The Sporting Events That Tipsters Target are listed below for your convenience.
One of the great things about the UK sports industry is that there are major events taking place every year on our shores. These have a distinct advantage over four-year cycles for a World Cup in football, rugby, and cricket, where time differences make watching and betting on the action in host nations aboard less compatible.
Having an annual calendar means tipsters will always target certain events. It’s how they do with these staples of British sport, listed in chronological order below, that shows exactly why punters clamour for them.
Six Nations
In early February, rugby union takes centre stage with the Six Nations Championship pitting the best of the British Isles against each other, as well as Italy and France. How these countries get on in the Autumn Internationals the previous November can be an indicator of form.
Each of the Six Nations play each other once, either home or away. That is five matches apiece and 15 games in total. Italy are always going to be rank outsiders for any fixture they are involved in but, on their day, any of the other five countries can beat one another, so tipsters have to take a view.
Cheltenham Festival
Horse racing remains a hugely popular betting sport, and the biggest event in the jumps code is the four-day Cheltenham Festival held in March. The growth of internet and mobile betting dovetailing with top British and Irish National Hunt racehorses competing in championship events means there is more focus on Cheltenham than ever before.
It follows that the best betting sites will offer bonuses and promotions on the Festival. A number of operators like Betway and bet365 are even highlighted as being particularly strong in the racing market. A top tipster will always be on the lookout for each-way value in extra place races at Cheltenham. There is more to recommending wagers than just the best odds, especially when it comes to the handicaps which support key contests like the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Gold Cup.
Grand National
Rachael Blackmore reflects on her history-making victory aboard Minella Times in the @randoxofficial Grand National#GrandNational pic.twitter.com/6n1cLPub5W
— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 10, 2021
Cheltenham is often where the smart money gets put down, but the Grand National at Aintree remains the one horse race in Britain that still captivates the wider public. Held in April near Liverpool, it is estimated that two-thirds of UK adults take a punt here, so tipsters are under pressure to get it right.
There are 40 runners to choose from and 30 fences to cross, however. The Grand National used to be a real lottery, but modifications for safety purposes to the obstacles jumped in this handicap steeplechase over a gruelling four-and-a-quarter miles mean the element of luck isn’t so high as it was. There are calls to be made and predictions aren’t as difficult as they once were.
FA Cup Final
Singing Abide with Me is a great FA Cup Final tradition. Another that has grown out of the digital revolution in betting is experts having their say on who will lift the trophy after playing on the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium towards the end of May.
Football is our national sport and, although the Premier League is paramount, there is still a certain magic to FA Cup Final day. Giant-killings have become rarer, as fewer underdogs reach the last match in the world’s oldest knockout football competition, but this is always a date in the diary for tipsters. That said, this year’s final does have an out-and-out favourite and underdog dynamic, with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea odds-on favourites to claim victory of Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester. The best bets may be with the Midlands side for this showpiece game.
Royal Ascot
There are many flat horse racing festivals over the summer. From Guineas Weekend at Newmarket at the start of May through until British Champions Day in October, none compare to Royal Ascot in June. It’s not just because of the procession before racing each day and getting a glimpse of the Queen, either.
Just as Cheltenham has grown, Royal Ascot is now a five-day meeting with seven races per day. That’s an awful lot of races for tipsters to find the winner of, but also more opportunities. The handicaps are no easier than Cheltenham, yet there is international interest in Royal Ascot.
Thoroughbreds from France, Australia and the USA have appeared at the Berkshire track on a number of occasions. Equating form is the challenge for tipsters here. Historic stakes races like the Queen Anne, King’s Stand and Gold Cup don’t just carry big prize money but prestige, so it’s no wonder overseas runners turn up.
Wimbledon
1998 ➡️ 2019 – time flies when you’re having fun ☺️#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/NcOzhWw0vw
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) April 5, 2021
Is there anything more English than Wimbledon at the height of summer in July? The premier grass tennis tournament is the one Grand Slam any professional wants to win. Betting on The Championships at SW19 in recent years has been a very different experience depending on the gender.
The men’s singles have been dominated by great players like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. With their women counterparts, tennis tipsters have found it much more difficult. When the male legends finish, it may be just as open as the ladies’ event.
The Open Championship
Golf is one of the least predictable sports out there. Poor weather or a slice of bad luck can ruin a challenge. That is part of the allure of betting on it, though. If tipsters get it right, and bookies often pay multiple places each-way, then it could be a big win on a major like The Open.
Part of that unpredictability comes from the fact this event is held at a different coastal links course in the UK every year during the second half of July. Tipsters have to decide if big golfing names or taking a punt on a relative unknown are the answer here.
New EFL and Premier League season
Where there are betting tips, there are pre-season predictions. In August, English football returns from its summer break. The EFL’s three divisions begin first, shortly followed by British sport’s best global export, the Premier League. How will new teams fare in the big time? Which clubs look in danger of relegation? These are the questions bettors want to be answered.
For football tipsters, this is their weekly bread and butter for the next nine months into the following year when the season ends in May. As well as seeing how they fare in all the big games, a good way of measuring an expert’s worth can be how their long-term predictions for the campaign pan out.
