Upsets in sports can be very exciting when it happens. It's always a spectacle to see. It's not only a shock but also ennjoyable. Seeing a big team lose to lower and less prominent team can be awe inspiring. Seeing these events occur can prove to every team and/or individual athletes that everyone is beatable. There's no such thing as invincibility.
For one piece of history to be penned, another would have to be erased. Tiger Woods, world No. 1 for four years and counting, had never before surrendered a major after starting the final round atop the leaderboard – 14 leads, 14 wins.
As Woods wilted under a series of uncharacteristically sloppy putts, a remarkable chip-in eagle rewarded Yang with his first ever major lead at the 14th hole.
The South Korean roared in delight and would repeat the celebration four holes later – this time with his golf bag raised triumphantly above his head – after a stunning 18th approach was converted by a birdie putt for the championship.
With Woods only being able to hit a bogey, compounding a disappointing three-over 75 final round, Yang was crowned a major champion and “The Tiger Killer” nickname was born. Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama’s triumph at the 2021 Masters saw him join Yang in the exclusive winner’s circle for Asian players at the majors. It's a far less exclusive club on the women’s side. 35 LPGA major trophies handed out to South Korean champions alone.
A year earlier, in 2008, Trevor Immelman won the Masters. In December of 2007, South African Trevor Immelman underwent emergency surgery for the removal of a tumor on his abdomen. When he arrived at Augusta four months later, he was ranked 1,673 in the world and was just relieved to be there taking part. Nobody gave him a chance but he went on to prove the doubters wrong.
Immelman shot a 68 in the first round to go joint top of the leaderboard, repeated the feat in the second round and managed a 69 in the third. It meant he went into the final round two shots clear and despite a 75, nobody came close and he won the title finishing three shots ahead of second placed Tiger Woods.
In 2006, in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers pulled off a massive upset when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings. This was the first leg of one of the great Cinderella runs in Stanley Cup playoff history though not one that ended up in a team actually winning the Cup.
The Oilers were the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference in 2006. This was the league’s first year back after an owners’ lockout canceled the prior season. Going up against the top-seeded Wings and a laundry list of future Hall of Famers, the Oilers pulled off a six-game shocker to advance. They would wound up getting all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before the Carolina Hurricanes got the better of them.
On the international stage, a well-known upset is the "Miracle on Ice." The Soviet Union were the best ice hockey team in the world in 1980. They had already won four gold medals at the Olympics and were heavy favourites to win a fifth in New York where the United States provided the opposition.
Whereas the Soviet Union team was made up of world-class professionals, the U.S. had to mostly make do with amateur players who turned out for various college teams. Despite that disadvantage, the hosts’ counter-attacking game plan produced a 4-3 victory in the final, sending shockwaves through the sporting world.
Note to readers: There is a movie based on this event. It's called Miracle. There's also an ESPN 30-for-30 documentary called Of Miracles and Men.
In Super Bowl XXXVI (36), in 2002, the New England Patriots overcame the St. Louis Rams. The Patriots were 14-point underdogs in the Super Bowl that concluded the 2001 season. Tom Brady was still just a backup quarterback having a nice little playoff run for a franchise that had yet to win the Big Game and the Rams were the Greatest Show on Turf. Brady went shot-for-shot with that star-powered Rams offense and the Patriots won on a time-expiring field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
Sixteen years later, at Super Bowl LII (52), the Philadelphia Eagles overcame the Patriots. In the Patriots’ long run of championship appearances since 2002, they have frequently been both winners and losers. In Super Bowl LII, the Patriots were just 4.5-point favourites but the gap between them and the Eagles felt much bigger. Philly was working for its first-ever Super Bowl win against a team that had nabbed five since 2001. On top of that, the Eagles had to start a backup quarterback, Nick Foles, against Brady in this game. The Eagles won 41–33.
In Basketball, Argentina overcame America in 2004. It took place in Athens during the Olympics. There was supposed to be a coronation for the American men’s basketball program. However, 2004’s loaded American team (featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson), lost 89–81 to the Argentine team led by Luis Scola and Manu Ginobili. The loss was a serious blow to the U.S. team’s prestige and the pain didn’t start to fade until 2008’s “Redeem Team” got back over the hump to win a gold medal in Beijing.
In 2004, the Detroit Pistons beat the L.A. Lakers. After their glory from 2000-2002, the Lakers missed out on the NBA Finals in 2003 but got back again in 2004 with a roster that featured: Shaquille O’Neal; Kobe Bryant; Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Malone and Payton were both chasing a championship and many figured they’d get it when Los Angeles met Detroit in the NBA Finals.
The ensuing upset was as surprising as Detroit’s performance was dominanting. The Pistons wiped out L.A., thrashing the Lakers in five games. The series would have been a sweep had Bryant not made a long three-pointer to force overtime in Game 2. All but one of the Pistons' wins came by double digits and they held the Lakers to under 90 points in four of five games.
In 2013, Wigan Athletic shocked the footballing world by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final. While the FA Cup always provide us with unforgettable upsets, one of the biggest surprises was when Wigan somehow beat a star-studded Manchester City outfit to lift the famous old cup. The Latics - led then by Roberto Martínez - enjoyed a blessed run to the decider, only having to beat one Premier League side (Everton in the quarter-final) along the way.
Man City had to defeat Chelsea to make the final. Wigan were having none of it though and a Ben Watson header in injury time landed them the trophy. This remains the only major honour in the club’s history.
Greece embarrassed Portugal on their turf in the Euros of 2004. Otto Rehaggel's side edged out Spain to finish runner-up to the Portuguese in the group stage.
The teams finished level on goal difference and couldn't be separated by a tie-breaker either as they had drawn 1-1. Greece advanced to the knockout phase by virtue of having scored more goals than the Spaniards.
They went on to topple France 1-0 in the quarter-finals and then knocked out the Czech Republic in extra-time to set up a final showdown with the hosts. An Angelos Charisteas goal gave Greece a 1-0 fairytale victory and sealed their first ever major tournament triumph.
In the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in 2022, Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina, who would go on to win the tournament. They, statistically, made the biggest shock in the history of the World Cup when they beat Argentina 2-1. According to data research company Gracenote, the Saudis only had an 8.7% chance of winning.
When you look at the facts, it’s hard to argue against those percentages. Saudi Arabia went to the 2022 World Cup as the second-lowest ranked side, according to FIFA’s ranking system. Argentina, meanwhile, were second favourites to win the tournament and ranked fourth in the world on the back of a 36-game unbeaten run that included winning the 2021 Copa America.
Ranked 51st in the world, Saudi Arabia even earned their victory the hard way having fallen behind to a 10th minute penalty converted by the great Lionel Messi. Two quickfire goals from Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari turned the game on its head during a dizzy five-minute spell for the South Americans.
Remarkably, Saudi Arabia held out for the remaining 37 minutes of normal time plus an inexplicable 13 minutes of added time. Despite being World Cup regulars, it was only their fourth win on the biggest stage. By overcoming the odds , they’ll be hard-pressed to ever better the result.
Leicester City won the Premier League in the 2015/16 season. Part of the shock was that they were facing relegation the season prior. Leicester won seven of their final nine matches to complete one of the Premier League’s most impressive great escapes.
Claudio Ranieri replaced Nigel Pearson as manager in the summer and produced an even bigger miracle in 2015/16.
The Foxes were listed as 5000/1 to win the title at the start of the season, with most onlookers tipping them for the drop. However, with the pace and finishing ability of Jamie Vardy, the trickery and guile of Riyad Mahrez and the ball-winning prowess of N’Golo Kante, Leicester stunned the football world by finishing 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
In boxing, in 1990, Buster Douglas defeated "Iron" Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson was the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Buster Douglas was an outsider whose opposition in the ring was supposed to serve as a gentle warm-up for a bout with Evander Holyfield.
Widely considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Tyson was expected to make light work of his fellow American. Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley, two analysts working for HBO, went as far as to say they thought the fight to be over within 90 seconds.
Instead, it often ranks as the biggest upset in heavyweight boxing history. Douglas made a strong start, immediately letting Tyson know that he was not going to be pushed around easily. The champion struggled to find his rhythm and Douglas duly grew in confidence. The knockout blow came in the 10th round and remains one of the most extraordinary moments in boxing history.
In 1974, Muhammad Ali faced George Foreman. The former came out victorious by KO. No boxer on the planet was more feared than George Foreman. Foreman was unbeaten and had destroyed Joe Frazier. He was seven years younger than Ali, who came into the fight a 4-to-1 underdog. Rather than try to run from the hard-punching Foreman, Ali laid against the ropes and let Foreman tire himself out with punches that hit Ali’s arms and body and mostly had minimal effect.
By the eighth round, Foreman was completely exhausted and Ali was landing clean shots. A five-punch combination put Foreman down for the count and when the referee waved off the fight, the 32-year-old Ali had regained the heavyweight title.
In 2009, Robin Soderling beat Rafael Nadal at the 2009 French Open (aka Roland Garros). After 13 victories at Roland Garros from 17 attempts, there's little doubt that Rafael Nadal is the undisputed king of the clay. However, back in 2009, he looked utterly unstoppable on the courts of Roland Garros. He was on a run of 31 straight wins from his first appearance in 2005. However, that was until he ran into Robin Soderling in the fourth round. The needle would continue between the pair throughout their careers but Nadal had the last laugh beating Soderling in the 2010 Roland Garros final.
Boris Becker shocked the world when he won Wimbledon in 1985. By the time he hung up his racket in 1999, Boris Becker had won six Grand Slam titles, including three at Wimbledon. His first in 1985 was an astonishing accomplishment, with the 17-year-old becoming the first non-seeded player to win one of the most prestigious competitions in sport.
Pat Cash, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Kevin Curren were all more fancied for success than Becker but it was the German who triumphed. After he got his hands on the trophy following victory over Curren in the final, one anonymous fan collected a sizeable windfall – he had put £10,000 on Becker going all the way at odds of 18/1.
In the Rugby World Cup in 2015, Japan defeated South Africa. "The Mighty Blossoms" had only ever won a solitary Rugby World Cup match heading into the 2015 edition of the tournament.
Although they had made progress in the two decades since a 145-17 evisceration by New Zealand, they were still minnows who seemingly had little chance of making any sort of impact in England.
That was until Japan took on South Africa in Pool B’s opening contest. The Springboks were among the leading contenders to win the trophy and were expected to make light work of Japan in Brighton. However, a thrilling encounter ended in a 34-32 Japanese victory, as the team coached by Eddie Jones upset South Africa in what is known as the 'Miracle of Brighton'.
England pulled an upset against the Aussies in the 3rd Test of the 1981 Ashes. Between 1989 and 2003, Australia won all eight Ashes Series contested between them and England. Prior to that, it was England who were dominant, beating their old rivals in five of the six editions held between 1977 and 1987.
One of those, in 1981, looked to be heading Australia’s way. The visitors won the first Test by four wickets and then drew the second at Lord’s. The Australians had declared on 401-9 in the third, before England were bowled out for 174 and thus resulted in a follow-on.
The hosts were floundering on 135-7 in the second innings. Then Sir Ian Botham came in and scored 149* and then handed over to Bob Willis, who would take eight wickets as Australia were bowled out for 111. England were victorious by 18 runs and went on to win the series 3-1.
As the evidence has shown, upsets can happen in any sport. It can take any shape or form. As per the title of this article/post, these are just like the Biblical story of when David faced Goliath. David slayed Goliath with a sling and stones. The moral is that you can overcome any obstacle or odds. Self-believe is an important assest to possess.
Source Material
Bantock, J. 2024. An Asian-born golfer had never won a men’s major. To right the record, he had to become ‘The Tiger Killer’. CNN.
Casey, J. The 21 Biggest Upsets in Sporting History. Gambling.com
Men Journal Editors. 2023. The 25 Greatest Upsets in the History of American Sports. Men's Journal.
Mueller, C. 2024. 'Do you believe in miracles? Yes!' Most memorable upsets in sports history. YardBarker.