Who Will Win BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023?
Ben Stokes, Lewis Hamilton and Rory McIlroy are among the leading contenders to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023.
We are just a few months into the year, but betting sites are already offering odds on who will seize the award.
Last year, England forward Beth Mead received the top prize after firing the Lionesses to glory at the Euros.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand this summer, so the team’s key players will be in contention once again if they can repeat their heroics.
Cricketers currently dominate this betting market, with Stokes, Harry Brook, James Anderson, Joe Root and Jos Buttler among the top candidates.
Formula 1 and boxing are also well represented, but there are some intriguing longer shots from the worlds of golf, snooker, darts, tennis and horse racing too.
Let’s take a look at how the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 market is shaping up. These are the early contenders:
Ben Stokes
Stokes was the runner-up at the 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards after producing more of the heroics that have defined his career.
The all-rounder played a starring role in England’s T20 World Cup final win against Pakistan at the MCG in November.
He was also named Test captain in May, and he led the red-ball team to a string of remarkable results, which ultimately saw them become the first touring side to ever whitewash Pakistan.
They did so via a high-voltage brand of cricket that has never previously been seen in the longer form of the game.
That form continued into 2023, when England beat New Zealand by 267 runs in the first Test in February.
However, they had to settle for a series draw after losing by a single run to New Zealand in a dramatic second Test.
Stokes, who won the SPOTY award in 2019, will now prepare to lead England into battle in the Ashes this summer.
He is reportedly planning to skip the ODI World Cup, so his chances of being named Sports Personality of the Year hinge on whether he can emerge triumphant against Australia.
Stokes is currently the 11/2 favourite with some betting sites, but you can grab a market leading 7/1 at BetVictor.
Lewis Hamilton
The Mercedes driver was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2014 and 2020, and he has also finished second on four different occasions.
No other athlete has secured more placings in the award’s history, so he is always in the mix when specials betting sites release their odds at the start of a new year.
However, Hamilton’s chances of winning an eighth F1 Drivers’ Championship this season appear to be slim.
He could only finish fifth in the season opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, and he was ultimately more than 50 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen.
That saw the odds on him winning the title drift from 10/3 to 33/1 with the best F1 betting sites, who noted the sheer pace advantage that the Red Bull currently enjoys over the Mercedes.
Hamilton was priced at 7/1 to win the SPOTY award at the start of the year, but he is now out at 10/1 following underwhelming performances in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury
The unbeaten heavyweight boxing champion has regularly been touted for this award after rising to the top of the division in recent years.
He has made it clear that he does not want to win the gong, and he even threatened the BBC with legal action after they shortlisted him in 2020.
However, it did not deter them from adding him to the list, and they may do so again this year if he mounts more successful title defences.
Yet a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk is now unlikely to go ahead after negotiations broke down due to Fury’s demands.
Fury’s team have booked Wembley Stadium for a bout in April, but it remains to be seen who he will fight.
Contenders include Filip Hrgovic, Otto Wallin, Joe Joyce or Daniel Dubios, but fans are desperate to see him fight either Usyk or Anthony Joshua.
He would probably need to beat either of those heavyweights to be named Sports Personality of the Year, so he has drifted from 10/1 at the start of the year to 12/1 with Ladbrokes in this market.
George Russell
The young English driver finished 35 points clear of Hamilton, his illustrious teammate at Mercedes, in the F1 standings last season.
That saw him end up in fourth place, sandwiched between Red Bull’s Pérez and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.
Russell got the better of Hamilton once again in Saudi Arabia, finishing more than five seconds ahead of his fellow Brit to claim fourth place.
Mercedes insist they are confident in their ability to eventually compete with Red Bull this year, and Hamilton could emerge as a credible threat to Max Verstappen and Pérez.
Russell would be a clear SPOTY contender if he managed to beat Hamilton to the F1 drivers’ title, so he is priced at 16/1.
Rory McIlroy
McIlory made a flying start to the year by finishing one shot clear of fierce rival Patrick Reed to win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January.
He has emerged as a vocal critic of Reed and the other golfers that abandoned the PGA Tour in favour of its Saudi-backed rival, LIV Golf, so that represented a symbolic victory.
McIlroy is currently third in the OWGR world rankings, and he is among the favourites for glory at this year’s majors.
If he wins one of them, the odds on him landing the SPOTY award will shorten dramatically, so some punters may appreciate the opportunity to back him now at 18/1 with 888sport.
Harry Brook
Brook burst onto the scene towards the end of 2022, when he was called up to the England squad for the Test series against Pakistan.
He top scored in both innings on his international debut, causing cricket fans around the world to sit up and take notice.
The Yorkshireman has maintained that blistering form in 2023, becoming the first batsman in history to reach 800 Test runs in just nine innings.
He hit that milestone after facing just 803 deliveries, and he now has four centuries in six Test appearances, with a career average of more than 100.
As such, Brook has shortened to 14/1 with some bookmakers, although you can still find 20/1 at Coral on him winning the BBC award.
Refund or free bet when one selection in an accumulator lets the bet down
Refund or free bet when one selection in an accumulator lets the bet down
Refund or free bet when one selection in an accumulator lets the bet down
Frankie Detorri
The legendary jockey will hang up his whip for the final time after competing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita later this year.
Detorri has been grabbing headlines for three decades thanks to his exploits in the saddle, winning all manner of elite races around the world.
He has won the 1,000 Guineas four times, the 2,000 Guineas on three occasions, eight Ascot Gold Cups and a wide range of additional Group 1 triumphs in the UK, France and Ireland.
The Italian rider is also a four-time Dubai World Cup winner, while he has also tasted success in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Japan Cup and many other famous races.
If he lands some major prizes during his swansong, he could compete for the SPOTY award, and he is 25/1 with William Hill to win it.
The Rest
Several other England cricketers are in the mix, including Root (22/1) Anderson (25/1), Buttler (33/1), Sam Curran (33/1), Rehan Ahmed (25/1) and Stuart Broad (33/1).
Michael Smith, who was crowned world darts champion for 2023, is also priced at 33/1 with betting apps, along with Anthony Joshua, Emma Raducanu, Dina Asher-Smith and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Beth Mead is 33/1 to defend her crown, while teammates Lucy Bronze and Alessia Russo are both 50/1.
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