In modern professional sports, it's quite rare for the form book not to play out as expected. An even rarer phenomenon is for an underdog to overcome a heavy favourite- the top dog will usually emerge victorious. On rare occasions though, a sportsperson or team that are seemingly no-hopers will throw the form book out of the window and surprise all in sundry. In particular, these upsets delight punters at gbets.co.za that has taken a chance on an unlikely winner.
Here are 4 of the greatest upsets in sports history:
Japan Shocks the Springboks
When Japan and South Africa lined up for their 2015 Rugby World Cup fixture in Brighton, there weren’t too many pundits who would have predicted a Japanese win. After all, the Springboks were the two-time champions, while Japan had never reached the quarterfinals, and their only previous World Cup win came in 1991. But the plucky Brave Blossoms, coached by the wily Eddie Jones, shocked and outfoxed the Springboks on a famous day.
While Japan started the match brightly, the Springboks held a narrow lead at half-time, and, it was expected the Springboks would prove to be too strong after the break. The Japanese refused to lie down though as Ayumu Goromaru produced an accomplished display with the boot. After Goromaru converted his own try with 10 minutes left, the score was tied at 29-29 and his own personal tally for the match stood at 24.
South Africa seemed to have avoided defeat when Handre Pollard slotted a penalty, but following a sustained period of pressure, Japan found Karne Hesketh on the left flank and he dived over to spark wild and unexpected celebration scenes at the Amex stadium. The Springboks on the field were in utter shock, but managed to pick themselves up and qualify for the semifinals where they lost 20-18 to the All Blacks.
Greece is the Word at Euro 2004
While Greece is known for many wonderful things, its prowess as a major football nation is not as widely recognised. At Euro 2004, the Greeks were ranked outsiders to win the competition at odds of 80-1. Those aren’t exactly good odds when you consider that the Euros is one of the hardest football competitions to win.
However, Greece proved all the doubters wrong in the first great sporting shock of the 21st century and won Euro 2024. Host nation, Portugal, who had in their ranks the young, eager and immensely talented Cristiano Ronaldo, were expected to win the tournament, particularly after it eliminated England in the quarter-finals.
However, in the Euro final, it all went wrong for the home nation. Greece’s Werder Bremen forward Angelos Charisteas gave Greece the lead in the 57th minute, which silenced the home crowd. It managed to hold on to this lead despite Portugal's best efforts and was crowned champions of Europe at full time. It's not a result that we’re likely to see again in a hurry.
Iron Mike is blindsided by Buster Douglas
During the late 1980s, there was no more feared fighter than “Iron” Mike Tyson, who was considered to be a force of nature. And when Tyson entered the ring on 11 February 1990, he was expected to easily beat Buster Douglas, who had a reputation for fading late in fights, while many boxing experts questioned his toughness and conditioning. The bookies felt the same way, and Douglas had 42-1- odds to win, with the Mirage sports book the only betting outlet to post odds for the fight.
However, the bout itself made a mockery of those odds as Douglas took it to Tyson from the opening bell, dictating terms as he enjoyed the better of almost every exchange. Douglas seemed to be in a bit of trouble after he was knocked down by an uppercut in the 8th round, but he subsequently rallied in the 9th round to hammer Tyson with power punches.
He then managed to knock a tiring Tyson down in the 10th round with a destructive uppercut and multiple power punches that landed flush. Tyson couldn’t get up before the count, and the greatest upset in boxing history was complete.
Leicester City beats the odds to win the English Premier League
Sometimes, a great sporting upset occurs in 1 match. Sometimes, it occurs over a whole season. Leicester City proved this to be the case when they won the 2015/16 Premier League season. Leicester, who had narrowly avoided relegation in the previous season, were rank outsiders before the start of the campaign with odds of 5,000-1 to win the title.
The Foxes, helmed by manager Claudio Ranieri, defied the bookmakers to finish top of the table, a comfortable 10 points ahead of Arsenal in second place. Previously unknown names such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante entrenched their place in the history of English football while Ranieri similarly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Italian managers in the Premier League’s history. Long-suffering Leicester fans could barely believe it as they revelled in this once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Get Your Game On
You never know when the next great upset in sports will happen. If you want to earn big bucks from a sporting upset, then make sure you keep placing your bets on a wide variety of sports at www.gbets.co.za!
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