Punters turn to betting on Paul the Octupus making correct final prediction

European based Williamhill.com is offering odds of even money that Paul will tip the winner. But so far, the “oracle octopus” has only picked winners for games that Germany is playing in and it is unknown if he will pick a winner for Sunday evening’s Spain v Netherlands final.

Paul the German Psychic Octopus made his prediction for the 2010 World Cup semi-final match between Spain and Germany, foreboding an unfortunate end for Joachim Low’s side, as he has plumped for Spain to beat the Germans on Wednesday.

The octopus makes his predictions by choosing food from two containers, one marked with the flag of Germany and the other their opponents (see video).

William Hill’s spokesman Tony Kenny said: “Punters are keen to back Paul’s tips and we’re giving them a chance to bet that he’ll pick the winner before he even makes his selection.”

Paul the Octopus has become an internet phenomenon for his uncanny ability to pick winners. He has accurately picked the winner of every game Germany has played in the FIFA World Cup.

So far, Paul, who had an 80% success at Euro 2008, has correctly predicted all five of Germany’s World Cup results in South Africa, including their 1-0 defeat to Serbia, proving he is not biased. And despite facing threats of being turned into calamari, Paul proved right as Joachim Low’s side were defeated by Spain in 90-minutes on Wednesday.  

Paul was born in 2008 in England. According to entertainment director Daniel Fey, Paul showed his intelligence early on: “There was something about the way he looked at our visitors when they came close to the tank. It was so unusual, so we tried to find out what his special talents were.” The first time Paul was tried was during UEFA Euro 2008. He was correct in 80% of the predictions he made, but he was wrong in his prediction of the winner of the final match, which was Germany versus Spain. Paul predicted Germany’s win but Spain was the eventual winner.