Betting Stories: Ben Brereton's sensational season

Ben Brereton Diaz. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll know all about the Stoke-born Chile international (yes, you did read that correctly).

He lit up the Copa America for his country - who he qualifies to play for through his mother - during the summer and has stormed out of the blocks for club side Blackburn Rovers this season, netting 10 goals in 11 Championship outings so far.

Brereton’s impressive return sees him top the second-tier’s leading goalscorer chart alongside Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and many feel that he will go on to clinch the Golden Boot award at the end of the campaign. 

Before the season kickstarted in August, Sky Bet priced Brereton up at a colossal 1000/1 to score 20+ league goals. A large band of loyal Rovers fans backed the special with stakes ranging from 20p to £20 and, after a spectacular start - which has seen the 22-year-old already reach the halfway point after just 11 games - have now been offered a ‘manual cash-out’ option from Sky Bet to the value of 50% of their overall potential winnings. 

This means that, had you placed £2 on the bet before the season began, you could now receive a payout of £1000 (or see it through for the chance to win £2000). The offer is only available until October 16th, and many punters are taking the early settlement. I can’t say I blame them when you consider the potential of injuries, or indeed a January transfer to a lower-end Premier League outfit lacking in goals. 

BettingOdds.com’s very own Anthony Eadson was on the bet at 500/1 with a £5 stake, and last night took the £1253.50 offered by the Leeds-based bookmaker. 

“With the likelihood of Adam Armstrong leaving I always felt there was the potential for Brereton to step up this season after his incredible journey with Chile. 

“Congratulations to all the Rovers fans who've profited from Diaz's remarkable run. And for those who haven't cashed out yet...your spuds are bigger than mine,  good luck!”

He wasn’t alone in cashing out, either, with an array of punters - some of whom had £20 on the astonishing bet - taking just over £10,000 on Monday afternoon! Top class betting; well played, all involved.

Believe it or not, this was all the way back in October!

Since then, Brereton Diaz has continued his sensational form, and has now reached the magical 20 goals number. After turning Chilean, Diaz has bagged an outrageous 20 goals in 24 Championship games, with his numbers before being 17 goals in 133 games. Only Alan Shearer has ever scored 20 goals in a season faster than Brereton for Rovers, who is justifying all of the bets that Lancashire punters put on him before the season.

Diaz was a whopping 100/1 to be the Championship top scorer in August, and is now down to 4/1, giving further hope to Blackburn fans that this could be a fairytale season for them.