The biggest World Cup in history just wrapped — and it earned the title. Where 2022 gave us 32 teams and 64 matches, 2026 stretched to 48 teams and 104 matches across three host nations, with a global audience FIFA puts north of six billion — the most-watched event football has ever staged. It was a tournament of goodbyes and arrivals in equal measure: Ronaldo and Modrić played their last World Cup, while Spain’s young generation — led by Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams — came of age on the biggest stage. And around all of it swirled more marketing, more brand noise, and more creator-driven attention than any tournament before. For Alpha’s sportsbook team, it was also the payoff of months of preparation. We sat down with Artur, Head of Sportsbook, to talk about what the tournament looked like from the operator’s side — the upsets, the prep, the trends, and the marketing that actually broke through.   The biggest World Cup in history just wrapped. Before we get into the numbers — as someone who lives and breathes this — what was it like to watch it unfold from the sportsbook side? For anyone who loves football — anyone who loves sport, really — this was a celebration. A flood of matches from day one, a farewell World Cup for several genuine legends, and, of course, betting volumes like nothing else on the calendar. From our side, it’s the one month of the year everything points toward. And it all ended with Spain — a 1-0 win over Messi’s Argentina in extra time, their second title and the meanest defence the tournament has ever seen. As a fan first — what did you make of the final? I actually enjoyed the third-place match more. Ten goals and completely open football — that always works in favour of the fans and everyone watching. As for the results, Spain had a brilliant tournament: their keeper conceded just one goal across every stage, they moved through the bracket with total control, and in the semi they shut France down and never gave them a sniff of a comeback. The final was more of the same — Spanish dominance, control of the ball, and they didn’t let Argentina get off a single shot in regulation. Messi deserved to be world champion two times running, especially after those comebacks in almost every knockout game, but it played out the way it played out — and to play football at that level at 38 is just unreal. All in all, the tournament delivered incredible emotions, favourites going down, results nobody saw coming, a flood of goals, and a real sense of celebration. You called it “a tournament of upsets.” Which results caught you off guard — and with 48 teams and 104 matches, were more shocks almost inevitable? The shocks started before the tournament even kicked off. Italy, four-time world champions, went out in the play-off qualifiers on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then it just kept coming. Cape Verde didn’t lose a single game in regulation — in their opener against the reigning European champions they didn’t even concede, with the draw priced at 14. Germany were knocked out by Paraguay on penalties in the round of 16. Belgium were 2-0 down to Senegal until the 86th minute, levelled it in the 92nd, and won it in the 125th. Argentina came back from 0-2 to beat Egypt 3-2, then snatched it against England with goals in the 85th and 92nd. And yes — when you stretch the field to 48 teams and 104 matches, you’re building in more mismatches and more room for a Cinderella run. The surprises weren’t just luck; the format made them more likely. Let’s clear something up — how much of the book does an operator like Alpha actually control? Walk us through where you really come in. Quick myth-buster: we don’t set the odds ourselves. We work through platforms, who work with the providers, and the feed — the prices, the margins — comes to us from them. Where we come in is risk. With our risk team, we put a lot of work into limits, into the margins on individual markets, and into cashout settings. And the player behaviour this tournament was fascinating to watch. People cashed out the moment an underdog they’d backed scored. On the other side, we saw plenty of top-ups on the favourites in live, because the price only got better as the match went on. One favourites accumulator sticks in my mind — Brazil to beat Japan at 1.35 and Germany to get past Paraguay at 1.17, 1.58 combined. It lost. Which, for the operators on that feed, is exactly the result you want. You prepared for this World Cup for four months. What does getting a betting operation ready for the biggest event in football actually involve? Because we run a sportsbook across more than one brand, we started early. The first conversations were with the platforms — what they’d build on their side: a dedicated World Cup page, the markets, the widgets. Then every project got its own plan: pre-tournament campaigns and reactivations, the opening match, th