Leading-edge artificial intelligence algorithms are now powering production at nearly half of VSPO’s esports tournaments, dramatically reducing content creation time and enhancing fan engagement, said the company’s co-founder Danny Tang at the New Global Sport Conference 2024 (NGSC) in Riyadh this August.

At a panel discussion with other industry leaders including Ahmad Alabduljabbar, Craig Levine, Jean Mariotte, Penny Diao and Shay Segev, Tang said nearly half of the esports tournaments VSPO produces are now leveraging AI to assist key production tasks such as live highlights capturing and post-game replay editing, markedly boosting the efficiency and agility of the company’s tournament operations.

VSPO, Asia’s biggest esports company, organises and produces more than 80 tournaments and 7000 matches every year, captivating an online fan base of over 800 million.

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“Over the past couple years, we have developed a lot of AI tools to allow us to better produce esports tournament content in a much more efficient manner. For example, our ‘AICam’ now allows us to turn hours of game footage into viral social media content in mere seconds,” said Tang, who is also VSPO’s CFO and head of global strategy office.

As the leading conference for the Esports World Cup Foundation, the NGSC 2024 hosted a global delegation of over 1200 industry thought-leaders at the Kingdom Centre on August 24-25.

At the event, Tang introduced VSPO’s two proprietary AI tools, “AIOB” and “AICam”, which have been instrumental in streamlining esports production process. AIOB, an algorithm trained on extensive tournament data, assists directors in identifying and broadcasting the most thrilling moments in real time. AICam, on the other hand, automates the selection and editing of highlights, turning them into viral video clips with unprecedented speed and precision.

Another VSPO’s key AI project Tang shared was VSPO’s partnership with Qualcomm on the Snapdragon “Faith of Victory” initiative, an esports athlete emotion detection system capable of providing real-time insights into an athlete’s state of emotions by studying their facial expressions and heart rates. The AI system has been trained with data from 175 professional players across 18 top teams in the King Pro League, and VSPO continues to refine it for improved performance on a frequent basis.

Furthermore, Tang said that VSPO is also in the process of integrating its proprietary AI technologies into its signature, award-winning “4K OB Truck,” a patented mobile production unit designed for on-the-go creation and broadcasting of top-tier esports events.

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This innovative vehicle was a standout feature at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, where esports was recognised as a medal sport for the first time, as a significant portion of the esports series was produced using VSPO’s “4K OB Truck,” showcasing its capabilities on an international stage.

China’s leading esports brand, eStar Gaming, a subsidiary of NIP Group announced its intention to collaborate with Dalian Young Boy Football Club. This partnership aims to explore innovative business models that blend digital and traditional sports realms, enhancing urban culture, tourism and the consumer economy through the power of sports.

Kui Wang, Investor and Chairman of Dalian Young Boy Football Club, said: “We are delighted to partner with eStar Gaming, a pioneer in the esports industry. Esports resonates with the youth, offering a dynamic platform for engagement. Our ‘esports+ football’ collaboration is set to spark excitement and innovation, enriching the traditional sport of football with new dimensions. We are confident that this alliance with NIP Group, the first listed Chinese esports company on Nasdaq, will propel Dalian Young Boy and Dalian football into uncharted territories, while our exploration in the integration between esports and traditional sports will pave the way for sustainable growth in both industries.”

Hang “Allen” Sui, Chief Operating Officer of NIP Group, said: “This cross-industry partnership is a groundbreaking step towards integrating esports and football. The synergy between our organizations will deliver unparalleled fan experiences. We anticipate expanding our collaboration with Dalian Young Boy to include cultural exchanges, tourism promotion, and esports festivals, exploring the full potential of digital-inclusion.”

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Esports has become an exceptional medium for the younger generation to engage with traditional sports culture and socialize. In late August, Nuoyan and Orange, eStar Gaming’s representative players, engaged in an inaugural exchange with Dalian Young Boy Football Club, experiencing a day in the life of a football player. The event saw a jersey exchange between Dong Chen, General Manager of Dalian Young Boy Football Club, and the eStar Gaming players, with active participation from athletes Weijie Mao, Pengyu Zhu, Shan Huang and Ge Qu.

The integration of esports and traditional sports has emerged as a focal point for both sectors. According to the Esports Working Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, the domestic esports industry reached approximately 490 million users in 2023, with over 300 million being young users. This integration is poised to align with the entertainment preferences of the youth, revitalizing sports culture in a manner that reflects the new era and fostering “out-of-the-box” growth for traditional sports and local cultural tourism.

BETER, the leading provider of next-gen betting content and data covering sports and Esports, has extended its partnership with BVGroup, the top-flight online betting operator and B2B technology solutions provider.

According to the deal, BVGroup’s brands, including BetVictor, Betano UK and others, will be provided with BETER’s Esports Odds Feed, an end-to-end trading solution which covers 450+ esports tournaments worldwide with the highest odds uptime in the industry of 90%+.

This means that their players will get access to odds for more than 40,000+ live and pre-match events per year, further enriching and improving their Esports wagering experience with the brand.

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Odds are calculated using official data and compiled by BETER’s in-house team of expert Esports traders for in-demand disciplines such as CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant and many more.

The extended partnership further establishes BETER as the go-to provider of Esports content and data for the biggest operators in the business. Indeed, the provider’s fast-betting experiences have proved to be a big hit with significant player groups such as Millennials and Gen Z.

BETER and BVGroup have a longstanding partnership in place with the operator offering the provider’s proprietary ESportsBattle tournaments, which cover eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey and CS2, as well as Setka Cup table tennis tournaments to its players. Combined, this gives players access to more than 45,000 monthly events.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: “We are thrilled to have strengthened our partnership with our good friends at BVGroup and for its brands to provide players with an enhanced Esports betting experience. 

“Esports betting is a significant vertical in its own right with players demanding a great selection of markets and the best-priced odds. By combining official data with expert traders, we can provide our partners with highly accurate odds for Esports tournaments worldwide. 

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“We have already enjoyed a hugely successful partnership with BVGroup, but this enhanced agreement will really take it to the next level.” 

Eoin Ryan, Director of Sportsbook at BVGroup, added: “BETER has proved to be one of our most important partners, allowing us to deliver fast betting content to players at our sportsbooks. 

“The success of this made us want to deepen our collaboration by taking the provider’s global Esports data and odds, allowing us to offer bets on more than 40,000 events across major disciplines such as CS2, League of Legends, Valorant and others. 

“It’s partnerships like this that ensure our sportsbooks remain the go-to sports and Esports betting brands of choice for players in core markets across the world.”