LEICESTER CITY have pulled off the greatest upset in history by defying odds of 5000/1 to win the Premier League according to Ladbrokes.
Tottenham’s draw with Chelsea hands the title to Leicester with two games to spare, sealing a £3m payout to City backers, 22 of whom held on to bets at 5000/1 resisting temptation to cash in throughout the season.
The fairytale win for Leicester secures windfalls of £100,000 (from £20), £73,500 (from £10 each way) and £10,000 for student and lifelong fan Karishma Kapoor, 20, who placed just £2 at the start of the season.
Kapoor said: “The first half did my nerves no favours, but I always had the faith we would do it at some point so I’m just ecstatic, not just due to the bet but for the team and the entire city. I’m on cloud 9 as a Leicester fan as it is and the bet is the icing on the cake. I’ll pay for the drinks tonight, save some of the money and spend the rest on a European away day next season.”
Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said:”The greatest sporting story of all time is no longer a dream. Leicester have officially landed the biggest upset ever seen and when it comes to this story going straight to Hollywood all bets are off.”
“We may be paying out record sums to Leicester backers but we do so with a smile and we have to applaud the handful of fans who took the mammoth odds at the start of the season. It’s been a thrill to be involved in this story from the off for a company which such a passion for sport.”
The win for Leicester has also been hailed as a game-changer by Ladbrokes who vow never to offer odds of 5000/1 again for any football team to win a league.
Donohue added: “The days of 5000/1 are over. We’ll never be so generous with odds again for an underdog, but we still forecast up to 50 times as much betting interest in outsiders for the title next season”.
Leicester City are 33/1 to win back to back titles with 100/1 offered about them winning the Champions League at the first attempt.
Leicester City 5000/1 biggest winners
£20 win – £100,000
£10 each way – £73,5000
£5 each way – £33,333
£5 each way – £33,333
£2 win – £10,000
£1 each way – £6,666
47 bets at 5000/1 at start of season
25 cash outs
£3m payout
Ladbrokes latest betting:
Leicester City to win the 2016/17 title 33/1
Leicester City to win the 2016/17 Champions League 100/1
Other scenarios as likely, more likely and less likely than Leicester City winning the Premier League at 5000/1
- Finding a pearl in an oyster 10,000/1
- Aliens landing in the UK 5000/1
- Loch Ness Monster being found 10000/1
- FIFA hosting the 2026 World Cup in the Antarctic 5000/1
- David Moyes to be an X Factor judge 2500/1
- Arsenal to sack Arsene Wenger and install Piers Morgan as boss 2500/1
- David Cameron to become Aston Villa manager 2500/1
- Vinny Jones to win a Best Actor Oscar 2500/1
- Jose Mourinho to go on I’m A Celebrity 1000/1
- Sir Alex Ferguson to win Strictly Come Dancing 1000/1
- Adebayo Akinfenwa to win BBC sports personality of the year
- 1000/1
- Yeovil winning the FA Cup 2016/17 5000/1
- Leicester City/Jamie Vardy the movie to win an Oscar 1000/1
Odds from Ladbrokes
Leicester fan backs Burnley to land £133,333
5/5/2016 A LEICESTER City supporter has placed a £100 each way bet on Burnley winning the title next season at 1000/1.
The fan from Leicestershire – who landed a four figure sum backing his side for the title midway through the campaign – has staked £100 each way on the Clarets meaning £133,333 is up for grabs if the Premier League is won by a rank outsider for the second season running.
So far almost 100 times more bets have been placed on outsiders winning the 2016/17 title than at this point last year with Burnley (1000/1) and West Brom (1000/1) the most popular teams, while Leicester have also already been cut to 25/1 (from 33/1) to double up.
No bet bigger than £10 has been placed on 13/8 favourites Manchester City since Leicester secured the title.
Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said:”One Leicester fan clearly thinks his side will pass Burnley the baton and history will be made for the second season on the bounce.”
Ladbrokes latest betting:
Premier League winner 2016/17
Manchester City 13/8
Chelsea 9/2
Arsenal 5/1
Manchester Utd 6/1
Tottenham 7/1
Liverpool 11/1
Leicester 25/1
West Ham 100/1
Everton 150/1
Southampton 150/1
Stoke 350/1
Crystal Palace 500/1
Swansea 500/1
Bournemouth 750/1
Watford 1000/1
West Brom 1000/1
Burnley 1000/1