Reigning national champion and No. 2 Texas kept its season alive Friday night, defeating Mississippi State, 4-0, in an elimination game at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Teagan Kavan tossed her fourth career WCWS shutout as the Longhorns responded after suffering a surprising opening-round loss to No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday. The victory keeps Texas in contention for a fourth trip to the national championship series in the last five seasons, though the Longhorns still face a difficult path. Only four of the previous 42 Women’s College World Series champions recovered after losing their opening game in Oklahoma City.

For Mississippi State, the loss brought an end to a breakthrough postseason run. The Bulldogs reached the WCWS for the first time in program history after knocking off Oklahoma in the Super Regionals.

No. 8 UCLA joined Texas in surviving elimination Friday night, routing No. 5 Arkansas, 11-0, in five innings. The Bruins erupted for nine runs in the second inning and hit four home runs, including Megan Grant’s record-setting 91st career homer, the most in UCLA history. The Razorbacks’ season came to an end in the program’s WCWS debut.

Saturday’s winners-bracket slate opens with No. 1 overall seed Alabama against No. 4 Nebraska after both teams started the tournament with comeback victories Thursday. The Crimson Tide erased an early deficit against UCLA, while the Cornhuskers needed 10 innings to get past Arkansas behind a complete-game effort from Jordy Frahm. In the other winners-bracket matchup, No. 7 Tennessee faces No. 11 Texas Tech.

For the complete schedule and results for every matchup at Devon Park, follow along right here at CBS Sports.

All times ET

Thursday, May 28

Game 1: No. 11 Texas Tech 8, Mississippi State 0 (F/5)
Game 2: No. 7 Tennessee 6, No. 2 Texas 3
Game 3: No. 1 Alabama 6, No. 8 UCLA 3
Game 4: No. 4 Nebraska 5, No. 5 Arkansas 3 (F/10)

Friday, May 29

Game 5: No. 2 Texas 4, Mississippi State 0
Game 6: No. 8 UCLA 11, No. 5 Arkansas 0 (F/5)

Saturday, May 30

Game 7: No. 11 Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Tennessee (3 p.m. ABC)
Game 8: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Nebraska (7 p.m. ESPN)

Sunday, May 31

Game 9: No. 2 Texas vs. Loser of Game 8 (3 p.m. ABC)
Game 10: No. 8 UCLA vs. Loser of Game 7 (7 p.m. ESPN2)

Monday, June 1

Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9
Game 12 (if necessary): Rematch of Game 11
Game 13: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10
Game 14 (if necessary): Rematch of Game 13

Championship Series

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 (8 p.m. ESPN)
Game 2: Thursday, June 4 (8 p.m. ESPN)
Game 3 (if necessary): Friday, June 5 (8 p.m. ESPN)

Diego Leon arrived at Man Utd last summer, but the defender did not make his debut in his first season at the club.

Before Diego Leon travelled to Manchester last summer, he spoke to local journalists at an airport in Paraguay, saying: “I’m going to kill it in the pre-season, and within one or two games, I’ll already be playing with them (the first team).”

You can’t succeed in any profession without backing yourself, but Leon’s bullish prediction did not come true at Manchester United this season.

Leon was unveiled alongside Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko last summer, but he played exclusively in academy fixtures, and most supporters will have forgotten he was signed.

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Leon’s first few months in Manchester were promising. He made a strong impression at Carrington and was handed a first-team squad number before the opening pre-season friendly against Leeds in Stockholm.

Ruben Amorim started Leon in that friendly, and he made substitute appearances against West Ham and Bournemouth in the United States. Then Leon was introduced to the Old Trafford crowd alongside United’s other summer recruits before the final pre-season game against Fiorentina.

The indicators pointed to Leon soon being handed his debut, but he was included in a senior squad for the first time against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, which was United’s third match of the season.

Leon was included in squads against Manchester City, Brentford and Sunderland between September and October, however, he then did not make the bench for a first-team game for the remainder of the campaign.

Despite predicting he would “kill it”, Leon has slipped into the background, and the reason is simple: he has lots to learn and improve, which is why United kept him in academy matches.

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Leon ended the campaign by starting for the Under-21s against Brighton at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League 2 play-off final.

A week later, United’s first team played Brighton at the same venue in the Premier League, and fellow left-back Tyrell Malacia was given minutes from the bench ahead of his departure from the club.

Michael Carrick gave Malacia a final appearance in recognition of his professionalism, but Leon may have got on the pitch ahead of the Dutchman if he’d made stronger progress in academy fixtures.

United agreed a £3.3million fee, rising to £7m with add-ons, with Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno to sign Leon because they saw first-team potential, but he must continue to work hard if he wants to make his debut.

The 19-year-old is still young, but he has reached the age at which higher standards are expected at United, which is why it feels like next season will ultimately make or break his time in Manchester.

Leon could excel during pre-season and earn a squad role for next season, but that feels unlikely after following him closely over the last 12 months. There have been glimmers from Leon during matches, but he is still raw and does not look ready for the first team.

There was one particular afternoon in September when Leon struggled, which was noted by staff. The defender was targeted by Liverpool’s U21s at Melwood, which led to him being hooked at the interval.

Leon’s introduction to English football following his move from South America has been challenging. He is 6,300 miles from home and has tried his best to adapt. It’s not easy for any player to make such a move.

Travis Binnion is now a permanent member of Michael Carrick’s backroom staff, but he managed the U21s before being promoted to the first team following the reshuffle after Amorim’s sacking.

Binnion spoke about Leon to the Manchester Evening News in November, saying: “It is evident for all to see he has some real qualities and some strong foundations to his game that he has to build on.

“He is aware, we are all aware, he has stuff to work on but, to be fair to the kid, he has not played a full 90 minutes yet. We will be looking to tick that off pretty soon and that will be really good for him.

“If he can get a run of 90 minutes, then it is fair to look at his game and see where he is at. At this moment in time, he has shown real glimpses of promise and has fitted in with the group really well.”

There was some noise around Leon potentially leaving on loan in the January window, but his agent, Renato Bittar, said he was “evolving” and that it would “not be ideal” to interrupt his season with a move.

Leon has been challenged by U21 fixtures this season, so leaving on loan in January was never realistic. However, he might have to take the plunge and leave on loan next season, if the right club can be found.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

There have still been some nice milestone moments for Leon to look back on. When he scored his first goal for the club against Tottenham’s U21s, a brilliant solo effort, he was mobbed by his teammates.

Leon’s teammates were delighted that he’d got off the mark, and the celebrations demonstrated his popularity. He also received his first senior call-up to represent Paraguay’s national team.

The youngster’s transfer to United made headlines in his homeland, and Paraguayans are following his journey closely. “For Paraguay, to have a player playing here at United is huge,” Leon told club media.

“I think for Paraguayans, they’re very proud to have someone from there playing in a club as big as Manchester United. It is an amazing, unique feeling to represent your country for all the people of Paraguay. I don’t know, it has no explanation – for my family it is an immense sense of pride to see me play with my national team.”

Leon was asked to describe Paraguay to those unfamiliar with the country. “The people of Paraguay will surprise you. They’re so kind, even if they don’t have much, they will always help you,” he said.

United are trying to help Leon reach his full potential. There have been bumps in the road this season, including a small injury in April, but it’s hoped he can kick on after getting a first year in a new country under his belt.

The 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge continues on Saturday with the third round at Colonial Country Club in Texas. You can find full Charles Schwab Challenge tee times for Saturday’s third round at the bottom of this post.

Featured tee time for Round 3

It’s a crowded leaderboard at the halfway point in Texas, where Jordan Smith leads the charge at 10 under par through 36 holes, but 23 other players are within four shots of him, including major winners Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama (-9), J.J. Spaun (-8), and Gary Woodland and Keegan Bradley, both of whom are six under par.

A win on Sunday would be the first of Smith’s PGA Tour career. The 33-year-old Englishman has one other top 10 on his resume this season — a solo third-place finish at the Valspar Championship in March.

Smith will play in Saturday afternoon’s final grouping alongside Michael Thorbjornsen and Ryan Gerard at 1:15 p.m. ET.

You can watch Saturday’s third round of the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, followed by the CBS broadcast from 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will provide exclusive early streaming coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. ET Saturday, in addition to featured group and featured hole coverage.

Check out the complete Round 3 tee times and groupings for the Charles Schwab Challenge below.

Hoping to wager on the Charles Schwab Challenge? Sign up for Fanatics Sportsbook with code “SUBPAR” to receive a special welcome offer.

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2026 Charles Schwab Challenge tee times for Saturday: Round 3 (ET)

Tee No. 1

8:36 a.m. – Lanto Griffin, Pierceson Coody, Jackson Suber
8:47 a.m. – Sam Stevens, Patrick Rodgers, Johnny Keefer
8:58 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Brandt Snedeker, Patrick Fishburn
9:09 a.m. – Austin Eckroat, Takumi Kanaya, Seamus Power
9:20 a.m. – Davis Riley, Steven Fisk, Adam Schenk
9:31 a.m. – Max Homa, Max McGreevy, Nico Echavarria
9:42 a.m. – Zach Bauchou, Jeffrey Kang, Nick Dunlap
9:58 a.m. – Sahith Theegala, Taylor Moore, Michael Kim
10:09 a.m. – Rico Hoey, Kevin Streelman, Mark Hubbard
10:20 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Roy, Erik van Rooyen
10:31 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Justin Thomas, J.T. Poston
10:42 a.m. – Chandler Blanchet, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thorbjørn Olesen
10:53 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Davis Thompson, Adrien Saddier
11:09 a.m. – Austin Smotherman, Tom Kim, Ben Griffin
11:20 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Keita Nakajima, Luke Clanton
11:31 a.m. – Matt Kuchar, Matt McCarty, Lee Hodges
11:42 a.m. – Eric Cole, Joel Dahmen, Tom Hoge
11:53 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Garrick Higgo, Andrew Putnam
12:04 p.m. – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Ricky Castillo, Andrew Novak
12:20 p.m. – Doug Ghim, Gary Woodland, Ludvig Aberg
12:31 p.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Mac Meissner, Ryo Hisatsune
12:42 p.m. – Brice Garnett, Michael Brennan, A.J. Ewart
12:53 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Alex Smalley, Russell Henley
1:04 p.m. – Brian Harman, Hideki Matsuyama, J.J. Spaun
1:15 p.m. – Jordan Smith, Michael Thorbjornsen, Ryan Gerard

There are no shortage of betting sites in the UK, but deciding which is the best online bookmaker can be tricky, given the turnover in operators and regular changes to betting offers.

The Independent has made it easier to find a betting site by evaluating over 50 licensed and regulated bookmakers, including established brands and new bookies.

We’ve now come up with a list of the top 20 bookmakers in the UK for 2026, with each betting site tested personally and our rankings updated regularly.

We closely monitor UK betting sites and update our rankings accordingly. Below, we’ve also provided detailed reviews of each of our picks, with our ratings re-evaluated regularly.

1. Betfred

Betfred is among the best UK betting sites for free bets, with the generous Betfred welcome offer and a range of ongoing promotions providing free bet bonuses for both new and existing customers.

New users can claim £50 in free bets when they deposit and stake £10 and place a wager at evens or above, with tokens credited shortly after the qualifying stake settles.

Beyond the welcome offer, Betfred runs regular promos including money back specials, in-play free bets, accumulator offers and free to play games featuring a range of prizes.

Other plus points for Betfred include the app, which is one of the highest-rated betting apps in the UK, and a fast-responding customer service that answered our queries quickly.

It was disappointing to see Betfred reduce the payment options available, dropping services like PayPal and Skrill, although they do offer fast withdrawals on the banking platforms that remain.

Pros

✓ £50 free bets for new customers is a valuable welcome offer

✓ Raft of ongoing free bet offers for existing users

✓ Strong acca and racing-specific rewards

✓ Speedy customer service

Cons

✗ Limited choice of payment options

✗ The website could be more intuitive and easier to navigate

✗ Free bets expire within seven days

2. SpreadEx

Spread betting is a gambling niche that rewards bettors for how accurate their wagers are, rather than a simple win-or-loss scenario. SpreadEx are the UK’s top spread betting site, packaging that with a financial spread betting service and a fixed-odds sportsbook.

Spread betting carries a greater risk and reward element compared to a standard bet, with punters able to secure large profits from small stakes, or greater losses, depending on the outcome.

SpreadEx educates those interested in spread betting on a platform that performs brilliantly on both desktop and mobile. And for those not interested in spread betting, the fixed-odds sportsbook is excellent.

The SpreadEx sign-up offer is unmatched among UK betting sites, offering up to £100 in free bets as part of a special welcome bonus for the World Cup. Most of the free bets are for fixed-odds bets, but some are for spread betting, giving curious bettors a chance to try that type of wagering with minimal risk.

There’s a good selection of offers on SpreadEx, including odds boosts, enhanced payouts on accumulators, early payouts, referral schemes and money back offers for racing.

The SpreadEx site can be a little overwhelming for novice bettors at first, but we found it straightforward to navigate after some practice.

SpreadEx does an excellent job of providing punters with a spread betting platform, but it’s more than that and ranks as one of the best all-round betting sites on the market.

Pros

✓ Large welcome bonus

✓ Sport and financial spread betting options with tutorials

✓ Good selection of sports betting offers

✓ Excellent app

Cons

✗ Spread betting comes with greater risks

✗ SpreadEx platform could be more novice-friendly

✗ No free-to-play games

3. Bet365

Bet365 has long been towards the top of the list of best UK betting sites and doesn’t look like going anywhere anytime soon, as they continue to provide an excellent service to bettors.

They have some of the sharpest odds on nearly every major league, as well as some of the best in-play tools available, with the biggest selection of live streams of any online bookmaker, taking their live betting service to the next level.

Football-specific promotions such as early payout, price boosts and accumulator offers keep regular players catered for, although it would be nice to see a greater range of offers for other sports.

A new bet365 welcome offer wouldn’t go amiss either, but overall, it’s hard to find fault with such a quality operator as bet365, which offers some of the fastest payouts among UK bookmakers and have one of the best-rated apps.

Pros

✓ Strong odds across nearly every sport

✓ Excellent in-play tools and live streaming options

✓ Reliable and user-friendly app

✓ Fast withdrawals available on several payment options

Cons

✗ Fewer free bet promos than rivals

✗ Bigger sign-up offers available elsewhere

4. Betway

The World Cup is fast approaching and Betway have hit the front early as one of the best World Cup bookmakers by releasing two eye-catching offers, both of which are available on a mobile-friendly platform.

The Betway sign up offer has been boosted for the World Cup, offering new customers £60 in free bets when they register. It’s the biggest welcome bonus among UK betting sites and can be unlocked from as little as £10.

The other World Cup offer from Betway is a free bet bank builder that involves the firm’s free bets club. Traditionally, Betway’s free bets club with two £5 free bet tokens when they wager £25 or more on trebles.

With their Road to ‘26 promotion, punters will get an extra £10 in free bets when they join the free bets club and complete the wagering requirements. The extra free bets are held by Betway and released to bettors during the World Cup, giving users the chance to build a sizeable free bet warchest.

To go alongside their World Cup offers, Betway regularly boost the odds on a range of sports, while they have two free-to-play games for racing and football fans: 4 to Win and Fixture Frenzy.

We discovered most of what Betway has to offer via mobile device with the site designed to be viewed on a smaller screen, while the Betway app is one of the highest rated among online bookmakers.

Pros

✓ Great selection of World Cup offers

✓ Two free-to-play games with great prizes

✓ Highly-rated betting app

✓ Deep selection of player prop markets on various sports

Cons

✗ Lack of live streaming

✗ Offers could be easier to find

✗ Customer service options could be improved

5. Paddy Power

Paddy Power is arguably the UK’s most famous bookmaker these days, thanks to a series of clever advertising promotions and a continuous stream of social media content that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

However, there’s plenty of substance under all the style with Paddy Power now the home of the best value sign up offer. The operator recently improved their welcome bonus, making it a bet £5, get £40 in free bets promotion.

Unlike so many other welcome offers from betting sites, there are no restrictions on how the free bets can be used, while Paddy Power give users 30 days to wager their bonus.

That’s the first of many offers punters can benefit from with a Paddy Power account and the bookie has to be one of the best football betting sites when it comes to promotions, with regular free bets and price boosts.

The same goes for horse racing, while all bettors can benefit from being a member of Paddy’s Rewards Club, which dishes out free bets each week.

There’s also a great selection of free-to-play games on Paddy Power, offering cash prizes, free spins and bet boost tokens, while the mobile app scores well on all devices.

The main drawback to Paddy Power are the lack of competitive odds on certain events. Bettors have reported consistently finding better prices elsewhere, although there’s the potential to make up for that lost value via all the offers.

Pros

✓ The best value welcome offer in the UK

✓ Regular promotions for football and horse racing

✓ Great selection of free-to-play games

Cons

✗ Odds could be more competitive

✗ Faster withdrawals to e-wallets are required

6. BOYLE Sports

Independent rating: 4.7/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £40 in free bets.

Areas for improvement: A more reliable betting app and faster withdrawals

Verdict: BOYLE Sports are the top betting site for accumulators, able to choose between enhanced winnings or insurance, while regular acca bettors can secure a free bet acca for every five they place. Boyles need to improve their mobile app, but that’s a minor drawback for an operator that offers a welcome bonus with very few restrictions and is punter-friendly, while Boyles offer early payouts on a larger range of sports than most bookmakers.

7. William Hill

Independent rating: 4.7/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: The desktop site is dated.

Verdict: William Hill stands out for football and horse racing bettors, offering some of the top odds on both sports. There’s a great range of in-play and live betting tools available at one of the UK’s best-established bookies.

8. Kwiff

Independent rating: 4.5/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £40 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More markets and streaming options.

Verdict: Kwiff is more of a novelty betting site, but it sets itself apart from competitors with unique features and a wide range of promos and boosts. The chance to get your bet ‘Kwiffed’ at any moment, meaning the odds are enhanced significantly, makes this a fun site to use.

9. Coral

Independent rating: 4.5/5

Welcome offer: Bet £5, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More competitive odds on certain sports.

Verdict: Coral is one of the best-known betting sites in the UK, and its online offering delivers a great sports betting experience. We like the value bettors get from using Coral when it comes to free-to-play games and unique features, such as the Coral Racing Club.

10. Ladbrokes

Independent rating: 4.5/5

Welcome offer: Bet £5, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: Mobile app could be faster and more reliable on iOS

Verdict: Ladbrokes is tough to separate from its sister site Coral and excels in several categories, such as daily promos and odds boosts, range of sports covered, depth of markets and general ease of use. It’s arguably better for football bettors than Coral and is one of the top World Cup betting sites for this summer.

11. Tote

Independent rating: 4.5/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More betting tools

Verdict: Tote is one of the most well-known horse racing betting sites, thanks to a unique pool betting system, but they have branched out from that in recent times, offering more traditional racing offers, while introducing sports betting. It’s now a one-stop shop for all bettors, backed up by an excellent customer service record.

12. Virgin Bet

Independent rating: 4.5/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More betting features, such as partial cash out, and faster withdrawals.

Verdict: Virgin Bet has an excellent selection of markets for all the big sports, with its football free bet offerings and racing promotions making it a great choice for punters who want to bet on the country’s most popular betting events.

13. NetBet

Independent rating: 4.4/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £20 in free bets

Areas for improvement: The welcome bonus could be more generous, and there could be more racing offers.

Verdict: NetBet offers a solid app and desktop experience and we particularly like the range of football offers they have available, with regular bet and get promotions. They also have a link with UFC, making this one of the premier MMA betting sites.

14. talkSPORT BET

Independent rating: 4.2/5

Welcome offer: Up to £40 in football free bets

Areas for improvement: Could expand markets and offers for less popular sports.

Verdict: TalkSPORT BET is a great option for football bettors due to their free bets club, regular odds boosts and free-to-play games that are largely tied to the sport, though horse racing also receives a good amount of attention. Another big selling point of talkSPORT BET is the much-loved betting app, which scores highly among users on both iOS and Android.

15. BetMGM

Independent rating: 4.7/5

Welcome offer: Bet £5 at evens on any sport, get £40 in free bets.

Areas for improvement: More payment options and faster withdrawals

Verdict: BetMGM have quickly settled in as one of the UK’s top betting sites with a good selection of offers for existing customers. The BetMGM app is one of the best in its class, the sign up bonus is above average and they are planning a strong collection of World Cup free bet offers.

16. BetUK

Independent rating: 4/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £40 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More offers for existing customers

Verdict: BetUK offers pretty much everything you’d expect from a top betting site, including accumulator boosts and a free bets club. They are constantly looking to improve what they provide to punters, recently upgrading the welcome offer.

17. Betfair

Independent rating: 4/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £50 in free bets

Areas for improvement: Could make the welcome offer more flexible and add more promotions for existing customers.

Verdict: Betfair has carved a reputation as one of the best betting sites in the UK, and its wide range of sports markets and competitive odds will keep users coming back again and again, while the exchange is another interesting feature, often offering market-beating odds on big events.

18. Midnite

Independent rating: 3.9/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets

Areas for improvement: More established betting features, such as early payouts

Verdict: Midnite markets itself as a modern betting site and started out as a specialist Esports betting site, but has since evolved to cater to a wider range of bettors and now has some good features, such as weekly feature bet offers.

19. Betano

Independent rating: 3.9/5

Welcome offer: Bet £10, get £50 on free bets

Areas for improvement: Sharper odds on non-football events and improvements to the Android app

Verdict: Betano will appeal to football bettors, who can claim £50 in free bets when joining and are treated to regular price boosts, early payouts and free-to-play football prediction games. Betano could do more in other areas, but there’s a free bets club, an excellent app if you are on iOS and the Lucky Dip features, which offers enhanced odds on most sports.

20. QuinnBet

Independent rating: 3.9/5

Welcome offer: 50% cashback up to £25

Areas for improvement: The welcome offer value could be more competitive.

Verdict: QuinnBet stands out for its daily offers, accumulator bonuses and the fact that it is one of the only UK betting sites that accepts Revolut as a payment option. Simple additions such as more live streaming, extra promotions and a better welcome offer could elevate it to the next level.

Our betting experts have come up with some advice on how to select a betting site, laying out the main factors to consider when evaluating whether a site might be right for you.

What do you want to bet on?

Consider which sports you want to bet on before joining a bookmaker, and assess their coverage of your preferred sports.

Most bookmakers will cover football and horse racing – the two most bet on sports in the UK – but there’s a difference in how each bookie will cover those sports, and other popular events like tennis, golf and boxing.

Overall, the odds, number of markets, in-play options, offers and niche betting services like specials markets differ from one betting site to another, so it can pay to look around before signing up to a site.

Look beyond the welcome offer

While the welcome offer is valuable and a big consideration, it’s worth seeing what other promotions a betting site might run.

Check on what offers a betting site has run recently via its social feeds and consider the regularity of any offers. Also, remember to check what the offers are for. For example, do they only run one-off promos for huge betting events like Cheltenham, or do they run regular promotions for Saturday racing or Premier League football?

Check banking options and withdrawal speeds

Check to see if the betting site carries your preferred banking method, as they all have different options.

In addition, it is advisable to find out the withdrawal speed for transactions and whether some methods are faster than others. Speaking to a customer advisor can be useful if the help section doesn’t carry withdrawal speeds.

Download and test the app

Bettors who like to bet on a mobile device should check what mobile service any potential bookmaker provides. Not all bookies have apps, while some only provide apps for Apple devices.

If they do have an app, download it and check the functionality, looking at loading speeds, ease of navigation and the in-play service. While bettors can get a good overview of a betting app from the reviews on the app store, nothing beats an in-person evaluation.

Check Trustpilot reviews

It can be helpful to check reviews of betting sites on Trustpilot, though context is key when looking at Trustpilot scores. For example, reviews from punters complaining about poor slot payouts or account restrictions aren’t helpful when looking for the best betting site for accumulators.

Look at the volume of reviews, filter them by most recent and read a sample size to see what bettors are unhappy with. If in doubt over a bookmaker, remember that first hand experience is invaluable to get a more complete picture.

As part of our evaluation of the best betting sites in the UK, we also monitor new betting sites that are becoming popular and starting to challenge the established names.

We have tested all the recently launched online bookmakers, and we re-evaluate our ratings each and every month based on the criteria detailed above.

Below are our new betting sites UK rankings:

1. 247 Bet

247Bet went live in 2025 and has been working around the clock to stand out from the crowd, with up to £50 in free bets available as part of a new sign-up offer.

They have recently expanded their sportsbook and now offer odds on over 30 sports, with a wealth of pre-match and in-play markets available for most events.

For football bettors, there are some good offers, including early payouts, accumulator boosts and cash back on selected bets if a game finishes 0-0. Tennis punters can also get 10 per cent cashback on in-play losses each week.

The bet builder tool on 247Bet is available on six different sports and there’s a good selection of betting options to use, while odds are competitive too.

The next steps we’d like to see from 247Bet are improvements made to its app, which hasn’t been well reviewed so far, and the addition of a few more live streams to enhance its in-play betting service.

Pros

✓ Over 30 sports to bet on

✓ Good selection of football promos

✓ Bet builder tool enabled on 6 sports

Cons

✗ 5x Wagering requirements on sign up offer

✗ App is poorly rated by real world users

2. HighBet

HighBet launched in 2021 but underwent a major facelift in 2025, returning with a new look and new offers, including a weekly sports rewards club offering £15 in free bets and £100 cashback.

The free bets are unlocked by wagering set amounts on certain bet types, such as bet builders and accumulators, while the cashback kicks in after wagering a minimum of £20 on the sportsbook, with bettors receiving 10 per cent back on total losses.

Racing bettors will be pleased to see a first past the post guarantee, while HighBet have gone non-runner money back on all UK and Irish races, a safeguard most bookies only offer during the major meetings.

There are also early payouts, acca boosts and enhanced odds available across HighBet, who have built a user-friendly site with clear instructions on all its offers.

The welcome offer is a bet £10, get £30 promotion, which is about standard for a sign up bonus, but is let down slightly by restrictions on which sports and bet types the free bets can be used on.

HighBet Pros

✓ Weekly free bets

✓ Strong focus on UK racing

✓ Non-runner no bet on every UK & Irish race

HighBet Cons

✗ No Best Odds Guarantee

✗ Restrictions on free bets with sign up offer

3. Pub Sports

Pub Casino are widely regarded as one of the top new online casinos in the UK and they have now ventured into sports betting with an equally good product.

Given the nature of their pub theme, they’ve gone particularly big on live betting, with their in-play offering being up there with the top new UK bookmakers.

On testing, we noted how good their tennis in-play experience was, with a stats feature to rival any major bookmaker including point-by-point updates, head-to-head stats and a timeline of events.

Beyond in-play betting, you’ll find acca boosts on all football multis of four or more selections up to 50%, while horse racing fans will get a comprehensive list of obscure races from both north and south America.

Pros

✓ Excellent in-play betting experience

✓ Price boosts on football multis

✓ Global horse racing odds

Cons

✗ Lack of ongoing sports promos compared to casino

✗ No matched deposit on sign up

4. BetCrown

BetCrown is a brand new UK betting site and they’ve launched with a conservative yet simple bet £10 get £10 offer for new customers.

It may not be the most valuable sign up offer among the new bookmakers we recommend, but they make up for it in other areas, such as premium customer support, fast payouts and secure payments.

Indeed, one of the most appealing aspects of BetCrown’s product is their array of banking options.

You’ll get the traditional debit card and bank transfer methods, but there’s also a slew of modern banking alternatives such as Skrill, PayPal, Neteller, Neosurf, plus Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The sportsbook itself is packed with competitive odds prices across all the sports you would expect and more, while their betting promotions section is better than some of their more established counterparts.

It’s clear they want to compete with the best football betting sites as their promos include two goals up early payouts, bore draw refunds when your game finishes 0-0, acca boosts up to 75%, plus standard features like cash out and bet builders.

Pros

✓ Beginner level welcome offer

✓ Excellent customer support

✓ Loads of banking options with fast payouts

Cons

✗ Below par sign up offer value

✗ Promos are football heavy

5. 7Bet

Launched in the summer of 2024, 7Bet already provides a strong betting service. They mainly cater to football punters with their promotions, such as money back on losing bets if a match finishes goalless, although their early payout offer does cover tennis, basketball, baseball, American football and ice hockey.

What stands out on the offer page are the regular deposit bonuses. 7Bet ran a deposit bonus offer during the Grand National, while each week of the football season, they give punters a free bet when they deposit and wager a minimum of £50 on football.

We noticed plenty of little touches you won’t find with some new sportsbooks, such as a dedicated horse racing section with several streaming options and a good in-play service. What also caught the eye are the payment options.

7Bet pledges to process withdrawals, regardless of payment option, the same day the request is made. Any withdrawal from 7Bet will take no longer than three days, although in our experience, they were able to transfer my funds in a matter of hours.

Pros

✓ Fast payment service

✓ Regular deposit bonuses

✓ Great selection of football betting offers

✓ Live streams for selected race meetings

Cons

✗ Poor mobile betting service

✗ The website could be easier to navigate

✗ Sign up offer could be more generous

How we rank and review betting sites

My rankings are based on a bookmaker meeting a wide range of criteria, with first-hand testing and strict editorial standards in place to reach our conclusions.

Below are some of the key considerations when reviewing bookmakers and compiling our rankings for the best online betting sites:

License and regulation

All our recommended online bookmakers are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. The UKGC maintains high standards of fairness and accountability, ensuring bookies meet legal requirements for fair play, data security, customer protection, and responsible gambling protocols.

They have the ability to hand out huge fines and suspend licences, such as fining NetBet £650,000 for breaching money laundering and social responsibility guidelines.

Bettors are advised to only ever use UK-licensed betting sites, as offshore or unlicensed bookies don’t carry the same level of protection or guarantees.

Usability

Time during the review process of an online bookmaker is split 50/50 between the desktop and mobile sites or app. App reviews on both iOS and Android are taken into consideration.

We look at the performance of each online bookmaker for a range of factors, including ease of navigation, loading times, user-friendly design, responsiveness, page load speed, app usability and more.

Competitive odds

Using our own odds comparison tool allows us to check which bookmakers boast the most competitive prices, noting which bookies consistently appear at the top of our rankings.

We check the competitiveness of odds across the top sports and major events in the UK and abroad. If bettors aren’t consistently getting good value from a bookmaker, they won’t be recommended.

Betting features

Betting sites provide a huge array of bet types and tools to punters, with cash out and bet builders expected as standard. But the best online bookmakers build on those standards, providing partial or automatic cash out options, while giving bettors the chance to put together a bet builder on multiple sports, not just football.

We also check to see whether bookmakers provide comprehensive stat packs and live tracking options, helping bettors make smarter, more informed decisions.

Offers and promotions

Each welcome offer is evaluated on its genuine value, taking into account minimum deposit requirements, winnings caps and ease of use. That said, a competitive sign-up bonus is only the first step. The bookmakers featured here also provide ongoing promotions, with the best bookies offering daily incentives

These offers come in various forms, such as free bets, money back schemes, odds boosts, extra place races, profit boosts, and more.

Customer support

The best betting sites provide a range of customer support options, with live chat or a telephone service preferred for instant resolution of any issues.

Response times should be high and all queries should be dealt with efficiently. If a site does not deal with enquiries and problems in an acceptable timeframe, then we will not recommend it.

Safer gambling

Promotion and implementation of responsible gambling regulations is of paramount importance, and the way in which a bookmaker approaches player welfare is a key factor in our rankings.

Bettors should know how to access any safer gambling tools they wish to use, while bookmakers should be on hand to recognise and support any bettor potentially dealing with a gambling addiction.

Exchange betting sites have been around since the start of the century, but they remain a niche area of gambling due to the perceived complexity of betting on an exchange.

For those unaware, when betting on an exchange, punters are betting against one another, rather than betting with a bookmaker. Bettors have the option to back a bet, as they would with a traditional bookmaker, or lay a bet, which means they are wagering on that selection to lose.

Other bettors set the prices, so the odds are usually higher than most fixed-odds betting sites, and punters can trade between back and lay bets to lock in a profit. Operators make their money by taking a percentage of any winnings.

There are only a handful of exchange betting sites in the UK. Here are our top three:

1. Matchbook

Matchbook were one of the original exchange betting sites, but it’s only recently that they’ve started to challenge the dominance of Betfair.

The big advantage Betfair had over Matchbook was liquidity, which is how much money there was in a market and, therefore,e, how easy it was to place a bet. Matchbook have closed the gap in this regard, while their odds have been recognised as some of the best in the UK.

Matchbook also charge just 2 per cent commission to UK and Irish customers, while they run a sign up offer featuring 110 days of zero per cent commission.

There are other perks to using Matchbook, such as rebates on losing bet builder and accumulator bets, and money back on golf offers.

Matchbook also has an excellent mobile app, and in our opinion, has now moved ahead of Betfair.

Pros

✓ 2 per cent commission

✓ Money back offers

✓ Excellent mobile service

Cons

✗ Less liquidity in some markets

✗ Fewer markets

2. Betfair

It’s not like Betfair has become a bad choice for exchange punters, particularly as there’s still more liquidity in their markets and they boast better odds on major sports, like football.

Those are two big plus points, as is the fact that Betfair’s trading system is slick and easy to use once you understand how to work an exchange. Betfair also have more markets than Matchbook, giving bettors a greater choice.

Betfair charges a 5 per cent fee on all net winnings, while the exchange welcome offer is a bet £10, get £10 deal. Punters are advised to go with the Betfair sportsbook welcome offer of bet £10, get £50 as they only need one login with Betfair to access the sportsbook, exchange and online casino.

The other big issue with Betfair is the lack of offers for existing customers. Betfair exchange users won’t find too many free bets waiting for them.

Pros

✓ Large liquidity in most markets

✓ Great choice of betting markets

✓ Tried and tested platform

Cons

✗ Small welcome offer

✗ Lack of ongoing promotions

3. Easybet

EasyBet is a betting exchange that delivers a strong experience across several areas, but particularly excels with bet builders.

Their bet builder tool is simple to use and covers eight sports, including football, MMA, cricket, rugby and major US leagues. Users can combine up to 12 markets from a single event, which will be enough for most casual and more regular bettors.

The platform also runs consistent bet builder incentives – including two £5 free bet builder bets each week on Premier League fixtures when staking £20 or more – and EasyBet’s offers are clear and accessible.

The biggest knock against EasyBet is the lack of a betting app, but the desktop site adapts well to the small screen, and bettors will find they consistently get better value for money on an exchange than with a fixed-odds bookmaker.

Pros

✓ Bet builder available across a wide range of sports

✓ Regular free bet builder promotions each week

✓ Strong selection of ongoing offers

Cons

✗ Fewer sports covered than rivals

✗ No betting app

Sky Bet are closing out the month with arguably the best Champions League final betting offer you’re likely to find this weekend.

The Flutter brand are offering an enormous 60/1 just for Arsenal to be awarded a corner in the final against PSG on Saturday.

There’s a maximum bet limit of £1 but new customers only need to deposit £5 and place a bet on the ‘Arsenal over 0.5 corners’ market to qualify.

Should Arsenal get a corner within the 90 minutes, qualified bettors will be rewarded with 6 x £10 free bets for Sky Bet’s bet builder tool.

Better yet, the free bets are valid for 30 days so there’ll be plenty of time to place some World Cup bet builders.

In this section, we’ve taken a look at the most common payment methods used on UK betting sites. Some methods are more widely accepted than others, but the following are the most commonly found:

Debit card

Withdrawal timeframe: 4 hours – 3 days

The most widely accepted payment method on online betting sites and often required to qualify for sign up bonuses. Traditionally, debit card withdrawals have taken days to process, but the introduction of Fast Funds means some UK betting sites can process debit card withdrawals in as little as four hours.

Bank transfer

Withdrawal timeframe: Instant – 5 days

As is the case with debit cards, many betting sites will accept deposits and withdrawals made by bank transfer. This was previously one of the slowest payment methods; however, Pay By Bank has transformed this option, with funds arriving in a matter of minutes at sites that cater to the newer method.

E-wallets (PayPal, Skrill, Neteller)

Withdrawal timeframe: Instant – 24 hours

There is a large selection of e-wallets now available, all offering instant deposits, but Skrill, Neteller and PayPal are the three biggest providers, with the latter most likely to be found on betting sites. Withdrawals using this option tend to be processed in a matter of hours, although a growing number of UK betting sites have stopped using e-wallets due to the fees involved for them, with Betfred recently dropping PayPal and Skrill.

Apple/Google Pay

Withdrawal timeframe: Instant – 24 hours

Many gambling sites have embraced Apple Pay, and, to a lesser extent, Google Pay. These methods make deposits extremely simple as they don’t require punters to enter any bank details, and withdrawals can be made with just a few taps on your mobile. In particular, Apple Pay betting sites are becoming more common as bookmakers start accepting the payment method, even for welcome offers.

Paysafecard

Withdrawal timeframe: 1 hour – 3 days

This method works in a similar way to e-wallets, though as is the case with Skrill and Neteller, it is less widely accepted and rarely qualifies for welcome offers. The pre-paid card makes it easy to keep a limit on spending, but very few bookmakers offer withdrawals using Paysafe.

Trustly

Withdrawal timeframe: 10 minutes – 24 hours

Instant transfers are available with Trustly, with no bank details needed and limits between £10 and £10,000. It’s one of the most secure methods to complete a transfer and is becoming increasingly popular with online bookmakers.

Pay by mobile

Withdrawal timeframe: N/A

Users can normally deposit via pay by mobile, with deposits sometimes processed nearly instantly, but pay by mobile is not a valid method for withdrawals on UK betting sites.

Research released by the UK Gambling Commission in 2025 highlighted that some gambling activities are more strongly associated with future harm than others. Sports betting was among the highest-scoring categories on the Commission’s Problem Gambling Severity Index.

Gambling should be viewed strictly as discretionary leisure spending. Set clear limits, only use money you can afford to lose, and resist the urge to chase losses in an attempt to recover previous bets. UK-regulated operators are required to offer a range of safer gambling measures. These can include deposit and loss limits, cooling-off periods, reality checks, affordability checks, and self-exclusion schemes designed to help customers manage their activity.

If your gambling starts to feel out of control at any stage, free and confidential help is available, and you should consider contacting one of the support organisations listed below.

What is a betting site?

Betting sites are websites on which users can place wagers on sporting events. Also known as sports betting sites, online bookmakers or sportsbooks, these sites allow users to gamble on a range of sporting events from weekly Premier League games to the Super Bowl or Wimbledon. In the UK, users must be aged 18+ and based in the UK to use such sites.

Which are the UK’s best online bookmakers?

The question of the ‘best’ betting site ultimately comes down to individual preferences. We’ve recommended several betting sites in our list of the best online bookmakers, but bettors are encouraged to test out each oddsmaker before going through the registration process. It’s also not unusual for punters to have accounts with more than one betting site in order to keep their options open when it comes to the best odds and promotions.

Which betting sites are not on GamStop?

All of our recommended betting sites are part of the GamStop initiative, as all sites that are licensed and regulated by the UKGC must be part of GamStop. Do not use any site that is not part of the initiative, as it is likely unlicensed, unregulated or offshore, meaning bettors are taking a huge risk.

Which of the best betting sites UK accept credit cards?

Research by the Gambling Commission suggested many problem gamblers used credit cards, so this payment method has been blocked on UK betting sites since 2020. Any betting site that claims to accept credit card deposits from UK bettors will not be licensed, so should be avoided.

Which betting sites accept Revolut?

Only a handful of online bookmakers in the UK currently accept Revolut as a payment method, but the recent decision to grant the fintech firm a full banking licence may see more online bookmakers add Revolut to their list of banking options. Our top-rated site, BOYLE Sports, is the best option for Revolut betting.

Do UK betting sites offer free bets?

Many of the best betting sites will offer free bets to customers in various forms. These are regularly offered to new users as part of welcome offers, though existing users can also land free bets as part of promotions, rewards clubs and similar offers.

How do I check if a new betting site is legit?

Look for a UKGC licence, check for SSL encryption, read terms carefully and read our bookmaker reviews for expert evaluations on new betting sites.

What is the best Champions League betting site?

We have ranked Bet365 as the top UCL betting site in our Champions League betting guide, thanks to their early payouts, sub to play on promo, bet boosts and many other football promos.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

It is said that opposites attract and Paris Saint-Germain’s irresistible attack propelled them into Saturday’s intriguing Champions League final clash against a tight-fisted Arsenal side in Budapest.

The final will be broadcast live on FRANCE 24 at 6pm CET. 

PSG coach Luis Enrique said that there were “no favourites” going into the final against Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions, and insisted that the devil will be “in the details”.

Watch moreArsenal win Premier League title for first time since 2004

While the bookmakers do classify the Ligue 1 winners as favourites, they also suggest that this is the hardest final to call since 2018, when Real Madrid beat Liverpool.

Only one of the two sides has scored in each of the last seven finals, which may well be the case again at the Puskas Arena, given Arsenal’s likely approach.

Read moreWillian Pacho: The kid from Quininde who rose to PSG defender heights

The Gunners, unbeaten in the tournament, have kept nine clean sheets and conceded just six goals. Most expect that they will sit deep and try to punish PSG from set-pieces.

“It’s going to be decided on the details,” said PSG captain Marquinhos, in agreement with his coach.

“How to defend, how to attack… how to defend a set piece, also how to attack a set piece.

“All the little details in a football match and in a final are going to be important.”

Arsenal’s players have played a lot more football this season than those from PSG, but winger Bukayo Saka dismissed the idea that his side might pay for their more arduous workload.

“A game like this is not going to be decided on minutes, it’s going to be decided on moments,” said the England international.

Making history

Finally winning the Champions League for Arsenal would mean a lot, not only for the current team, but also players from previous generations who never managed to do it.

Patrick Vieira, a club icon and captain of their ‘invincibles’ side, sent current skipper Martin Odegaard a good luck video.

“It was special, he is a proper club legend for everything he’s done,” said Odegaard.

“Now we have the chance to do something that they haven’t done as well. It’s something nice to play for.”

In 2006, their only prior final appearance, Arsenal were beaten in the final in Paris by Barcelona, and they have lost their past four European finals.

Saka said that Gunners great Thierry Henry, part of the 2006 side, had also messaged him on Friday and was waiting for him in the stadium to watch Arsenal’s last training session before the final.

Henry is perhaps the highest profile of the tens of thousands of Arsenal fans travelling to Budapest, many soaking up the summer heat with drinks in hand in the city’s famous ruin bars.

Luis Enrique could become one of just five managers to win the competition on three or more occasions, having first won it with Barcelona.

For his opposite number Arteta, who looked up to the Asturian as a player at Barcelona, he is already one of the best.

“He’s always been a reference (point) since he was a player,” said the Arsenal manager.

Read moreNo love for Arsenal? English fans divided ahead of Champions League final

“He’s been an inspiration and tomorrow we’ll be clashing on that touchline.”

Beyond adding to Arsenal’s own trophy cabinet, the Gunners can also make history for English football after Aston Villa won the Europa League and Crystal Palace triumphed in the Conference League.

If Arteta’s team win, it would be the first time since the 1989-90 season – when Italy’s AC Milan won the European Cup, Juventus lifted the UEFA Cup and Sampdoria clinched Cup Winners’ Cup glory – that a nation has completed a European hat-trick.

PSG succeeding in Europe alone is significant for France. They would become the only French side with multiple European Cups.

Only Zinedine Zidane‘s Real Madrid have won the trophy back-to-back in the modern era, lifting it three consecutive times between 2016-18.

Of course for the players, it is just about this match.

“It’s a match everyone wants to play in, it’s a match everyone watches, and it’s a match you have to win,” said PSG midfielder Joao Neves.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Penei Sewell has been an All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl four times during his first five seasons, putting him in elite company with just three Hall of Famers.

The Detroit Lions are switching Sewell’s position this season, setting him apart from Anthony Munoz, Tony Boselli and Joe Thomas.

The trio of former all-time greats are the only other offensive tackles to be first-team All-Pro at least three times and named to the Pro Bowl four times or more in their first five years in the league — and they were left tackles throughout their NFL careers.

Detroit is making the move to replace Taylor Decker while putting first-round pick Blake Miller or newly acquired veteran Larry Borom at Sewell’s previous spot at right tackle.

Lions coach Dan Campbell expects a seamless transition for the 6-foot-5, 335-pound Sewell.

“It’ll be like riding a bike for him,” Campbell said Friday before the team’s workout. “Will there be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be. But I mean, he has played left. That’s muscle memory. He played a lot of left in college and for us in ’21.”

Detroit drafted Sewell out of Oregon, where he was an award-winning left tackle, with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Sewell started the first eight games of his career in 2021 at left tackle because Decker was injured, making him the youngest left tackle to start an NFL game at 20 years old.

The Lions shifted Sewell to right tackle midway through his rookie year, and he stayed there for the last four-plus seasons, other than a short stint during the 2023 season when Decker was hurt again.

“Sewell can do it all,” Campbell said.

Decker asked for his release during the offseason, ending a 10-year run as the team’s starting left tackle after announcing he was coming back instead of retiring. The Lions addressed the void by taking Miller out of Clemson with the No. 17 pick last month.

Sewell, who is in the first season of a four-year, $112 million contract, has proven to be quite a pick for Detroit.

He earned first-team, All-Pro honors the last three years and Pro Bowl recognition four straight times. Sewell has started 83 times in the regular season, plus four playoff games, in five years to help the long-suffering franchise become a respected team in the league.

Campbell said Sewell is athletic enough to play guard or even tight end, but switching sides for an offensive lineman can be challenging.

Players who have made the move say it’s like driving a car with the opposite foot or shaving with their other hand. The footwork is different, as is the hand-and-eye coordination required on each side.

“When you switch, you have a different leg up front,” Sewell has said. “So you have to push off a different leg every time. You have to train this leg that’s been back the whole time and catching to now pushing.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

The NHL and greater sports world continues to mourn the loss of two-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux, who died on Thursday. He was 60.

Lemieux’s death came as a surprise, as he carried the torch at the Montreal Canadiens’ home arena Monday before the team’s Game 3 matchup against the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final. In his red and blue Canadiens sweater, No. 32, Lemieux smiled and carried a flame toward a darkened rink.

Tributes quickly poured in as news of Lemieux’s death spread, with his daughter among those who remembered one of hockey’s most respected — and polarizing — figures.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Claude Lemieux made an appearance at Montreal’s Bell Centre for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final just days before his death. (Photo by Matt Garies/NHLI via Getty Images)

After reposting a New Jersey Devils tribute to her father on Instagram Stories, Claudia Lemieux shared a heartfelt message of her own. “No words to express the level of devastation we feel. I love you forever daddy. Forever your only girl.”

Claude Lemieux’s son, Brendan, also honored his father by sharing a photo featuring three generations of the family on social media.

Claude Lemieux, wearing No. 22, scores for the Canada Legends against the USA Legends during the Legends Classic Hockey Game at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on Nov. 7, 2010. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

“I love you dad! My son’s favorite person is going to watch from above for a while. We will see you,” he wrote along with a red heart emoji. Brendan inherited his father’s passion for hockey and went on to spend a decade in the NHL, most recently playing for Carolina during the 2023-24 season.

KEN DRYDEN, HALL OF FAME GOALIE AND ‘MIRACLE ON ICE’ BROADCASTER, DEAD AT 78

Lemieux authored one of the most famous goals in Canadiens history as a rookie in 1986, slipping a backhander over Hartford goaltender Mike Liut’s glove and into the top corner in Game 7 of the second round.

Claude Lemieux is honored at the Colorado Avalanche’s 30th anniversary celebration of the 1995-1996 season before the game against the Florida Panthers at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

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Lemieux grew up in Mont-Laurier in western Quebec.

Former Canadiens center Doug Gilmour said Lemieux possessed the rare ability to frustrate opponents while earning the respect of teammates, a trait that stood out during the 1989 Stanley Cup Final.

“He was a pain in the a– to play against, but you wanted him on your team.”

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Moise Kouame of France reacts as he plays against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay during their second round men’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

Home hope Moise Kouame became the youngest man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since Rafael Nadal 23 years ago, after an epic French Open victory on Thursday, saying it was a “dream” to one day win the tournament.

The 17-year-old wildcard survived a comeback from Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to claim a remarkable 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10/8) win after four hours and 56 minutes on a raucous, and boiling hot, Court Suzanne Lenglen.

READ: French Open: Who remains in contention after Jannik Sinner’s exit?

Kouame is the youngest man to reach the last 32 of a major since Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003.

Nadal went on to win 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 at Roland Garros, and Kouame is not putting any limits on what he is hoping to achieve.

“Winning Roland Garros is, of course, a dream, but winning all four (Slams) is a dream actually, you know. Being world number one is also a dream,” Kouame, currently ranked 318th, told reporters.

“I think thinking about winning the tournament is a bit early. But, yeah, I’m really happy to be in the third round, as well, of course, and I’m going to try my best to win another match.”

After wins for Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca on Wednesday, it is the first time three teenagers have made the third round of the men’s singles at Roland Garros since Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils in 2006.

Moise Kouame of France returns to Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay during their second round men’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

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“I think thinking about age is a mistake,” said Kouame. “I think because… when you are on court, you are trying to win the match. You’re not trying to think about how old is your opponent. That is something I do pretty well.”

Kouame had already become the youngest man to win a Slam match in 17 years with his first-round success against Marin Cilic.

The Grand Slam debutant powered into a two-set lead to the delight of the French fans but then started to wilt in the baking heat.

But Kouame somehow dragged himself back from the brink of defeat when Vallejo was serving for the match at 5-3 in the fifth, before completing a memorable win in a thrilling tie-break.

He soaked up the adulation from the French fans, telling them he could “never” have got over the line without them.

“I love this sport, because we get those kinds of atmospheres and for the pressure that you experience,” Kouame added.

“I was playing in front of 10,000 people, right? It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but I was able to draw into their energy because they were there to support me, not to stress me.

“But it is definitely more enjoyable to play in front of 10,000 people than 10. That’s a fact.”

Kouame will next face Alejandro Tabilo, who will be comparatively very well rested after being the beneficiary of a walkover after second-round opponent Valentin Vacherot withdrew from the tournament with an injury.