Oddsmakers suddenly go all in for this Game of Thrones character to take the Iron Throne

We don’t know if a spoiler alert should apply here, so if you want a pristine viewing journey through Game of Thrones’ eighth and final season — and you’re the kind of person who places a lot of faith in the sixth sense of gambling oddsmakers — then this article’s probably one to avoid.

Still with us (unlike Ned Stark)? Good; let’s get to it: In a telling sign of just how deeply invested people are in the fate of HBO’s surviving Westerosi, they’re putting their money on the line to guess who’ll be sitting atop the Iron Throne when Season 8 of Game of Thrones has ended. And for oddsmaker BoyleSports, one of Ireland’s most popular independent betting sites, Three-eyed Raven Brandon Stark has been holding on to a steady lead through all of 2019...but now a new dark horse is closing in fast.

Game of Thrones has been inspiring high-stakes betting intrigue since it first debuted, and there's been tons of jockeying over everything from who'll rule it all to who'll die next. But with less than a month to go before the final season begins, the stakes surrounding who'll be wearing the crown by series' end are suddenly rising.

BoyleSports has had to dramatically reshuffle its GoT winning lineup this week to accommodate a new contender, though — a character whose betting line shot up in a “flurry of bets” overnight, to charge into second place as the odds-on favorite to seize control of the Seven Kingdoms.

Credit: HBO

We don’t know if some super-secret, behind-the-scenes show info is making the rounds on the Emerald Isle or not — so don’t run out and stake your life’s savings on anything that’s said here. But (drum roll, please) … none other than Sansa Stark, Lady of Winterfell and widow to Joffrey, has suddenly eclipsed all contenders — even Jon Snow — to slide into second place in BoyleSports’ GoT betting line.

“Game of Thrones could see a woman on the throne after a flurry of bets came in for the eldest daughter of the deceased Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, Sansa Stark, and BoyleSports have been forced to slash her odds from 12/1 into 7/2,” the outlet posted this week.

Without wading into the deep end of the bookmakers’ lexicon, the breakdown for the new numbers is pretty simple: Sansa (Sophie Turner) formerly had a 1-in-12 shot at running things from King's Landing. But ever since some mysterious thing evidently caught the interest of multiple bettors, seemingly overnight, Sansa now enjoys a 2-in-7 chance at walking away with the entire game, leaving the Lannisters, Baratheons, and even her own siblings left to squabble over the table scraps (which presumably, in this case, would come in the form of a seat on the small council … or else a good old-fashioned beheading). 

Thanks to Fort Knox levels of secrecy surrounding the story for Season 8, no one truly knows how the final six episodes will play out. But with Jon, Bran, and Sansa all near the top of the betting line, fans can’t be faulted for thinking a King (or Queen) in the North may be the one to take the Iron Throne when the snow finally settles. Season 8 of Game of Thrones debuts on HBO starting April 14. Long live House Stark!