The biggest bookies' upsets of 2024: Six bets you should've made to win big

As we head into 2025, it’s time to tip our hats to the underdogs who shocked us all in 2024. Whether you’re a betting guru or a casual sports fan, these moments proved anything can happen in any sport.

1. Manchester United winning the 2024 FA Cup at 10/1 

I have to be careful here as FIRST’s editor-in-chief is a Manchester United fan, but this one's a two-parter. 1) How United managed to win anything last season and 2) how they beat Manchester City in the process.

To say they were lucky en route to Wembley is an understatement. Apart from drawing rivals Liverpool at home in the quarter-finals, they faced pretty fortunate opposition in Wigan, Newport, Nottingham Forest and Coventry (in the semis!).

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Erik ten Hag's side arrived for the final as 7/1 underdogs despite being 10/1 to win the whole thing in pre-season. Finishing in eighth place in the Premier League with a negative goal difference will do that to odds.

While City, who'd already won the Premier League, Super Cup and Club World Cup, were 3/10 to win the match inside 90 minutes or 1/8 to lift the trophy. There was no doubt who the bookies were backing.

Cue Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo... The United youngsters both hit the back of the net in the first half to the shock of Ten Hag himself and send long-shot bettors laughing all the way to the bank.

2. Barry Hawkins beating Ronnie O'Sullivan at 11/4

Ok so odds-wise, this one didn't set off any alarms at bookies' HQ. But if you're a snooker fan, you'll know how much of an upset this was. Hawkins would've been cursing his luck when he drew O'Sullivan in the first round of the UK Championships.

Nobody has won it more times than the Rocket, having lifted the trophy for a record eighth time just the year before.

And as if the odds weren’t already stacked against Hawkins, he went into that match having won just two of their 15 meetings in ranking competitions. His last coming in 2016.

But somehow he managed to forget all that at the table. Even after going 4-2 down, the 45-year-old pulled off an incredible comeback by winning four frames on the bounce.

Again, this wasn't completely about the odds, it was about the sheer improbability of toppling a Triple Crown winner in his domain.

It inspired Hawkins all the way to the final, beating the likes of Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen before eventually losing to world number one Judd Trump 8-10. To put that into perspective, the Hawk was 33/1 to win his first ever UK Championship.

3. USA beating Pakistan at 6/1

The USA are famously pretty nifty with a bat and ball. But this wasn't their beloved baseball. The Yanks actually beat Pakistan at a game of cricket.

Having only played their first T20 international in 2019 and never featured in a T20 World Cup before, there was no surprise to see the US at 6/1. Even if they were on home soil.

Pakistan, 2009 champions and 2022 finalists, very nearly avoided ultimate humiliation before USA's Nitish Kumar hit a four on the final ball to force a super over.

The USA went on to win in Dallas in arguably cricket's biggest ever upset. Maybe next, we'll see a Super Bowl in Pakistan?

4. Tottenham thrashing Manchester City 4-0 at 250/1

Throw a dart at City's results since 30 October and there's a decent chance you'll find an upset. They lost to Tottenham twice, Bournemouth, Sporting CP, Brighton, Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United and somehow dropped points to Feyenoord and Crystal Palace.

But out of the lot, it's the 4-0 league defeat to Tottenham that really confirmed City's slump. Not only because it's Spurs, but the fact it was at the Etihad Stadium. Before then, Pep Guardiola's side hadn't been beaten at home in 52 games in all competitions, a run stretching back to November 2022 when they lost to Brentford.

You could've found Spurs as big as 6/1 just to win that night and some bookies were offering 250/1 for a 4-0 away victory. But we really ought to have seen it coming. Spurs are something of a bogey team for Guardiola, having defeated his City team nine times, including seven in the Premier League - more than any other opponent has managed.

5. Keely Hodgkinson winning Sports Personality of the Year at 16/1

This is a sore one for me on a personal level. A friend of mine tipped it in January, and after he laid out all the reasons why, I decided to completely ignore it.

His logic was impeccable, but I wasn't having any of it. England weren't going to win the Euros, so that's all of Gareth Southgate's lads out of the equation. Luke Littler wasn't going to win the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship at just 16 years of age and even if he did, it was far too early on in the year. England weren't winning the T20 World Cup, and apparently, SPOTY voters don't care about boxing or snooker.

That leaves the Olympics in Paris, with someone from athletics having won the award 18 times. The next closest was F1 with eight, and Lewis Hamilton was way off it. 

"So," he announced after going through every single contender. "The correct answer is... Keely Hodgkinson."

At the time, the 800m runner was 16/1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson was another hope for Team GB at 12/1, but it was looking increasingly likely that Nafissatou Thiam, her biggest rival in the heptathlon, was going to be fit.

Keely, on the other hand, benefited by being bumped up to clear favourite in the women’s 800m after Tokyo gold medallist and 2022 world champion Athing Mu failed to qualify. Three cheers for USA's ruthless qualifying policy!

The 22-year-old won the 800m at a canter in Paris and then cruised to win her first Sports Personality of the Year award.

Needless to say, I won't be ignoring my mate's tip for 2025.

6. Bruno Surace knocking out Jaime Munguia at 50/1

We've all seen Rocky, right? Well this was the live performance.

Munguia, who'd only ever lost once before to super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, was expected to make light work of unknown Frenchman Surace in his Tijuana homecoming.

The Mexican was winning every round and even had Surace on the canvas in round two, but we know one punch can change everything in the ring. Surace connects one right hand to the chin and it's goodnight.

Surace, who only had four knockouts in his previous 27 fights, was a whopping 50/1.

You just need to listen to the commentators' reactions to understand the magnitude of this upset.

“Oh my goodness, he does not beat the count,” one said. “Bruno Surace has knocked out Jaime Munguia, oh my goodness. What an upset in Tijuana.”

Another commentator added: “Can you believe this?

“We’ve got to tip our hat to this young man who is coming out here, coming across the world to fight the man in his home town and scores a one-punch come-from-behind, knockout of the year, upset of the year, one-punch, full 10-count. Unbelievable.”

A moment to savour for anyone who had been brave enough to back the underdog.