SPOTY 2023 Odds: Ben Stokes favourite to land Sports Personality of the Year

We are approaching a key time in the sporting calendar with several huge events on the horizon in the next few months such as The Masters, The Ashes, and The Women’s World Cup. With this in mind, now feels like a good time to take a look at the betting for Sports Personality of the Year, and we’ve called upon Anthony Eadson to dissect the market and give his thoughts on any potential bets. 

It’s also worth noting that a handful of betting sites are providing each-way betting on this market, with three places available at 1/5 odds. 

Ben Stokes - 13/2 

After being as big as 10/1 in January, punters have latched onto the fact that there is an Ashes series being played on home soil for England this summer. The bookies currently make England the 10/11 favourites to win back the Urn, and if they do so, it’s easy to envision Stokes playing a key part. 

• 2023 Ashes Odds

A winner of this award back in 2019 after his heroics at Headingley, Stokes has the capability to put on a show and to take his game to another level when required. Explosive with both bat and ball, further glory could await Stokes considering England have an excellent record at home in the Ashes, winning all four series between 2005 and 2015 and have not tasted defeat since 2001. If Stokes claims a handful of wickets in the first test or two, or even plays an important role with the bat, his odds could well tumble considerably. The correct favourite in my opinion. 

Tyson Fury - 12/1

Next in the betting  we have Tyson Fury has previously asked to be taken off the SPOTY shortlist, but remains the second-favourite in this year's market at a rather short looking 12/1. The politics of boxing make it very hard to predict which fights will take place this year, but even if Fury were to face Anthony Joshua, or Oleksandr Usk, and win, I still don’t believe he would accept this award. For those reasons, I’m willing to draw a line through his name in the betting.

Lewis Hamilton - 14/1

At the time of writing, Lewis Hamilton is a stand-out best price of 14/1 with bet365 for the Sports Personality of the Year award. Most other firms have the seven-time World Champion at a single figure price with some going as short as 7/1. 

• Latest F1 Odds

I think this is a ridiculously short price considering it is highly unlikely that Hamilton wins his eight Championship this season, for which he is currently 28/1 to do so. Hamilton has finished fifth in his first two races of the campaign and the early signs are that Red Bull have a considerably superior car. At 7/1, I’d keep your money, especially with Hamilton already winning the award twice in previous years.

Rory Mcllroy - 20/1

Rory Mcllyroy has not won a major since all the way back in 2014, when he landed the PGA Championship and The Open in the same season. The Masters remains the only major not to be in Rory’s trophy cabinet and with this year’s renewal set to start next week at Augusta National, now is time to get on if you fancy him to complete the career Grand Slam, which would also see him shorten considerably in this market. Personally, I’m happy to take a chance on Rory not winning The Masters. Despite seven top-10 finishes since 2014, I think it will be a similar theme to previous years of three stunning rounds, and one poor round which ultimately costs him the Green Jacket. 

• Masters Odds 2023

James Anderson - 25/1

Where do we start with England’s greatest Test Match bowler. Now at the age of 40, the Burnley-born swing bowler has exceeded all expectations throughout his career and now has a remarkable 685 Test Match Wickets to his name, with only the great Shane Warne (705) and Muthiah Muralidaran (800) above him on the list. 

Anderson has never even finished in the top three of SPOTY and at 25/1 each-way he could well be worth a small punt here considering the summer England’s cricket team have ahead of them. 

Leah Williamson 25/1 

Could we see back-to-back winners of Sports Personality of the Year from the England squad. Well, with a Women's World Cup this summer, there is a chance for Sarina Weigman’s side to follow up their European Championship success with the biggest prize of them all. 

After captaining her side to Euro glory, Williamson was unlucky not to be in with a shout of last year’s award which went to her team mate Beth Mead. Williamson has been in strong form for Arsenal in the WSL and Champions League this season and will be a key part of the squad for the World Cup which is being played in Australia and New Zealand. Ultimately  I just can’t see back-to-back SPOTY winners coming from this squad, and I do fancy the USA to get the better of them down under. 

Frankie Dettori - 25/1

At the age of 52, Frankie Dettori has announced that this will be his last year in racing as he will be retiring at the end of the season. Dettori does not appear to be feeling the pressure in his final season having scooped the $12m Dubai World Cup at the weekend for the fifth time in his career. In many of the major races throughout the season, Dettori is pretty much guaranteed a strong ride, giving him plenty of potential chances l to claim some big prizes and hit the headlines. However, since 1954 only one jockey has ever won the Sports Personality of the Year award, which came in 2010 after Tony McCoy rode Don’t Push It to Grand National Glory.

Joe Root - 25/1

The third member of the England Cricket team that we have put under the microscope, Joe Root, is available to be backed, at a very tempting 25/1. With only ten players above him in the all time test run-scorers list, Root has rapidly raced to over 10,000 runs and has time and time again produced high quality, long-last innings for his side, even with others around have lost their heads. If Root scores a century or two in the first few test matches I can see his price going considerably shorter than the 25/1 currently on offer.

Summary 

As you may have gathered from my ramblings above, I’m very pro England Cricket team when it comes to the 2023 SPOTY award. I’m willing to draw a line through both Lewis Hamilton and Tyson Fury in the market, with both being offered at horrendously short prices. I would not put anyone off any of the cricketing trio mentioned above, but if I was to take up two positions myself at this point, it would be an outright on Ben Stokes at 13/2 and an each-way tickle on Joe Root at 25/1.