FORGET Santa Claus, it was Chris Wood who delivered for one lucky punter this Christmas.
Fuelled by a pile of leftovers from Christmas dinner, this Betfair customer placed £20 on the Nottingham Forest striker to bag a hat-trick against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
The bettor got odds of 500/1 on Wood netting a treble, meaning their returns would be an astronomical £10,020 if the New Zealand international succeeded against his former club.
It looked a tall order from the outset.
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Nottingham Forest were winless in their last seven games, and hadn't scored 3+ goals in a single match in 19 competitive outings this season.
It appeared even more unlikely given Eddie Howe's side boasted the best defensive home record in the division - conceding just four in nine league matches.
Wood, Howe's second signing on Tyneside, scored just once in 20 appearances for Newcastle at St James' Park.
But he wasted little time in matching that record for his new club on Boxing Day, tapping in after some excellent work from teammate Anthony Elanga just before the break.
Wood added to his tally shortly after the interval when racing on to Elanga's pass before lifting the ball over goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Our lucky punter didn't have to wait long before scooping life-changing money because just seven minutes later Wood produced another composed finish to complete a 15-minute hat-trick.
The brief VAR check for offside must have felt like an eternity, but the goal was given and this bettor PLUS 18 others who all backed a Chris Wood hat-trick with Betfair, collected their winnings.
"We took risks, we took chances â sometimes they paid off," Wood said afterwards.
Our punter will have said the same.
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- Never chase their losses
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