Morocco’s victory over Spain on Tuesday proved to be a huge winner for one bettor at FanDuel who won nearly $1 million on a $90,000 bet.
The bettor wagered on Morocco to advance to the quarterfinals on 11-to-1 odds prior to the end of the group stage. At that point, Morocco hadn't been guaranteed a spot in the Round of 16.
Their game against Spain was dicey, and the Spaniards had a few great chances to win it.
Morocco, cagey as they are, put up just 0.35 xG — they’re the second-worst team this World Cup at total expected goals, ahead of only Qatar, which only qualified for the tournament on account of hosting it.
Yet, here's Morocco in the quarterfinals of the sport’s premier tournament, courtesy of a 3-0 penalty shootout win over the 2010 World Cup champions. And here's this bettor's $1,089,818.28 payout.
PropSwap founder Luke Pergande told the Action Network on Tuesday that the holder of the ticket contacted the company to see what the buyout would be prior to Morocco vs. Spain.
But there's no indication as to who this bettor is. The Action Network will update this story as we know more. It's also unclear if this bettor was given a cash out option by FanDuel — and if this bettor decided to take it.
Pergande said the ticket had a pregame value of $218,000. While the company promoted the ticket, it was never formally offered on the site on account of its enlarged value.
The Moroccans' path to the quarterfinals now includes wins over Spain, Belgium and Canada. It's the farthest the nation has ever made it in the World Cup.
Morocco had been +300 to advance to the quarterfinals prior to Tuesday's match — the second-largest knockout round upset since 1998, according to our director of research Evan Abrams.
The 2018 Russian team had been +330 to advance and did so — also against Spain.
The markets aren't suddenly bullish about the African nation, however. Morocco are still second-to-last favorites to win the tournament at 35-1, according to FanDuel.
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