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IBM Enters Esports Arena with Activision Blizzard in New Multi-Year Deal as the Presenting Partner of the Overwatch League Grand Finals

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IBM to help power interactive and analytical content for the Overwatch League, engaging fans and players through cloud, IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence, and machine learning

Today, IBM and the Overwatch League, the world’s first global esports league with 20 city-based teams, announced its first-of-a-kind multi-year deal to bring IBM’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to esports. A sponsorship component kicks off at this year’s 2020 Overwatch League Grand Finals, which started Oct. 8 and run through Oct. 10. With the agreement – IBM’s first-ever esports deal – the technology leader becomes the official AI, cloud, and analytics sponsor of the Overwatch League. The deal covers the 2020 Grand Finals and the entirety of the 2021 and 2022 Overwatch League seasons.

Through the course of the deal, IBM and the Overwatch League plan to leverage IBM’s suite of advanced cloud and AI products. Starting in 2021, IBM and the Overwatch League will be working closely to develop technology solutions leveraging IBM’s expertise in natural language processing and machine learning to improve the league’s rankings system, and utilize IBM’s Watson AI capabilities to create live and in-broadcast predictive analysis, with specific solutions currently under development.

“We’re constantly striving to give fans the ability to more meaningfully engage with the Overwatch League, and teaming up with IBM enables us to do just that,” said Brandon Snow, Chief Revenue Officer of Activision Blizzard Esports. “IBM’s cutting-edge AI and machine learning, underpinned by cloud technologies, will help enable us to bring interactive and innovative engagement opportunities to our fans and teams. This is a fantastic benefit to our viewers, and we’re very excited to be announcing it during the biggest event of our season.”

“We’re thrilled to bring our world class Cloud platforms and Watson portfolio to one of the leading esports platforms in the world,” said Noah Syken, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment Partnerships, IBM. “The solutions we’re partnering to create can help the organizations, players, and fans enjoy an even more immersive, engaging experience. We look forward to working with the Overwatch League, to bring innovative solutions at scale, to broad and relevant audiences.”

The sponsorship with the Overwatch League will kick off in 2021 and include new solutions, that plan to be hosted on the IBM Cloud. Those solutions, which are currently under development, will leverage IBM’s suite of analytics tools to process in-match data, adding Watson’s AI capabilities through the use of Watson Machine Learning and the AutoAI functionality within Watson Studio. Additionally, the solutions will find new ways to showcase the wide array of historical statistics that the Overwatch League gets from live play.

The announcement of IBM and the Overwatch League teaming together is IBM’s first foray into the global world of esports and joins an impressive list of sports and entertainment partnerships that IBM technology powers around the world. IBM has been a part of gaming history as a hardware manufacturer, chip creator, and software provider for developers since 1985. Over the past 35 years, IBM has worked with gaming and esports entities through PowerPC processors, NLP, and cloud technology.

IBM has been a long-time partner to a range of sports organizations, teams, and events, including tennis (US Open and Wimbledon), golf (The Masters), football (via ESPN Fantasy Football), and the GRAMMY Awards. Through IBM’s partnerships, including IBM’s new engagement with the Overwatch League, IBM is able to reimagine sports, and entertainment experiences for fans, players and coaches alike, leveraging the flexibility of the hybrid cloud, and other AI-powered solutions.

 

SOURCE IBM

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BETER Wins Esports Betting Supplier Award at the EGR B2B Awards 2025

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BETER, the in-demand provider of fast-betting content, data, and odds for esports and sports, has been awarded Esports Betting Supplier at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards 2025.

It is the first time BETER has received this award, marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey and reflecting the growing demand for its fast-paced esports products.

The EGR B2B Awards celebrate the companies powering the global iGaming industry, recognizing excellence and rewarding those leading in innovation, reliability, and client service.

BETER’s esports offering features the fan-favorite ESportsBattle tournaments, providing non-stop betting action across popular disciplines such as eFootball, eBasketball, and eHockey, with eTennis set to become available to all partners soon. It means bettors can wager on approximately 500,000 matches annually, with up to 50 markets per event, while operators benefit from an average margin of 7.5%.

In addition, BETER provides a comprehensive Esports Odds Feed, delivering market-leading odds for over 40,000 pre-match and live events per year. These odds are calculated using official data and compiled by a team of expert traders.

With a team of over 130 esports traders, BETER ensures that players across all partner operators can place bets on the provider’s events with more than 90% uptime.

All ESportsBattle`s matches come with 24/7 live streaming, real-time data and odds, and are closely monitored by BETER’s in-house Integrity team to ensure strict adherence to fair play standards. As a result, only 0.01% of matches have been flagged as suspicious in the past 12 months.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: “We are incredibly proud of the entire BETER team for the hard work that led to this achievement.

“Their tireless efforts to deliver best-in-class esports products for the next generation of bettors have paid off—not just in winning this award, but in delivering a top-tier product and experience to our partners and their players, consistently exceeding expectations.

“This award rounds off an incredible six months for BETER, and we head into the second half of the year with strong momentum behind us.”

Adam Conway, General Manager of Esports Business Division at BETER, added: “Our esports betting products are unmatched—led, of course, by our ESportsBattle tournaments.

“These tournaments truly set the standard for what a fast-betting esports experience should be, and we’re thrilled to see that recognized by the EGR B2B Awards judges.

“Our Esports Odds Feed is equally impressive and has become an essential tool for operators looking to offer the best accurate odds in the industry.

“I’d like to thank the entire BETER team for their dedication and to EGR for this recognition. We couldn’t be happier to add our first EGR B2B Award to the trophy shelf.”

The post BETER Wins Esports Betting Supplier Award at the EGR B2B Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Esports World Cup Foundation Renews Partnership with Albaik

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The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced the renewal of its partnership with Albaik for a second consecutive year, aimed at enriching the experience of both visitors and players participating in the Esports World Cup (EWC). With a deep-rooted history in Saudi Arabia since 1974, Albaik will continue supporting the Kingdom’s gaming and esports sector through this prestigious partnership, aligned with its broader mission to empower youth and foster local talent in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

This partnership is built on a shared commitment to the future – bringing diverse entertainment offerings to the largest esports and gaming event in history. With audiences attending from across the globe, EWC 2025 offers visitors an exciting mix of competitive matches, immersive experiences and cultural programming.

Albaik’s continued involvement in EWC 2025 reflects its long-standing commitment to social, sporting and economic development in the Kingdom. It also reinforces the company’s belief that meaningful community impact is a core part of doing business – a principle that shapes its contributions to national development and youth empowerment.

Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 7 to August 24, 2025, the Esports World Cup will unite global gaming communities for a celebration of esports culture. With 25 tournaments across 24 games, 2000 elite players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries, the EWC will feature the largest prize pool in esports history, over $70 million. Fans can expect exclusive experiences, from high-stakes competition to live music, anime cafes, retro arcades, cosplay and more, drawing millions of fans online and in person.

The post Esports World Cup Foundation Renews Partnership with Albaik appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Esports World Cup Foundation and Lenovo™ Partner to Power the Next Generation of Esports Champions

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Lenovo’s Legion premium gaming brand joins the world’s largest esports event to fuel elite performance and elevate the fan experience through world-class hardware

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) and Lenovo, announced a partnership to make Lenovo’s Legion brand of gaming devices the Official PC & Gaming Hardware partner of the Esports World Cup 2025 (EWC). Lenovo Legion is the one of the world’s leading gaming ecosystem brands, and will be bring its relentless commitment to innovation and performance to the global stage, empowering EWC athletes to compete at their highest level.

From training rooms to tournament zones, EWC athletes will be equipped with Lenovo Legion Towers, Lenovo Legion laptops, and peripherals – built for elite esports play with advanced thermal systems, high-performance silicon, high refresh-rate displays and low latency keyboards and mice that meet the demands of top-level competition.

Key models such as the Legion Tower 7i and Legion Tower 5i will feature across the event’s player infrastructure, delivering the reliability and power needed to perform under the intense pressure of elite competition. Designed for esports, both towers offer expansive I/O for a complete gaming setup and Legion Coldfront: Liquid cooling thermal solutions. The Legion Tower 7i boasts advanced cooling and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Desktop GPU for the extreme performance that top-tier esports athletes rely on, while the Legion Tower 5i pairs intelligent cooling with the RTX 5070 Ti Desktop GPU to deliver focused, winning gameplay.

EWC will also feature Legion Pro 7i laptops to give attendees the full Lenovo Legion experience. Legion laptops untether elite-level gaming experiences from the desk, allowing gamers to win anywhere they find themselves in competition for the top spot with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPUs and Legion Coldfront: Vapor thermal systems, allowing the laptop to deliver up to 250W TDP that brings the most demanding games to life on the 16” PureSight OLED display.

“We’re building the Esports World Cup to set a new global standard — in both competition and the technology behind it,” said Mohammed Al Nimer, Chief Commercial Officer at Esports World Cup Foundation. “Lenovo’s Legion brand understands what elite players need: speed, efficiency, and reliability under pressure. These machines deliver the competitive edge required on the world’s biggest stage, and together we’re pushing the limits of performance — while delivering an experience that meets the expectations of athletes, fans, and the future of global esports.”

“Lenovo Legion equips gamers around the world with outstanding devices to help them achieve their goals and reach their impossible,” said Volker Düring, VP, PC Gaming Business, Lenovo. “The Esports World Cup is the ultimate forum for the world’s best gamers to showcase their mettle and emerge at the top of the world leaderboards, and when the best gamers compete on Lenovo Legion devices, anything is possible.”

As part of the partnership, Lenovo’s Legion branding will appear across EWC’s global broadcast, digital content, and onsite experiences, including fully equipped festival zones with PCs, gear, and laptops available for attendees to play on-site, helping drive deeper engagement with fans while highlighting the ecosystem that supports world-class gaming.

Fans can expect exclusive content, player-focused storytelling, and digital activations across Lenovo Legion’s social channels, offering an inside look at the road to victory – and the technology that powers it.

Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 7 to August 24, 2025, the Esports World Cup will unite global gaming communities for a celebration of esports culture. With 25 tournaments across 24 games, 2,000 elite players, and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries, the EWC will feature the largest prize pool in esports history, over $70 million. Fans can expect exclusive experiences, from high-stakes competition to live music, anime cafes, retro arcades, cosplay, and more, drawing millions of fans online and in person.

The post Esports World Cup Foundation and Lenovo™ Partner to Power the Next Generation of Esports Champions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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