INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Prediction markets, such as those that exist in the realm of fantasy sports, have taken off amongst consumers in the last few years
But fantasy sports have yet to make much of a play in one of the hottest areas online right now, namely esports
And it a big market.
Fantasy esports have been thriving across international markets
In 2017, more than 360 million viewers watched League of Legends alone, significantly overtaking the Super Bowl viewership
By 2020, the esports industry is estimated to be worth more than $1.5 billion, with the target audience being 21-35 years old
But quite how to take advantage of this arena has been a conundrum.
Now a new startup thinks it has the answer
What if you could create a live predictions market around esports as it happens
That the aim of WARD, a startup out of Berlin that has
created a &pick and predict& real-time prediction smartphone game, where players can win real prizes.
Billed as a fantasy esports game that
provides a second-screen real-time experience for tournaments, WARD has now secured a $600,000 seed round
The backers are Impulse VC, SmartHub and a number of European angel investors
The seed investment will be used to build out the product, but also to expand in the lucrative markets of Asia and the U.S.
So how does it
work Well, fans who watch a championship or a specific esports game can predict their version of in-game events in real-time
So, for example, in the League of Legends game, a user can make a prediction about who will spill &first blood& or which team will destroy
the first tower in the game, and so on.
For every prediction users make correctly, they are awarded points
Users who acquire the most points can top the leaderboard and go on to win prizes
These can include headphones, tickets for championships and signed merchandise such as team jerseys
Of course, this depends on the partner paying WARD to be featured
But, the more the user wins, the better prizes they get and the bigger the brand uplift for the team or sponsor.
Kirill Belov, managing
partner at Impulse VC, says he was &stunned by the WARD technology, team and global vision
It is our first funding in the esports industry, and WARD is one of the best platforms to expand the scope of further investments.& High
praise indeed.
WARD has so far run beta tests in Berlin based around the European League of Legends Championship Series, but the official
launch is set for June 2018 with an aim to attract 3 million downloads by the end of the year.
The plans also include global expansion to
Asia and adding new esports disciplines, such as Overwatch, CounterStrike (CSGO) to the app.
You can download the app here.
