A football punter has conjured up an unbelievable sum after putting just £10 on an 18-leg accumulator as the Carabao Cup kicked off in earnest on Tuesday evening.
29 matches were played across the country, kick-starting the hunt for the first piece of major domestic silverware available for the 2025-26 season.
But while few of the first-round ties captured national attention – which is usually reserved for when Premier League sides are subject to giant-killings in the later rounds – a 32-year-old man from Essex seems set to steal the headlines after winning nearly £200,000 from one bet.
The punter, who has opted to remain anonymous, put together the vast accumulator by predicting the number of corners that would take place across 18 matches.
Fixtures selected ranged from Wrexham’s clash with Hull to Accrington Stanley’s hosting of Peterborough, but regardless of the tie, the fan’s picks all came to pass – resulting in a staggering payout from bookies Paddy Power.
A spokesperson for the company said: ‘The first round of the Carabao Cup rarely produces the stuff of dreams – except for this plucky punter, who’s gone from flags to riches with an unbelievable 18-leg corner acca.
A canny prediction of the number of corners across 18 games saw one punter win £200,000
One of the most successful corners on the night saw Bromley land a crucial equaliser against Ipswich – and eventually knock out the Championship side on penalties
‘While ballboys across the country were probably cursing the extra workload, our Essex-based customer was far too busy celebrating after turning a tenner into nearly £200K. Fair play!’
Every match selected by the punter saw the corners fly in, with over 9.5 corners selected in each tie.
Even more astoundingly, the punter put the bet on just two minutes before the fixtures kicked off.
A number of fixtures came close to letting down his accumulator too, with five of the 18 matches having just 10 corners between the two teams – the lowest possible amount.
Plymouth Argyle’s win against Queen’s Park Rangers featured the highest number of corners, with 17 total.
Among the ties to have seen a team score from one of their many corners was Blackpool versus Port Vale, where substitute Mo Faal headed home an effort from a left corner delivery to provide the match’s only goal.
Bromley were also among the night’s surprise winners, finding their equaliser from a corner kick before forcing Ipswich to penalties – and going on to swipe the tie from last season’s Premier League competitors.