The year 2022 may be coming to a close and it leaves behind a fantastic sporting legacy with some fantastic sports events to look back on over the course of the year.
From the exciting World Cup Finals which saw Argentina lift the trophy, right back to the World Darts Championship final back in January which saw Peter Wright claim the trophy for the second time, it has been a year of sporting excellence.
However, 2023 is just around the corner and this year promises to be equally as exciting for sports fans and also for those who enjoy a bit of sports betting from time to time.
Of course, it is also going to be a big year for Poker fans too, with plenty of top calibre events to tune in and watch or participate in.
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So what are the big events coming up in 2023 that will whet your appetite for a bet or two across the year? Let’s take a look at some of the big events coming up next year!
Biggest Sporting Events Of 2023
PDC World Darts Final
Perhaps one of the earliest big sporting events of the year, the PDC World Darts Champion of 2023 will be crowned on January 3rd at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Last year, Peter Wright landed his second world title at the expense of Michael Smith and the two finalists of last year will be amongst the favourites to reach the latter stages of the tournament.
Michael van Gerwen remains the bookmakers’ favourite for the tournament, which is actually taking place at present with bet365 Sport offering 9/4 on the Dutchman claiming another world title, with Michael Smith 11/2 to land his first and Gerwyn Price a 13/2 chance to land his second.
Tune in to Sky Sports over the next couple of weeks to see the conclusion of the biggest tournament of the year for darts fans!
NFL Playoffs & Super Bowl
The NFL Regular Season will come to an end in January and then we will have all the excitement of the NFL Playoffs to look forward to, culminating in February’s Super Bowl.
At the moment, we know a total of 7 of the 14 teams that will play in the playoffs this season.
In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals are all in.
Whereas in the NFC the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys are all confirmed.
Over the next few weeks seven more teams will join them and then we begin the playoffs with Wild Card Weekend, six games which will decide the three teams in each conference that will go through to the Divisional game a week later along with the Number 1 seed in each conference.
From then it’s a straight knockout to decide the Conference Champion and the two teams that go on to face each other in the Super Bowl.
The Bills are the 7/2 favourites to win the Super Bowl with bet365 with the Eagles a 4/1 shot, the Chiefs 5/1, 49ers 7/1 and the Bengals 8/1.
Champions League Returns
In February, the Champions League returns to action with the Round of 16 clashes taking place over two legs.
The 16 teams to make it through have been drawn into the following ties.
- AC Milan v Tottenham
- Paris St Germain v Bayern Munich
- Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea
- Club Brugge v Benfica
- Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli
- Liverpool v Real Madrid
- Inter Milan v FC Porto
- Red Bull Leipzig v Manchester City
There are some huge games to look forward to especially PSG v Bayern Munich and Liverpool v Real Madrid, which have both been finals in this competition over recent times.
Bet365 make Manchester City the 7/4 favourites to win the tournament, with Bayern Munich 13/2 and PSG 15/2.
ICC World Cup Of Cricket
Having landed the T20 World Cup a few months back, England’s One-Day team will be defending the men’s ICC Cricket World Cup in India in October and November 2023 in what should be a cracking tournament.
We already know seven qualifiers for the tournament, hosts India, plus Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England Pakistan and New Zealand.
There is one more place to be decided from the Super League with the likes of the West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa battling it out for that final spot in qualifying from this competition.
There will also be a World Cup Qualifier Playoff and a Qualifier tournament which will be played through in order to decide which remaining two teams will qualify for the tournament.
India are 12/5 favourites to win the trophy on home soil, with England 3/1 and five-time Champions Australia a 4/1 shot.
World Heavyweight Boxing Unification Bout – Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk
Although no date or venue has officially been confirmed as yet, it appears that Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have agreed to meet in 2023 with a view to unifying the Heavyweight division for the first time since Lennox Lewis was the undisputed Champion.
Both boxers had good years in 2022, Fury landing wins over Dillian Whyte and then Dereck Chisora, while Usyk won his rematch against Anthony Joshua to retain his belts.
This is the fight that the boxing world has demanded for some time in the heavyweight division and it should be a cracker. As the fight has not been officially announced as yet, nor has a date or venue for that matter, no odds are available on the match up as yet, but whenever this fight takes place, it should be a cracker.
Golf’s Majors in 2023
- The Masters – April 6th to 9th
- US PGA Championship – May 18th to 21st
- US Open – June 15th to 18th
- The Open – July 20th to 23rd
The four golf majors may have a different look in some cases due to the LIV Golf tour split, but The Masters has stated that they will invite LIV Golfers to the tournament and while any participation in the US PGA for LIV Golfers looks unlikely, they could well be invited to play at the US Open and The Open later in the year.
Outright betting is available on all these events at bet365 Sport and of course, it is the usual names that are at the forefront of the betting markets such as Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler.
Women’s Soccer World Cup 2023
Can England’s Lionesses follow their triumph at the Euros in 2022 with a follow up win in the World Cup in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand?
They’ll face a tough prospect as 31 other teams will be out to land their own success including hosts New Zealand and Australia, current holders the United States, plus a wide selection of top ranking teams in the world at present such as the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Canada and Japan.
Recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year Beth Mead is an injury doubt for England and the team will hope their star player at last summer’s Euros can regain fitness ahead of the tournament.
Betting on the tournament will be available nearer the time in what should be an event equally as good as the men’s tournament we have just witnessed in Qatar.
And that just scratches the surface of the events available to watch and bet on as you can also look forward to the following:
Other Big Sports Events in 2023
- Cheltenham Gold Cup meeting (Horse Racing)
- Grand National meeting at Aintree (Horse Racing)
- The FA Cup (Soccer)
- Tennis – All Four Majors
- The Start of the new Formula 1 season.
- NBA Regular Season, Playoffs & Finals
- MLB Regular Season, Playoffs & Finals
- NHL Regular Season, Playoffs & Finals
- Epsom Derby Festival (Horse Racing)
- Royal Ascot (Horse Racing)
- Glorious Goodwood (Horse Racing)
- Indian Premier League (Cricket)
- The Ashes (2023)
- LoL World Championships 2023 (Esports)
- The International 2023 (Esports)
- World Series of Poker Main Event 2023
- Six Nations Rugby
- Rugby World Cup
So with so much to enjoy throughout 2023, it should be a great year for sport and sports betting fans!
