Matthew Benham graduated from the world-renowned University of Oxford in 1989 with a degree in Physics.

He spent the next 12 years working in finance, eventually being named a VP at Bank of America. But in 2001, he decided to change careers.

After leaving Bank of America in 2001, Matthew Benham joined sports gambling company Premier Bet. His job was to help develop predictive gambling models based on analytics.

The best part?

Benham learned under one of the most successful gamblers in the world — Tony Bloom.

After only a couple years, Matthew Benham and Tony Bloom had a falling out. The exact reason wasn't clear, but by the time Benham left Premier Bet in 2003, the fire was already lit.

He wasn’t going back to investment banking. He was a professional sports gambler now.

Matthew Benham went on to win millions of dollars gambling on sports, but in 2004, he set up his own betting syndicate — Smartodds.

The idea was simple: Benham consulted clients using the same algorithms, statistics & data research that made him a successful sports gambler.

Smartodds became a massive success, and Matthew Benham now also owns Matchbook, a popular sports betting exchange.

Even better?

With financial freedom, Benham was able to pursue his other passion — Brentford FC.

Attending his first game at 11 years old, Matthew Benham has been a lifelong fan of Brentford FC.

So when the club faced financial trouble in 2007, Benham stepped up. He provided a $700,000 loan so that Brentford supporters could purchase the team.

But there was a catch…

When Matthew Benham provided the $700,000 loan, he had the option to purchase the club should the fans choose not to repay the loan.

In 2012, the fans declined & Benham became the owner of his childhood team. The interesting part? He decided to play "Moneyball."

Matthew Benham spent almost $10 million on a smaller club in Denmark — FC Midtjylland — to test his analytical concepts.

The ideas that worked, he used at Brentford FC. The ideas that didn't, he threw in the trash.

Benham fired staff members, bringing in more analytically-minded people that lacked traditional experience.

The club also stopped caring about wins & losses.

Instead, they developed a set of key performance indicators that determined if they were making progress or not.

For example, Brentford FC started to look more closely at “expected goals” (xPG) rather than how many goals a player actually scored.

Their theory?

In a low-scoring sport that is skewed by randomness & luck, the quality & quantity of chances created during a match mattered more.

Brentford's most drastic move?

While the top clubs in the world were investing millions of dollars in their youth academies, Brentford decided to eliminate theirs completely.

Instead, they relied on a “B team” of 17-to-20-yr-olds that were rendered useless by other clubs.

Why?

Because Brentford believed you had to give a young player at least 35 games before determining his value.

But the richest clubs in the world didn’t have the time, patience, or appropriate infrastructure to do that.

As a small club willing to experiment, Brentford did.

This allowed them to find undervalued players, or market inefficiencies, that could come in, help the club win & be sold for record profits.

Said Benrahma
• Bought: $3.8M
• Sold: $40M

Ollie Watkins
• Bought: $2.3M
• Sold: $36M

Neal Maupay
• Bought: $2.1M
• Sold: $26M

The results weren’t immediate, but now a decade later, they have paid off.

After winning the Championship Play-Off Final last weekend, Brentford FC has completed its ascent from the fourth tier of English football to the Premier League.

The best part?

It's now worth $300M+.

The true financial impact of Premier League promotion depends on how long Brentford can stay in England’s top league.

If they get relegated after 1 year, they'll make ~$300M.

If they can stay up for a 2nd year, they'll make $400M+.

The longer they stay, the more they make.

In a sport that has historically refused the analytical revolution, Matthew Benham decided to shake things up.

He saved his childhood team from bankruptcy, used his experience in analytics to create a competitive advantage & turned a $700k loan into $300M+.

One word. Astute!


Source: https://twitter.com/JoePompliano/status/1400245761854652417

A bold journey from the fourth tier to the premier league!

good one. He took the bold step to risk his hard earn money on a lower league and it finally paid off. Onlike the jihadist that spent years robbing and stealing from the poor to amass wealth for himself

Revolutionary ideas have always been profitable.

what a very touching story...it seems I go first observe n avoid this brentford for d first half of the new season....make d owner no go gamble my stakes n start to de sell sure matches anyhow..
because I do fear senior gamblers dt take huge risk n once a gambler, always a gambler..

The best part?

Benham learned under one of the most successful gamblers in the world — Tony Bloom.

In other words, he learned gambling under the owner of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Tony Bloom is the owner of Brighton and Hove and he is also a pro gambler.

That much I know about the character Tony Bloom.

paulolee:
what a very touching story...it seems I go first observe n avoid this brentford for d first half of the new season....make d owner no go gamble my stakes n start to de sell sure matches anyhow..
because I do fear senior gamblers dt take huge risk n once a gambler, always a gambler..

But you dey bet on top Brighton matches since, right?

Na Brighton owner(T. Bloom) na him teach this guy how to gamble.

Wetin you go talk now?

mansakhalifa:


But you dey bet on top Brighton matches since, right?

Na Brighton owner(T. Bloom) na him teach this guy how to gamble.

Wetin you go talk now?

me bet on Brighton say I get money to waste?? e get some kain teams wey I no fit include for my stake..
bet on Brighton to win or to play over 2.5 or ? even arsenal we good pass them self naim de top my blacklisted teams dt i can never bet on
d only time all last season dt Brighton was on my ticket was dt Brighton vs city game dt dey won city n na over2.5 i carry bcoz of city n dm.deliver...

paulolee:

me bet on Brighton say I get money to waste?? e get some kain teams wey I no fit include for my stake..
bet on Brighton to win or to play over 2.5 or ? even arsenal we good pass them self naim de top my blacklisted teams dt i can never bet on
d only time all last season dt Brighton was on my ticket was dt Brighton vs city game dt dey won city n na over2.5 i carry bcoz of city n dm.deliver...

OK.

If say you know say their owner na senior gambler you for put your money?

It's a risk and it paid off for him, very incredible achievement on his part

White man brain and black man brain no fit b same

Slyzen:
Matthew Benham graduated from the world-renowned University of Oxford in 1989 with a degree in Physics.

He spent the next 12 years working in finance, eventually being named a VP at Bank of America. But in 2001, he decided to change careers.

After leaving Bank of America in 2001, Matthew Benham joined sports gambling company Premier Bet. His job was to help develop predictive gambling models based on analytics.

The best part?

Benham learned under one of the most successful gamblers in the world — Tony Bloom.

After only a couple years, Matthew Benham and Tony Bloom had a falling out. The exact reason wasn't clear, but by the time Benham left Premier Bet in 2003, the fire was already lit.

He wasn’t going back to investment banking. He was a professional sports gambler now.

Matthew Benham went on to win millions of dollars gambling on sports, but in 2004, he set up his own betting syndicate — Smartodds.

The idea was simple: Benham consulted clients using the same algorithms, statistics & data research that made him a successful sports gambler.

Smartodds became a massive success, and Matthew Benham now also owns Matchbook, a popular sports betting exchange.

Even better?

With financial freedom, Benham was able to pursue his other passion — Brentford FC.

Attending his first game at 11 years old, Matthew Benham has been a lifelong fan of Brentford FC.

So when the club faced financial trouble in 2007, Benham stepped up. He provided a $700,000 loan so that Brentford supporters could purchase the team.

But there was a catch…

When Matthew Benham provided the $700,000 loan, he had the option to purchase the club should the fans choose not to repay the loan.

In 2012, the fans declined & Benham became the owner of his childhood team. The interesting part? He decided to play "Moneyball."

Matthew Benham spent almost $10 million on a smaller club in Denmark — FC Midtjylland — to test his analytical concepts.

The ideas that worked, he used at Brentford FC. The ideas that didn't, he threw in the trash.

Benham fired staff members, bringing in more analytically-minded people that lacked traditional experience.

The club also stopped caring about wins & losses.

Instead, they developed a set of key performance indicators that determined if they were making progress or not.

For example, Brentford FC started to look more closely at “expected goals” (xPG) rather than how many goals a player actually scored.

Their theory?

In a low-scoring sport that is skewed by randomness & luck, the quality & quantity of chances created during a match mattered more.

Brentford's most drastic move?

While the top clubs in the world were investing millions of dollars in their youth academies, Brentford decided to eliminate theirs completely.

Instead, they relied on a “B team” of 17-to-20-yr-olds that were rendered useless by other clubs.

Why?

Because Brentford believed you had to give a young player at least 35 games before determining his value.

But the richest clubs in the world didn’t have the time, patience, or appropriate infrastructure to do that.

As a small club willing to experiment, Brentford did.

This allowed them to find undervalued players, or market inefficiencies, that could come in, help the club win & be sold for record profits.

Said Benrahma
• Bought: $3.8M
• Sold: $40M

Ollie Watkins
• Bought: $2.3M
• Sold: $36M

Neal Maupay
• Bought: $2.1M
• Sold: $26M

The results weren’t immediate, but now a decade later, they have paid off.

After winning the Championship Play-Off Final last weekend, Brentford FC has completed its ascent from the fourth tier of English football to the Premier League.

The best part?

It's now worth $300M+.

The true financial impact of Premier League promotion depends on how long Brentford can stay in England’s top league.

If they get relegated after 1 year, they'll make ~$300M.

If they can stay up for a 2nd year, they'll make $400M+.

The longer they stay, the more they make.

In a sport that has historically refused the analytical revolution, Matthew Benham decided to shake things up.

He saved his childhood team from bankruptcy, used his experience in analytics to create a competitive advantage & turned a $700k loan into $300M+.

One word. Astute!


Source: https://twitter.com/JoePompliano/status/1400245761854652417

Surreal.