The man was away on a football trip in Madrid when he found out about the win
A Cambridgeshire man has won £250,000 after correctly predicting six football scores. Ironically, while on a football trip to Madrid in Spain, Mark Harris from Bassingbourn, found out he won the jackpot.
Mark, 51, accumulated 30 points in the free-to-play game Super 6. There was one other player left to compete against Mark, and the deciding winner of the prize came down to a golden goal tiebreaker.
Mark said: “My group chat at work messaged me saying, ‘Mark, you’re second in the country on Super 6.’ I said, ‘don’t be daft’. My son got it up on his phone and said, ‘yeah, you’re number two.’ I had no idea how to even get on the website.”
Despite being a lifelong Arsenal fan, Mark had to rely on Premier League title rivals Manchester City to win in order for Mark to secure the jackpot.
Mark added: “We were trying to find a sports bar just to watch the City game, but we couldn’t find one quick enough. When I realised I’d won, I was totally gobsmacked. We found a posh restaurant nearby; we were mixing with the ‘hoity-toity’ while literally in shorts and a T-shirt. I ordered £200 worth of champagne – the first time I’ve ever done that in my life.”
After his win, Mark and his family were invited to a recording of the Stick to Football podcast, where he met football legends Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Mark Scholes. “I’m a big fan of Ian Wright and the rest of them, so being there was fantastic,” added Mark.
For Mark and his family, the win has been “life changing”. He said: “All I ever talk about is reducing the mortgage. I love touring on my motorbike, but I’m getting older and things are starting to fall off – I’ve been diagnosed with arthritis in my hip, and I need a hip replacement. This has all come at such a good time.”
Mark is the second jackpot winner of this football season. The scores he predicted right were:
- Brentford 2-2 Everton (golden goal in the fourth minute)
- Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
- Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa
- Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle United
- Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea
You must be logged in to post a comment Login