Betting To Win vs To Qualify Or Lift Trophy

It is not uncommon for people that don’t bet very often to be surprised when they place a bet on a team to win a knockout game, only for the team to qualify for the next round of the cup and yet their bet to be a losing one. This is because bets on the Match Result are settled in 90 minutes, so teams that finish the 90 drawing will not be classed as having won the match by the bookmakers. Instead, you’ll want to ensure that you place a bet on the side that you think will make it to the next round to Qualify, instead of to win the match.

In a final, this market is referred to as the team that will Lift The Trophy, but the same principle applies. In essence, you’re saying that you think the team that you’re betting on will win the match overall, rather than within the 90 minutes of the game itself. Whilst the odds on this market are usually lower than in the 1X2 market, the wager covers all possible eventualities, such as the game going to extra-time or being decided thanks to penalties. Your payout might be lower, but your bet can stay alive for longer.

Why To Qualify Is A Better Bet Than Match Odds

In 2022, Liverpool reached the FA Cup final, where they were going to face Chelsea. The odds on the various match results a few weeks before the final were as follows:

• Liverpool to Win: 21/20
• Draw: 12/5
• Chelsea: 5/2

These were the odds for the full-time result, meaning that they didn’t take into account which team would actually win the trophy. Had the match ended in a draw after 90 minutes, extra-time would have been played. If there was still nothing to separate them after extra-time, the game would have gone to penalties. A £10 bet on Liverpool to win at the end of full-time would have been a loser, even if the Merseyside club had gone on to win the game on penalties after a further 30 minutes of football.

The odds on Liverpool going on to Lift The Trophy were 4/7, whereas it was 11/8 for Chelsea to do so. You can see, therefore, that the odds were more favourable to bet on the Match Result, but if it took Liverpool extra-time and penalties to win the game then it really doesn’t matter how good the odds are on a bet on the 90 minutes. By opting to bet on Liverpool to Lift The Trophy, you’d have covered the eventuality of the game going to extra-time and / or penalties, even if you’d have had to pay for the privilege.

Two-Legged Ties

If you’re betting on the first-leg of a two-legged tie in a competition such as the Champions League, you don’t need to worry about the To Qualify market too much. Assuming that you’re only interested in the outcome of the match that you’re watching, you can happily place a bet on the 1X2 market, knowing that the final score at the end of the match will be the way that your bet is settled. If you’re betting on the second-leg, however, or you want to place a bet on the team to make it into the next round, To Qualify becomes a live concern.

Let us imagine that the result in the first leg of a Champions League Last 16 tie between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was 3-1 to Real Madrid. You think that Real are comfortably going to make it through to the next round, so you bet on them to win the second-leg. It finishes 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, meaning that Real make it through to the Quarter-Finals but that you’d have lost your bet because they lost the match on the night. That is why To Qualify becomes a much better bet, even if they odds aren’t great.

In essence, a To Qualify bet removes several different possibilities that would see you lose your wager otherwise. Any of the following outcomes could happen and you’d still be winning your bet:

• Real Win
• Atletico Win 1-0
• The match ends in a Draw
• The game goes to extra-time and Real win
• The game goes to penalties and Real win

The only result that will payout on a Match Result bet is if Real Madrid won, so even though you’re getting much bet odds, you’re also limiting your winning possibilities. You want to ensure that you’re in a position where you can win your bet, which will always see you receive at least some money back, rather than maximising your odds but losing your bet and therefore getting no payout at all.

What Else Can You Bet On?

When it comes to football markets, there are a range of different things that you can bet on in order to take advantage of the likelihood of winning without necessarily just opting for the To Qualify or to Lift The Trophy markets. For starters, you can opt to take a Double Chance wager on your chosen team, opting for the Win / Draw bet. This means that if the match ends in a draw you’ll win your bet, even if it then goes on to involve extra-time and penalties. Because less needs to happen than in a To Qualify bet, though, the odds will be lower.

Another option you could think about is the Draw No Bet market. This means that if you bet on Real Madrid in the Draw No Bet Market and it is a draw after 90 minutes, you’ll get your stake refunded to you. Again, it doesn’t matter what happens after the end of 90 minutes, up to and including Atletico Madrid qualifying at the expense of their rivals, if the match ends in a draw in normal time then you get your stake money back. You also get your stake money back if Real Madrid win, of course.

One of the other things that you might wish to consider is the Method Of Victory market. This allows you to bet on something specific, such as Real Madrid To Win In Extra-Time or Real Madrid To Win On Penalties. Obviously this is very specific, so it means that the odds are longer but you only win your bet if that exact thing happens. They are different bets to To Qualify or Lift Trophy, but they essentially work in the same way, insomuch as you need the team that you’ve placed your wager on to win in order to be successful.

It’s Not Just Football

It is important to remember that it is not just football in which To Qualify or to Lift The Trophy wagers exist. If you’re betting on a sport that includes knock-out rounds then there is a good chance that that is a market that you’ll be offered. You can bet on it in the Rugby World Cup games, for example, given that there are knock-out matches that might go either way. The key to whether or not the bet type will exist is whether or not the game you’re betting on can be extended in some way or another past its initial time.

When you’re betting on darts, for example, a match will be settled after a certain number of legs are won. Whilst it is possible for the rules to say that the match must be won by two clear legs, meaning that it goes on for longer than the allotted Best-Of legs, but that isn’t an extension to the match in the same way as extra-time of penalties are. As a result, bets on darts matches will just be settled according to the Match Result market, with no need to bet on To Qualify or to Lift The Trophy as an alternative market.

Some bookmakers might offer such a market on the final race of the Formula One season, or on the race that might decide the winner of the Drivers Championship. That is because a driver could finish second and win the Drivers Championship but obviously lose the race. It isn’t all sports that feature the market, but it is worth drawing your attention to so that you don’t get sucked into the rabbit hole of thinking that it is a market limited to football matches in knock-out tournaments, which obviously isn’t the case.