It’s early night on Sunday 1 September on the south coast of England and 35-year-old supply driver Tom Kane is at an area park together with his younger household refreshing his telephone. He may very well be forgiven for being a bit distracted by the swings and roundabouts.
Nottingham Forrest 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United 1-3 Manchester Metropolis
Newcastle United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United 0-3 Liverpool
VIDEO: How Liverpool simply destroyed Man United
“I couldn’t watch it,” explains Tom talking solely to FourFourTwo concerning the recreation that modified his life. Having watched his 4 rating predictions are available on Saturday, he’d sat down the next day together with his spouse to observe Newcastle vs Tottenham at 1.30pm understanding he was two appropriate scores away from the seven-figure prize. “Clearly she was actually up for watching the soccer on Sunday afternoon!”
When that recreation ended 2-1 to Newcastle, as Tom had predicted, and the screaming and shouting had subsided, it began to daybreak on Tom that he may very well be on the verge of a life-changing amount of money touchdown in his present account. The Manchester United vs Liverpool recreation was an hour away from kicking off however Tom advised the household go away the home.
“I used to be like ‘let’s simply exit. I’ll control the rating on my telephone, I can’t watch it. I don’t wish to watch it – it’s going to be too worrying’. That Newcastle recreation was worrying sufficient, so we went to the park and took the youngsters out. However I used to be simply my telephone continuously.
“I noticed Liverpool, went one nil up by way of Trent Alexander Arnold and it bought disallowed. So I used to be like: ‘Oh, God’ after which Liverpool bought two fast objectives earlier than halftime. Me and my spouse simply checked out one another. We could not consider it.”
Mo Salah made it 3-0 to match Tom’s prediction within the 56th minute however he went chilly, fearing his rating had matched too early with 34 minutes left, plus harm time. By this level, there have been solely two gamers who might probably win the million-pound jackpot, with one participant having predicted Manchester United 1-3 Liverpool. (Spare a thought for them!)
Firstly of the day, 75 gamers had appropriately picked 4 appropriate scores, and by full-time of Newcastle vs Tottenham, eleven gamers have been nonetheless within the operating for the prize.
Alexander Isak’s objective vs Tottenham left Tom Kane one outcome away from the a million pound prize (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Usually, the prize fund for a clear sweep of six appropriate scores is £250,000, however it had been so lengthy since anybody had appropriately predicted six completely, Tremendous 6 had rounded the stakes as much as a million kilos.
“For the final 10 minutes of the match, we walked again to the automobile and listened to the sport on the radio. The ambiance at Previous Trafford sounded lifeless. I believed the best way the commentators have been speaking, it did not sound like quite a bit was taking place. At this level, I used to be like: ‘This might really are available’. However I couldn’t assume past that full-time whistle. I could not assume: ‘I am gonna spend the cash on this. I am gonna do that’, I used to be simply solely centered on full-time.
“When the full-time whistle went, me and my spouse simply burst out laughing and crying. We couldn’t consider it. We have been shouting. We have been screaming. There have been individuals within the automobile subsequent to us us like ‘What the hell is happening’.”
The drama wasn’t over, Tom’s telephone battery had died from all of the refreshing and he had fairly an vital name to discipline. With Tremendous 6’s social media channel posting: “Are you Tom from Southampton – and have you ever simply nailed six appropriate scores?! Hold your cell phone helpful – you are about to obtain the telephone name of a lifetime”.
“I used to be like, ‘What in the event that they name and my telephone’s lifeless? We have to get residence now!’ So I drove residence – clearly sticking to the pace restrict – chucked my telephone on cost after which I used to be ready about an hour for the telephone name. They went by way of the safety questions with me. Then lastly mentioned: ‘Congratulations. You’ve simply gained one million kilos. How do you’re feeling?’
“The adrenaline rush lasted a few week. If I am sincere, me and my spouse could not sleep correctly all week. It wasn’t simply successful the cash. It was the eye it was getting on social media. It was our family and friends discovering out – how do you break the information to somebody that you do not see on daily basis? You do not simply go ‘Oh, I am simply phoning you as much as say we bought one million kilos now’ it simply sounds a bit conceited”.
34 minutes (plus added time) away from one million kilos (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Within the week that adopted, Tremendous 6 invited Tom and his spouse to the filming of Gary Neville’s Keep on with Soccer podcast , and the presenters have been recorded speaking about Tom’s win within the present’s preamble. “I spoke to all of them privately. They have been all very nice. It was simply nice to satisfy so many legends. All 5 of them (Gary Neville , Paul Scholes , Roy Keane , Ian Wright , Jamie Carragher ) are gamers that I watched as a child. Roy Keane pulled me to the facet, shook my hand, and mentioned, in his Irish accent: “Truthful play, son. Truthful play”.
Tom plans to make use of the cash to purchase a home for his household, and vehicles for him and his spouse. An off-the-cuff fan of Southampton, he’s contemplating treating himself to a recreation in a hospitality field at St Mary’s, and probably an away journey or two as a self-confessed floor hopper who has visited 45 of the 92 English Soccer League grounds.
The Tremendous 6 is famously free to play and Tom, who had solely been taking part in it through the app for a 12 months, estimates he spent 30 seconds choosing his scores on the Saturday morning. He hasn’t gambled for years, saying probably the most he’d ever gained beforehand was round £80 on an accumulator.
He plans to proceed to play Tremendous 6. “I’m nonetheless competing with my family and friends. That is what was an important factor to me within the first place – beating them. I wasn’t centered on any monetary achieve. You get 5 factors for an accurate rating so I bought 30 in gameweek three.”
How did he get on in recreation week 4, as a millionaire? “I solely I bought 9 factors that week – however I’m nonetheless high of our league.”
Truthful play son, truthful play.
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