Experienced journalist and editor covering the sports and betting industry. A football, NFL and rugby specialist, he is a FWA member and judge at the Football Content Awards.
Challenge Cup Information
We are going to look at the new season of the Challenge Cup in this blog and look at who is favourite for the title this year!
We are also going to look back at past champions and which teams have been dominant in this league.
Additionally, we will look at things from a betting perspective, things like how favourites in this cup perform.
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Challenge Cup Preview
Who won the 2024 Challenge Cup?
On a highly emotional day following the recent death of Rugby League legend Rob Burrow, 64,845 supporters at Wembley Stadium saw Wigan Warriors lift the 2024 Challenge Cup after defeating Warrington Wolves 18-8 in the Final after leading 12-2 at half-time.
Wigan were winning the Challenge Cup for the twenty-first time and held all four major Rugby League titles: The League Leaders' Shield, the Super League Title, the World Club Challenge and now the Challenge Cup.
Wigan half-back Bevan French was awarded Man-of-the-match.
When is the 2025 Challenge Cup?
The 2025 Challenge Cup gets underway on the 18th of January with the first round matches and will conclude on Saturday 7th June at Wembley Stadium.
Who are the favourites to win the Challenge Cup?
Reigning champions Wigan Warriors were priced up as the pre-season favourites to retain their title with St. Helens, Warrington and Hull KR not too far behind.
| Challenge Cup 2025 07 Jun @ 15:00 - Win Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hull KR | 2.25 | |
| Warrington | 2.90 | |
| Leigh | 6.00 | |
| Catalan Dragons | 9.00 | |
Who will win the Challenge Cup?
Can Wigan make it two on the bounce? You can see which team the OLBG rugby tipsters are tipping for success this season as well as they picks all throughout the season too.
Who are OLBG's top Rugby League Tipsters? OLBG's experts regularly make substantial profit on their Rugby League tips. Make sure you check their latest selections.
What is the Challenge Cup Format?
There are seven rounds of the Challenge Cup starting off with 34 UK-based community teams in the first round.
In the second round, we see 23 teams from League One and the Championship enter the competition (Toulouse has once again declined to take part).
Then in round three, the twelve Super League teams enter the competition, it is a very similar setup to the FA Cup just with fewer teams.
Challenge Cup Past Winners
Wigan Warriors won their second title in three years when defeating Warrington in 2024 having also won it in 2022 which was their first success since 2013.
Here are the last ten winners of the Challenge Cup:
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Wigan Warriors | 18-8 | Warrington Wolves |
| 2023 | Leigh Leopards | 17-16 | Hull KR |
| 2022 | Wigan Warriors | 16-14 | Huddersfield Giants |
| 2021 | St. Helens | 26-12 | Castleford Tigers |
| 2020 | Leeds Rhinos | 17-16 | Salford Red Devils |
| 2019 | Warrington Wolves | 18-4 | St. Helens |
| 2018 | Catalans Dragons | 20-14 | Warrington Wolves |
| 2017 | Hull FC | 18-14 | Wigan Warriors |
| 2016 | Hull FC | 12-10 | Warrington Wolves |
| 2015 | Leeds Rhinos | 50-0 | Hull KR |
Challenge Cup Favourite Statistics
Favourites seem to have been much more reliable in recent seasons, after dipping to 68% in 2020 it took a big jump in 2021 to 85% and remained in the 80s for the next two season with 81% in 2022 and 84% in 2023.
It did dip in 2024 with 74% of favourites being successful but if you look at the average between 2015 & 2020 only 73% of favourites won compared to the last four seasons where on average 81% of favourites won so quite some difference of late.
| Year | Favourites | Winners | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 72 | 56 | 77.78% |
| 2016 | 50 | 33 | 66.00% |
| 2017 | 45 | 34 | 75.56% |
| 2018 | 79 | 57 | 72.15% |
| 2019 | 48 | 38 | 79.17% |
| 2020 | 41 | 28 | 68.29% |
| 2021 | 27 | 23 | 85.19% |
| 2022 | 32 | 26 | 81.25% |
| 2023 | 43 | 36 | 83.72% |
| 2024 | 62 | 46 | 74.19% |
| Total | 499 | 377 | 75.55% |
Rugby League Tournament Favourites Comparison
Here is a comparison between some of the top rugby league tournaments (Knockouts) for winning favourites.
| League | Games | Winning Favs | Overall Fav % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Womens World Cup | 27 | 24 | 88.89% |
| World Cup | 97 | 79 | 81.44% |
| Challenge Cup | 499 | 371 | 74.35% |
Challenge Cup Records
Which team has won the most Challenge Cups?
Wigan Warriors are well ahead of the rest when it comes to the number of Challenge Cup wins having won it 21 times, their first coming in 1924 and their most recent in 2024.
They are seven ahead of Leeds Rhinos who have fourteen wins and then the only other club with double-figure wins is St. Helens with thirteen titles.
Who has made it to the most Challenge Cup finals?
Having won seven titles more than anyone else you would expect Wigan Warriors and you would be correct because as well as their 21 titles, they have also been beaten finalist 13 times making it 34 final appearances.
Very much like the number of titles won, it is Leeds Rhinos (26) and St. Helens (23) who come next on the list for the number of final appearances.
Hull FC are fourth on the list, with only five titles, they have made the final a total of 19 times because they have been beaten 12 times and have one of the worst records.
Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. The data in this Challenge Cup Preview & Betting Guide is managed by Andy Powell who looks after the Rugby Tipsters and results in the Rugby Tips Section. Our Commercial Content Manager Luke Bradshaw-Lee is a keen Rugby fan; he fact-checks the article for accuracy and publication. Together they produce our Rugby Union Previews and Rugby League Previews.
Andy Powell
Content Editor
Luke Bradshaw Lee
Senior Sports Betting Editor
