eSports
Prodigy Agency Strengthens its Turkish Operations and Support to Players by Announcing the Addition of Tunç Demirçelik and Future Recruitments
Prodigy Agency, a leading esports representation agency, has announced its development in Turkey to expand its initiative to support the players from all angles in the region, with the main focus to give proven and young players international opportunities on LoL, Valorant, CS:GO and other games.
Prodigy Agency is now representing world-class Turkish players, that they already signed with prominent esports organisations, such as Özgür “woxic” Eker (CS:GO, former Mousesports and Cloud9), Mehmet Yağız “cNed” İpek (Valorant, won Champions (1st World Championship) with Acend) and Melih “pAura” Karaduran (Valorant, former Heretics and current BBL) and more, but also young and promising prodigies like Doğukan “113” Balci (LoL, joined Karmine Corp in LFL) orMuhammed “Kaori” Şentürk (LoL, joined EG Academy in NA).
With the recent addition of Tunç Demirçelik, Prodigy Agency is now representing nearly 20 players in Turkey and developing its local team to continue to expand and always provide top-notch services and support to its players with the main goal to welcome new stars but also to focus on nurturing and providing full support to young and upcoming talents in the region, and create strong connections between Turkey and the main regions (Europe, North America, Asia).
Prior to joining Prodigy Agency in October 2021, as a prominent esports figure in Turkey, Tunç Demirçelik served as a team and content manager for renowned Turkish organisations such as SuperMassive Blaze, but was also deeply involved in the LoL Turkish ecosystem and development, working directly with Riot Games Turkey, and being the host of some of the most popular shows like “Üçlü Kuvvet”.
With a strong network with players and teams, and extensive knowledge of the scene in Turkey, he is now leading the charge of the development of Prodigy Agency in Turkey, by coordinating with all the services of the company around the world.
“I want Prodigy Agency to pave the way for a sustainable representation of the players in Turkey and Tunç is the perfect fit to keep expanding our initiatives and support to the region. Turkey has one of the best esports talent pool in the world with an incredible potential and our main goal is to support the players from all angles, giving them everything needed to find international opportunities in major esports region and teams. But we also want to help the grassroots of esports in Turkey becoming more sustainable for esports. With his extensive network, experience and incredible mindset, Tunç has already accomplished such an astonishing work since he joined Prodigy Agency to help and support our prodigies, and I’m really excited about 2022 and our long-term work in the region!” Jérôme Coupez, Founder & CEO of Prodigy Agency, said.
“We all know the untapped potential of the Turkish region. Two Turkish players were at the top of LEC and LCS this year. Talking with Prodigy and Jerome showed me that there is so much more that we can do for the players to help them realize their true potential. #PlayersFirst mentality was always in me without me realizing. Working in TCL, I’ve always tried to make the lives of the pro players I worked with easier. The life of a pro player is a very difficult one. They need the best support to focus on their respective crafts. That’s where I and Prodigy come in. Together; we will help the Turkish players improve, thrive and turn them into the best version of themselves,” Tunç Demirçelik said.
eSports
Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director
Abios, the esports subsidiary of Kambi Group plc, has appointed CTO Anton Janér as its new Managing Director, succeeding Abios’ long-term CEO Oskar Bonnevier Fröberg who has stepped down to pursue new endeavours.
Having co-founded the company alongside Fröberg in 2013, Janér assumed leadership of Abios as Managing Director effective from 1 May. He brings extensive experience in technology to his new role, as well as a deep understanding of the esports market, and as CTO was instrumental in the development of Abios’ market-leading esports solutions.
Spearheaded by Fröberg for more than 10 years, Abios has witnessed incredible growth since launch, expanding the company to reach millions of esports fans, power scores of businesses in esports, media, betting, and entertainment sectors, and employ roughly 70 people worldwide.
Furthermore, Fröberg successfully navigated Abios through its acquisition by Kambi Group, a leading sports betting technology company, in 2021. Bonnevier Fröberg played a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth integration within the Kambi Group, further solidifying Abios’ position within the esports betting landscape.
Janér said: “I am honored to take on the role of Managing Director and lead Abios into its next chapter. Oskar and I have had a lot of fun together throughout the years at Abios, building the company into the industry leader it is today. I am very excited about the future of Abios and eager to take the business to new heights alongside our excellent team.”
Fröberg added: “It is with mixed emotions that I have resigned as CEO of Abios. This decision has not been an easy one, as I have dedicated more than 10 years of my life to building and leading this organisation together with Anton. However, we could not have found a better home for Abios than Kambi nor could I have found a better successor than Anton, giving me every confidence that Abios will only flourish moving forward.”
The post Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Angela Bernhard Thomas
CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL
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eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
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