The 2026 FIFA World Cup powered the biggest winners — including several in the seven figures — at Polymarket’s American prediction markets last week.
According to Polymarket's public leaderboard, three individuals profited more than $1 million last week. One user processed more than $41 million in trades, although they finished in the red.
Dominating World Cup prediction markets
Polymarket’s first-place finisher last week was an anonymous account, denoted as “0xa4b..143” on the leaderboard. The unknown user only took three positions in their history on the prediction market site, which were as follows.
| Position | Outcome | Winnings | Profit |
| Egypt (-1.5) vs. New Zealand | Win (3-1) | $1.4 million | $917,856.27 |
| Spain vs. Saudi Arabia o3.5 goals | Win (4-0) | $899,999.01 | $440,999.51 |
| Egypt to beat New Zealand | Win (3-1) | $1.1 million | $426,728.32 |
The $1.8 million in profit from those positions does not match the total listed on Polymarket’s website — that’s because the trader already reinvested their winnings into a couple of positions that will settle on the afternoon of Monday, June 22.
Both positions are related to the outcome of Argentina’s Group J match against Austria. The first is nearly $300,000 on Argentina to win the match, purchased at an average price of $.68. The second is Argentina to cover a 1.5-goal spread, purchased at an average of $.41.
More winning trades
The second-place finisher on Polymarket last week was another anonymous account, listed as “0xe2d..a23,” was twice as active as their anonymous peer. They went six-for-six with their positions, all in the World Cup, nearly doubling their money and finishing up $1.7 million in profit from $1.7 million in trades.
| Position | Outcome | Winnings | Profit |
| Egypt (-1.5) vs. New Zealand | Win (3-1) | $869,874.00 | $579,875.41 |
| Egypt to beat New Zealand | Win (3-1) | $1.2 million | $466,666.39 |
| Cape Verde (+1.5) vs. Uruguay | Win (2-2) | $456,139.81 | $196,140.12 |
| Spain (-2.5) vs. Saudi Arabia | Win (4-0) | $379,516.97 | $174,577.81 |
| Mexico to beat Korea Republic | Win (1-0) | $299,999.74 | $158,999.86 |
| Netherlands vs. Japan o2.5 goals | Win (2-2) | $200,000 | $104,000.00 |
Of all these positions, the largest win was from Egypt to beat New Zealand by at least two goals. The trader accumulated over $1 million in winnings from the match alone.
Unlike the first anonymous account, this user has not bought back into the market and does not own contracts in upcoming World Cup prediction markets.
Rounding off the podium
Polymarket's bronze medalist of last week, “BreakTheBank,” was extremely active, with positions from a plethora of matches. Their account was also registered and active in January.
According to the public trading log, the user won $186,615.25 when the USA beat Australia last Friday, 2-0. They also won $139,035.64 by predicting that Ecuador wouldn’t beat Curaçao.
Additionally, the account was active in MLB prediction markets.
BreakTheBank has $138,745.83 worth of shares that Norway will fail to beat Senegal on Monday afternoon, along with shares that Senegal will win. They also hold contracts for Norway, Germany, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast to win the World Cup.
$41 million in trades in one week
Polymarket user “swisstony” is up $10.6 million since they made their account in Aug. 2025. However, last week didn’t go how they would’ve hoped.
While they traded an enormous $41 million last week, including in World Cup markets, they finished $186,785 below the zero line, according to Polymarket. They don’t appear too bothered, as they have a horde of outstanding positions.
The Trade Handle Prediction Markets Take
Polymarket whale accounts don’t lose very often. The World Cup has presented a plethora of trading opportunities, including those that often don’t appear very often, or involve circumstances — meaning teams — that don’t spend much time in the public eye. Traders have taken advantage of that.