The Voice Australia Finale
When: Monday July 21st, 7:30pm
Where: Channel 9
Did you know that sports betting can extend beyond the true definition of “sports”? It’s quite common for sports betting sites to put up markets on all sorts of weird and wonderful events ranging from politics to current affairs to entertainment to “Which planet (other than Earth) will man next step on?” (Yes, Ladbrokes has this very market).
While we highly recommend a bet on Mars as a strong favourite at $1.60, you might not be alive long enough to see a return on your investment.
However one event you will be able to witness is the finale of the popular TV show “The Voice” which wraps up in just a few short hours from now on Monday evening. In case you’ve been living under a rock, The Voice is a singing competition, similar to American Idol, where homeviewers get to vote on the eventual winner.
Tonight will see the final five contestants come together one last time to crown a champion. They’ll win a big fat cheque and you’ll probably hear their new single on every radio station for the next few weeks, but the best thing about the finale is that we can bet on the outcome.
Let’s start with the roughies of the field. The talented “ZK” (pictured right) are the first duo to ever make the final of the Australian version of The Voice and despite them winning their semi-final, it would be a surprise to see them win outright. Their passion has clearly waned over the past few weeks and they don’t have the same appeal as some others in the final. Some sportsbooks have them listed as high as $15 to win.
Rock and roller Frank Lakoudis would be a certain winner if the polling booths were in pubs around the country. While his style is clearly well loved by Aussie males, they unfortunately don’t make up the majority of voters in this competition. You can get odds as juicy as $13 if you think Frank is a chance.
Jackson Thomas has surprised in this competition after being cut half way through, before being “saved” and given a second chance. His improvement has been obvious and he has a lot of appeal to female voters and a cracking voice. Perhaps doesn’t yet have the personality or presence to win, but definitely a dark horse. You can get odds of $7 for Jackson over at Ladbrokes.
If this were a beauty pageant then Anja Nissen (pictured left) was the winner about six weeks ago. Luckily her voice is also smoking hot as she found herself in the final after the home viewers gave her a second chance, voting her in, effectively as a “lucky loser”. It’s interesting that the market has instilled her as a $3.50 second favourite at Sportingbet despite losing the semi-final to ZK, the rank outside of the final. Perhaps the fact that Anja is the only female in the finale might direct all of the male voters in her direction.
As an interesting stat, history suggests that the winner of The Voice comes from those who had all four judges turn around during the blind auditions stage. No winner of the The Voice Australia has come from outside of that group. In fact, none of the top three placegetters in the first two seasons have come from outside that group. This year, just one finalist had all four judges turn for them, and that contestant is Anja Nissen.
Last, and not least, we have Johnny Rollins (pictured right) as the $2.25 favourite at Ladbrokes. This guy is already a star. His name is Johnny freakin Rollins! What a rock star name! He looks like young Lionel Ritchie and sings just as good. And he’s a professional drummer! He is full of talent, has charisma and has the sex appeal that is going to attract a tonne of female votes. Johnny’s biggest concern will be the well-known “favourite’s curse” of reality TV shows. Everyone knows that Johnny is so good that no one actually bothers voting for him. Hopefully the country gets behind him as he will be a great winner.
Verdict: This is Johnny Rollins' competition to lose. I think we can safely write off ZK and Frank, so it will be a matter of how many votes Johnny splits with Jackson, targeting the same female viwers, versus the male support of Anja. Johnny wins this more than 50% of the time, so the price of $2.25 at Ladbrokes offers some value. This is especially the case as Johnny is listed as short at $1.50 at some sportsbooks at the time of writing. We’re happy to get aboard at the price of $2.25 and Rollins our way to victory!
Back Johnny Rollins to win The Voice at $2.25 at Ladbrokes.
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
