do corners. I had £4 in my account so I decided to do one of my own with a few more corners in. I'm sure that I'll be treating my mates after winning this one, it will be my round all the time."
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: "We are absolutely delighted for this Portsmouth punter and couldn't be happier to pay out such a large sum of money. It's an incredible amount to win on a football accumulator; congratulations from everyone at Betfair."
This win follows other large payouts from small stakes. A punter from Dorset recently won £613,000 from a 60p spin on Betfair's Big Drop Mega jackpot. The bookmaker paid out over £2million in two months, including £755,000 to a woman in Stockport and £668,000 to a player in Yorkshire. Another London punter became a millionaire after an £11.50 football and golf accumulator returned £1,039,554.
