Weekend Review: Bookies bemoan punter-friendly FA Cup in final showpiece of domestic season

Arsenal conquered London rivals Chelsea 2-1 in the 139th FA Cup final this weekend as punters came out ahead in the final showpiece event of a truncated domestic football season.

Two goals from captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw Arsenal secure a record 14th FA Cup trophy after US international Christian Pulisic had given Chelsea a sixth minute lead at an empty Wembley Stadium.

How to mark our 14th @EmiratesFACup:

😘 Kiss trophy
🤦‍♂️ Drop trophy
🙌 Lift trophy

Love it, @Aubameyang7 😂 pic.twitter.com/0raPWagb51

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 2, 2020

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said punters excelled across multiple markets to dent layer’s coffers.

Gill said: “The FA Cup gave the punters a great end to the domestic season as it definitely went their way. Arsenal were well backed at the prices, as well as BTTS, while the Aubameyang double and a Pulisic goal resulted in punters lining their pockets.”

Betway’s Chad Yeomans also detailed how bettors who backed the blue of Chelsea still had a reason to smile.

Yeomans said: “The ‘magic of the cup’ was in the air for Betway punters as we paid out on two results. Not only those who had backed Arsenal were paid out for their 2-1 victory, but our ‘First Goal Wins’ offer also ensured that those who had backed Chelsea were paid out after they went 1-0 up.”

Arsenal’s victory saw one bettor seal a £100,000 accumulator win, according to Betfred’s Alan Firkins.

Firkins said: “It was a decent FA Cup final result overall, but a red-letter day for a customer who had Arsenal as the last leg of a £100 six-fold placed back in early March. Courtesy of Aubameyang’s predatory instincts, he’s now a cool £100,000 better off.”

William Hill’s Rupert Adams said the punter-friendly FA Cup was balanced out by an “excellent” Goodwood for the operator.

What a finish to the @UnibetRacing Stewards Cup! pic.twitter.com/qA8HDYDXsw

— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) August 1, 2020

Adams continued: “The FA Cup was a fantastic result for punters, who could not resist the big price on offer for the Gunners. Fortunately, we had an excellent Goodwood so overall an okay weekend from our point of view.”

Gill also noted how the Sussex-based event saw a positive return for the layers.

Gill said: “Saturday also saw the final day of Glorious Goodwood. In the feature event of the day, the Unibet Stewards’ Cup, Summerghand came home a 22/1 winner who was relatively unpopular all told and that result went our way. However, as our only losing race of the day, the festival ended on a positive note for us.”