On Saturday, the 27th of May, the semi-finals of the World Ice Hockey Championship will take place. Latvia will face off against Canada. However, despite the historic nature for Latvia, bookmakers are not too optimistic about the team’s chances of getting to the finals, says Betsafe representative Gabriela Ūdre.
Since 2009 Latvia’s ice hockey team has made it to the quarter-finals only once – in 2018, when the team got eighth place. In all other championships Latvia did not gain results better than that.
This time, however, Latvia has managed to make it to the semi-finals for the first time in history.
Betsafe representative says until now Latvia has beaten Canada in ice hockey only once – in the 2021 championship’s opening match. Back then Latvia managed to win against Canada with a score of 2:0.
“There have been cases when matches against Canadians concluded without results, but in all cases Latvia suffered defeat in overtime,” comments Betsafe representative.
So far in this championship Latvia has won against Finland, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Norway and Czechia.
As for tomorrow’s match against Canada,
bookmakers predict a 13% possibility of victory for Latvia.
At the same time, there is a 16% probability of the match ending in a draw. Nevertheless, Canada’s victory is estimated with 71% probability.
As for triumph over the entire championship, bookmakers believe Canada has a 44% probability of coming out champions.
US is second on Betsafe’s list with a 40% probability. Germany follows as third with 12% probability. Latvia has the lowest chances of winning the championship – a mere 4%.
“Let’s keep in mind that Canada is number one in the International Hockey Federation – it is a strong and very respected opponent. We wish our country’s team strength, and keep our fingers crossed we see a victory and entry to the finals tomorrow!” says Betsafe representative.
Also read: Riga to organise public live broadcast of semi-finals and finals of World Ice Hockey Championship