Esports

Pinnacle concludes its 25 Year Anniversary with Dota 2

duanea — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:43:33 +0000

Pinnacle concludes its 25 Year Anniversary with Dota 2

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Pinnacle concludes its 25 Year Anniversary with Dota 2

duanea Fri, 11/03/2023 - 11:43

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Pinnacle is celebrating its 25 Year Anniversary with the Pinnacle: 25 Year Anniversary Show. This tournament will be built upon the previous Pinnacle Cup, a leading online competition in both CS:GO and Dota 2.

The competition will see an entirely new structure, and will feature four groups of five teams, all competing against each other to progress to the Playoff stage. Three teams from each group will have the opportunity to reach it, whereby they will continue their journey in a best-of-three, double elimination format, where the winning team will take home a cut of the $100,000 prize pool.

Pinnacle will feature as the principal partner of the competition which will continue our relationship with GRID and long-standing production partner Eden Esports.

The event will be hosted on our live stream channels, including our established Twitch channels (used for the Pinnacle Cup tournaments) in both English and Russian. It will also be broadcasted live on the Pinnacle Cup YouTube Channel.

Renowned teams such as Na’Vi, Luna Galaxy, Virtus Pro and OG have played in previous Pinnacle Cup competitions and have provided a spectacle viewing experience for our esports community.

About Pinnacle

Pinnacle has been offering bettors a unique alternative to other bookmakers since 1998. Since 2010, Pinnacle has played a pioneering role in the growth and development of esports betting options, as demonstrated with the creation of the Pinnacle Cup and its continued growth into 2023.

About GRID Esports

GRID is a data platform serving the game industry with a complete in-game data infrastructure, data management, and asset distribution solutions.

The GRID Data Platform allows rights holders to manage and distribute their in-game data through the GRID Data Portals to target user groups including community, professional players, and commercial clients. GRID partners with over 90 rights holders such as Riot Games, KRAFTON, WePlay, and PGL, and offers a robust network of integrated data customers in media, betting, player coaching, and other categories. GRID is headquartered in Berlin with teams in the US, Poland, Sweden, and China, and employs over 90 people globally.

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03 Nov 2023

Consistent Innovation: The key to esports success

duanea — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 10:28:31 +0000

Consistent Innovation: The key to esports success

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Consistent innovation: The key to esports success

duanea Thu, 08/24/2023 - 06:28

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Taking the industry’s first esports bet in 2010, Pinnacle Solution (as part of the Pinnacle group) has gone on to raise the benchmark year-on-year for esports betting experiences. Underpinning this continued success, which has rewarded operator partners with new revenue streams, and Pinnacle Solution itself with much industry acclaim in recent years, has been a focus on consistent innovation.

Across every department, the supplier aspires to deliver partners with the tools to reap esports success. Product teams look to find ways to best acquire and retain esports fans, ex-professional gamers have been hired as traders, and account management teams are trained to consult partners on how best to succeed in the unique esports space.

All of these factors combined make for an unrivalled offering that has earned itself a clean sweep of top-tier awards in the last few years. These include two EGR Esports Supplier of the Year Awards in a row, four SBC Esports Supplier of the Year gongs since 2019, Esports Product of the Year at the 2022 SiGMA Awards, and various other titles on the B2C side.

Consistent Innovation

The broader esports team members at Pinnacle Solution have one thing in common: they all share a passion for esports. In every action taken, they look to develop the scene and experience of a pastime they love. What makes this approach different to others in the market is that they want to be a part of the esports community, as opposed to simply being an organisation trying to benefit from the esports boom on the fringes.

This builds trust with esports fans, teams, and governing bodies, but also ensures that they are at the leading edge of all innovation and changing trends in the esports ecosystem. Leveraging this knowhow means they can be first-to-market in bringing new titles to the space, new product developments, and launching new betting-first content, such as its widely-respected Pinnacle Cup series.

2021 saw the launch of the Esports Hub, a standalone esports betting destination designed to suit the demands of the esports fan first, not the sports bettor. With an aesthetic to suit and the ease-of-navigation that fits with the multi-titled esports world, bettors can find their selections quicker and enjoy live betting more. Operator partners who integrate with the Hub can leverage the benefits of an authentic esports product and the commercial success that goes with it.

Whilst it provides the foundation for esports content, the Esports Hub is nothing without betting opportunities that appeal to the uniquely varied esports communities around the world. This is why the esports trading team, which now accounts for around a third of the whole trading department, has focused on deeper and broader content in recent years.

Titles are consistently being added based on consumer demand and what works best as a betting experience, and the past year has seen a number of new games added, including mobile games Freefire, Wild Rift, PUBG Mobile, and many more. This is a rapidly evolving environment, and our trading team are uniquely suited to react faster to these changes to engage fans earlier than competitors do.

Partner Success

Innovation is one of the key reasons behind Pinnacle Solution’s consistent success, but it has been done with a purpose. Partners want to know that the product they are receiving is commercially valuable, capable of driving new revenue streams, and ultimately, profitable. The supplier’s progressive developments have focused both on pushing esports betting forward, but also with the core goals of driving acquisition, shoring up retention, and the gradual improvement in hold performance to achieve this.

With over 65+ partners globally seeing the performance gains that come from a straightforward integration with Pinnacle Solution, it is clear that this approach works across continents and varying operator business models. The esports audience is vast, and few know how to engage them better with quality content, higher limits, and lower margins than this supplier does.

Knowing operator challenges is another key differentiator of the brand. Leveraging over 25 years of operator success in the group has ensured that the supplier can hone integrations, APIs, and back-office functionality in the most pain-free way possible. Kicking the operator-supplier journey off smoothly is key to future success, and with a 24/7 team on hand to consult on any esports ops queries or requests, those who may not be as comfortable with the relatively new esports space have the peace of mind that they’re working with a team who very much do.

Just getting started

The team is proud of the success it has earned for partners in recent years, as well as the acclaim it has received from various industry awards, but realistically, the esports betting vertical is only just getting started. Market depth and in-play opportunities are still restricted by data availability, and lag behind what is commonplace in traditional betting sports, like soccer and tennis. Front-end services, such as Multi-View and localised streaming, are just coming to market, and the education of esports fans about how betting can be a compliment to their viewing experiences has a long way to go.

We are going in the right direction quickly, and a commitment to consistently innovating and adding value to end users and operators is the only way forward. There will be significant steps forward and minor iterations on the way, but these will all add up to something that does esports the service it deserves as one of the most exciting entertainment products out there today.

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Pinnacle bolsters esports betting and Pinnacle Cup series offerings

Pinnacle Solution launches the Esports Hub

ESports Data: Pinnacle Solution X GRID

25 Jul 2023

Pinnacle bolsters esports betting and Pinnacle Cup series offerings

duanea — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Pinnacle bolsters esports betting and Pinnacle Cup series offerings

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Pinnacle further bolsters its esports betting and Pinnacle Cup series offerings

duanea Wed, 08/23/2023 - 13:00

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Pinnacle is extending its commitment to the Pinnacle Cup series and the esports betting space by partnering with Shikenso Analytics, an analytics company that provides industry leaders tools to maximise their investment within esports sponsorships.

Building upon the successful Pinnacle Cup series in gaming titles such as CS:GO and Dota 2, Pinnacle is aiming to elevate its market-leading status within esports, and drive value from the esteemed tournament series by utilizing the technology provided by Shikenso Analytics.

Through this collaboration, Pinnacle gains access to state-of-the-art partnership performance and measurement tools, which enable the monitoring of brand presence across multiple streaming channels. In addition to providing an analysis of the audience based on various demographic and geographical data, these comprehensive insights will further empower the organization to make key, data-driven strategic decisions that will lead to further informed and targeted product and partnership investment choices in the future.

In addition, this partnership will also provide Pinnacle Solution, the B2B pillar of Pinnacle, with localization data points for its network of partners, and strategic insights via audience and viewership metrics within local markets in key regions, such as Brazil, Canada, and Asia.

Stuart Bridges, Global Esports Partnership Manager at Pinnacle: "We are thrilled to partner with Shikenso Analytics across all of our Pinnacle Cup events. The analytics provided by Shikenso offer us valuable insights and allow us to analyze our marketing efforts in an effective way. This will allow us to adapt where necessary, and to grow our following as well as our understanding of our audience over time.”

Benedikt Becker, Director Sales & Marketing at Shikenso: “Partnering with one of the leading bookmakers in esports is a milestone for us at Shikenso. Our cutting-edge platform will provide invaluable insights, enabling Pinnacle to strengthen its brand presence within the esports industry. We look forward to closely analyzing performance metrics of upcoming Pinnacle Cup events and can’t wait to deliver excellent results.”

About Pinnacle

Pinnacle has been offering bettors a unique alternative to other bookmakers since 1998, and since 2010, Pinnacle has been the pioneer of esports betting, as demonstrated by the creation of the Pinnacle Cup series and its continued growth into 2023. Utilizing 25 years of sports betting and risk management expertise, Pinnacle evolved to create the B2B division 'Pinnacle Solution', which provides a complete sportsbook iFrame, 24/7 service, and a dedicated Esports Hub that drives new revenue for its partners.

About Shikenso GmbH

Shikenso GmbH is a Germany-based analytics company working in the esports and gaming industry. By using artificial intelligence, the company enables representatives of the industry to evaluate and control their investments, sponsorships, and marketing activities in a sustainable way, and furthermore creates a more transparent ecosystem towards endemic and non-endemic brands. Branded content or sponsorship assets are analyzed via live-streaming and social media platforms to exploit the full potential of every engagement and boost performance with reliable data.

For more information, please visit www.shikenso.com.

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The Pinnacle Cup is Coming!

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23 Aug 2023

Pinnacle Cup V launches for CS:GO

duanea — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 20:00:00 +0000

Pinnacle Cup V launches for CS:GO

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Pinnacle Cup V launches for CS:GO

duanea Tue, 07/25/2023 - 16:00

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Pinnacle Cup is making its triumphant return with Pinnacle Cup V, building upon the success of the most recent instalment, Pinnacle Cup: Brasil. Pinnacle Cup V aims to uphold the spirit of the Pinnacle Cup Championship, which took place in Lund, Sweden in 2022, by delivering an extraordinary experience to the esports community.

This highly anticipated event will see Pinnacle maintain its partnership with data partner GRID, and production partner Eden Esports. The online tournament will keep its original format, fostering an environment where teams of all skill levels can showcase their talents. Starting with the "Play-In" stage, teams will progress through the Swiss Stage and eventually reach the playoffs, where the winning team will take home a cut of the $50,000 prize pool.

Renowned teams such as Heroic (Pinnacle Cup Championship winners), Astralis, and Fnatic have graced the Pinnacle Cup series in the past, adding to the tournament's rich history. We will continue to break new ground when the tournament begins on August 1, 2023.

The tournament will be live-streamed on Pinnacle's English and Russian language Twitch channels, catering to a diverse audience in multiple languages. Additionally, we will also stream on our official Pinnacle Cup YouTube channel. The Swiss Stage will see fierce competition between teams like ECSTATIC, EYEBALLERS, Aurora, and Spirit, who will all battle it out for a coveted spot in the playoffs. These teams will then face off against four invited teams in the Playoff Stage.

Stuart Bridges, Global Esports Partnership Manager:

We are excited to return to our flagship event with Pinnacle Cup V. This latest instalment follows on from the successful launches of previous entries Pinnacle Cup: Brasil and Pinnacle Cup: Malta Vibes.

Our commitment to the Pinnacle Cup series further demonstrates our ability and ambition to provide long-term and scalable value propositions across our products, as well as deliver compelling content by streaming the competition via multiple channels.

We continue to remain dedicated to the esports community, providing players, teams, and organisations with the opportunity to compete against the world’s best teams, whilst developing engaging content and storylines that put these groups on the centre stage.

Harry Wiggett, Head of Sponsorships at GRID Esports:

We are thrilled to once again partner with Pinnacle and leverage GRID's Esports Solutions to deliver top class entertainment to CS:GO fans, with official data at its core. Pinnacle’s commitment to contribute to the esports scene’s sustainability is unparalleled, and the fact that we are working together on the Pinnacle Cup project for the third consecutive year is the best testimony to our shared values and aligned vision. We cannot wait to see all the teams in action!

About Pinnacle

About GRID Esports

GRID is a data platform serving the game industry with a complete in-game data infrastructure, data management, and asset distribution solutions.

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The Pinnacle Cup is Coming!

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25 Jul 2023

Four in a row for Pinnacle Solution

samw — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 11:41:04 +0000

Four in a row for Pinnacle Solution

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Four in a row for Pinnacle Solution

samw Thu, 10/06/2022 - 07:41

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In the lavish surroundings of the Palau Nacional, Barcelona, on September 22, 2022, Pinnacle Solution was named Esports Supplier of the Year for an unprecedented fourth time in succession, having first picked up the gong in 2019, just a year after the supplier was founded.

The SBC Awards have become regarded as one of iGaming and betting’s premier awards shows and events, recognising “the achievements of operators and affiliates, as well as suppliers from across all the major disciplines”, with this year’s edition coming after the closing of the SBC Summit Barcelona 2022.

Recognising esports innovation

Pinnacle Solution’s CCO Jane Guan and BD Director Rohini Sardana were present at the event to pick up the award from Spanish soccer legend Gaizka Mendieta on stage in front of an audience of the industry’s great and good, with many of them having also judged what was one of the most competitive categories of the night.

These judges recognised Pinnacle Solution for its pioneering approach to esports betting. During the judging period, it was noted how the supplier had stayed ahead of the market in delivering an esports offering that bridges the gap between betting operators and the demanding esports communities. It also released a number of refinements to its game-changing Esports Hub product, launched various new tradeable esports titles, many in the booming mobile market, and leveraged its first LAN Pinnacle Cup event to bring the best betting content to its global partners.

Rohini Sardana, BD Director at Pinnacle Solution, said after picking up the award on the night:

"The esports betting supplier space continues to grow and that makes it more important than ever that we continue to innovate faster and deliver esports solutions that engage customers and drive partner revenue. We're offering a truly unique combination of quality esports content and risk management expertise which no other supplier can match, as this SBC Award goes to show, and with the roadmap we have coming, I'm confident we will continue to make a significant difference to our partners."

As Rohini touches on, Pinnacle Solution’s esports offering is designed to deliver the best content to bettors, with a UI that they can resonate with, while using the best official data feeds and trading expertise to deliver better bottom lines for its partner sportsbooks. With a recently announced extension to its deal with Bayes Esports and an ongoing partnership with GRID, the supplier remains the only company in the space to have deals with both, ensuring its content delivery remains objectively market-leading.

Taking esports betting forward

Having won its first Esports Supplier of the Year award in 2019, Pinnacle Solution has regained its title each year – even throughout the challenging pandemic years which had a disproportionate impact on esports betting and its demand – and with an exciting roadmap ahead featuring new Esports Hub features, a more in-depth live offering, and more investment in marketing services, the supplier hopes that 2023 can make for another successful awards season.

Pinnacle Solution is the current holder of both the EGR Awards and SBC Awards Esports Supplier of the Year titles. If your esports offering isn’t performing as well as you’d like or if you require a trading partner proven to deliver results, get in touch at b2b@pinnaclesolution.com to see how its market-leading offering can level up your sportsbook.

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Pinnacle Cup Championship: A Lookback

samw — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:45:54 +0000

Pinnacle Cup Championship: A Lookback

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Pinnacle Cup Championship: A Lookback

samw Fri, 08/05/2022 - 04:45

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June 8, 2022, marked the start of the world’s first operator-organised LAN esports event. This landmark competition, bringing together the world’s best CS:GO teams, as well as a number of popular up-and-coming teams from Latin America and Europe, marked both a step into the unknown and further commitment from the Pinnacle group to the booming esports industry.

Having run a number of online Pinnacle Cup tournaments prior to the offline event, there was a unique understanding of what makes bettors tick when it comes to organising live esports action, and these learnings were drafted into the LAN competition, to be known as the Pinnacle Cup Championship.

The breakdown

The title: CS:GO

The venue: Sparbanken Skane Arena, Lund, Sweden

The dates: June 8-11, 2022

The teams: Astralis, BIG, Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, Heroic, Imperial Esports, MIBR, Team Finest

The prize pot: $250,000, split between the champions Heroic ($150,000), runners-up Astralis ($50,000), and third-placed BIG ($35,000).

Three days of esports excitement

With thousands of fans packed into the arena over the three days, there was a buzz about the venue that took the Pinnacle Cup series to a new level. With media access to individual players and managers, VIP areas for the CS:GO fanatics, and a first-class arena in a student city primed for esports action, the Pinnacle Cup Championship didn’t disappoint, and for the first-of-its-kind event, it was a smash hit.

With the best teams battling it out from the Nordics, Brazil, and Germany, the quality was high and the atmosphere electric, ably managed by live talent including Sam Wright (Tech Girl), Pala Sen (Pala), and Maikil Selim (Golden).

With the double elimination format in place, each team had to win two matches from three, with the group leaders going into the upper bracket of the playoffs, and the second-placed teams falling into the lower bracket first round.

BIG (priced at 4.400 to win at the time) topped group A, winning their first two matches, with Astralis (4.670) doing the same in group B. This set up an upper bracket final clash where Astralis took the victory 2-0 against BIG, landing them a spot in the grand final. Among the rest, Heroic (2.410) took the hard route, edging Team Finest (22.560) in the lower bracket first round, then taking the scalp of BIG in the lower bracket final.

So, the final showdown was between Heroic (priced at 1.550 to win the match) and Astralis (2.450). It’s hard to argue that these two CS:GO giants were the best across the week, and Heroic’s long path to victory obviously gave them the match practice to win the final two maps to nil, despite being priced as the underdogs and coming up against the tournament MVP, Astralis’ Benjamin “blameF” Bremer, who took a 1.41 rating across eight maps.

Value to partners

Pinnacle Solution partners taking our multi-award-winning esports product all benefitted from not only the first-class content on show but the pioneering risk management and trading expertise behind the scenes. With the most markets available, including unique player props, and the option of higher limits and attractive low margins, the Pinnacle Cup Championship is a prime example of a betting-led tournament that’s proven to engage and acquire esports fans looking to put their money where their mouth is.

Over the week, 35 hours of coverage was broadcast, 2.62m hours of content watched globally, and the event recorded a peak simultaneous viewing number of an impressive 201,000. This may have been the first Pinnacle Cup LAN event, but the brand has shown that it brings impressions, and those operators providing the best offering on it will yield the best results.

Across the network, live hold figures for the tournament were double that of the average CS:GO event, while there was almost an even split between live and pre-match volume, showing the popularity of diverse pre-match betting markets which appeal to those who may not be up when the live action takes place.

Investing in esports

Across the Pinnacle group, we strive to push esports betting forward however we can. We support up-and-coming teams, giving them a chance to take on the world’s biggest names; we invest in the grassroots with partnership deals; and, as this event shows, we want to take esports to the fans in their backyards. This global approach is backed by working in multiple languages, with the Championship broadcast in English, Russian, Portuguese, and Danish, and with influencer talent following up on the action around the world, this was truly a world event – as 7.3m Twitch views goes to show.

What’s next

There’s much more to come! What that looks like yet, you’ll have to wait and see. But if you’re looking to boost your esports offering or want to join this booming space, get in touch today and we’ll show you how we can build bridges to the esports community, drive revenue, and help your brand stand out from the crowd.

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Case Study: The future of Esports betting

testuser001 — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 17:10:51 +0000

Case Study: The future of Esports betting

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THE FUTURE OF ESPORTS BETTING

testuser001 Wed, 01/12/2022 - 12:10

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With over a decade of shaping the esports betting vertical, Marco Blume, Pinnacle’s Trading Director, was an apt choice to discuss the future direction of esports betting in the Big Question feature of Gambling Insider. Asking the following question, alongside industry peers, Blume lays out his thoughts and aspirations for the booming market.

"After enjoying rapid growth throughout the early stages of the pandemic, what does the future look like for esports?"

The pandemic was no doubt a boost for the esports betting space. But it was by no means the catalyst that made it a mainstream betting product, as some claim. Esports took root decades back and from a betting point of view, there have been viable products in action for over 10 years now. These offerings have evolved into first-rate betting destinations in their own right and will continue to succeed despite external disruptions.

The shutdown of the sporting calendar thrust esports in front of a new, largely traditional sports betting audience, but we must not forget the massive fanbase that esports already had worldwide. And it’s this community that we have to appeal to in shaping esports products for the future.

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Cross-selling from sportsbook is something we should aspire to, but tailoring esports offerings to the mass market and not to the unique requirements of the esports fan first is to do a disservice to the millions worldwide who have enjoyed betting on CS:GO, Dota 2, and the likes long before soccer and tennis seasons went on hiatus.

We are at a fork in the road in the esports betting journey. On the one hand, we’re seeing leading operators and suppliers finally take this vast market seriously, delivering broad content in a way that legitimises the space but perhaps doesn’t excite the audience. On the other, there’s an increasing number of standalone esports betting destinations that live for the gaming community. They’re run by esports fans and deliver betting experiences in a way that these same fans enjoy.

The future success of this space probably lies between these two approaches. There’s no reason why major sportsbooks can’t deliver esports content in the same manner as specialist operators. It does require a rethink in delivery though. Esports fans are undoubtedly more engaged with their pastime than the average soccer fan would be. This means that as an industry we must serve them at a higher level.

Authenticity is key to building trust over time and successful esports operators of the future will be those who have taken their products to this unique audience on different levels. Content should be specific to individual esports titles, not just adapted from the core sportsbook variety. Pricing should be sharp, fair, and accurate. After all, these titles are data-driven and their fans are well-versed on the risk-reward of competitive gaming. All of this content should be packaged in a way that suits the specific demands of the esports audience.

The future of esports is as its own betting vertical. Esports encompasses over 35 traded titles, so crowbarring the catch-all term alphabetically between Darts and Formula 1 on a sportsbook will undersell the offering and deter acquisition. Specific hubs are needed for esports fans to find their own space to bet in. This could mean spin-off brands, tailored betting layouts, or darker-themed aesthetics, but at its core, it requires giving the esports fan a destination of their own, not an add-on to an incompatible sportsbook environment.

If we can get this right as an industry, esports can sit as a tier-one, top-three sport across the board and not just within a niche few betting companies. In the meantime, we’ve got to keep our fingers on the pulse of this ever-changing sector.

The mobile gaming sector is booming and yet remains pretty much untapped from a betting point of view. The last PUBG Mobile Global Championship saw over 64 million fans tune in over its four-day Finals event, yet PUBG Mobile is hardly represented as a betting product. This is just one example of many where new titles are finding major regional audiences – in this case Indonesia and India - and it’s our responsibility as esports advocates to serve these fans in the same way we do with the likes of LoL and emerging titles such as Valorant.

We’re on the right path as an industry. But it’s important to remember that the esports audience is a unique one. We won’t be successful in the future unless we tailor betting experiences to them and treat them with the respect they deserve, with esports as its own gaming vertical, built for the community by experts from within it.

The article has been adapted from the original publication in Gambling Insider.

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Pinnacle Solution launches the Esports Hub

Case Study: Investment in Esports grassroots driving better betting product

testuser001 — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 17:01:59 +0000

Case Study: Investment in Esports grassroots driving better betting product

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INVESTMENT IN ESPORTS GRASSROOTS
DRIVING BETTER BETTING PRODUCT

testuser001 Wed, 01/12/2022 - 12:01

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Following the success of the ongoing Pinnacle Cup series, our Global Esports Partnership Manager, Stuart Bridges, spoke to Esports Journal Latam about how investment in the grassroots of the esports community is key to delivering a better betting product in the long run.

Fierce competition is what makes for a great spectator sport. One-sided match-ups and easily predicted formats aren’t enticing for viewers or bettors. There needs to be jeopardy and an element of the unknown for a sense of real entertainment. Every industry stakeholder should be looking to do what they can to ensure the regular thrill of close-call esports contests, and improving investment in the grassroots of our industry is one way of going about delivering this.

From a trading point of view, it tends to be clear prior to the event how competitive it is likely to be. Close call match-ups will always be reflected in the odds and tend to make for the most exciting action, while huge favourites are almost certain to win and will inevitably turn off the neutral fan, as well as bettors who want bigger returns.

We’re actively investing in grassroots to level the playing field. Not only do we get better esports entertainment that way, but it’s also a great way to support and drive professionalism with teams that may not have had the opportunity to perform on the centre stage in front of the big crowds.

We hope, and are already seeing, that this progression will lead to more events, better infrastructure, and more prosperous, competitive teams. We want this cycle to keep up its momentum. We can’t rest and expect esports growth to continue along as we’ve seen it, and that’s why we took the proactive step and launched the Pinnacle Cup.

Recently concluded, the first CS:GO edition saw Gambit take home the lion’s share of the $100,000 prize pool, with HAVU Gaming coming in a close second after some epic battles through the Playoff Stage to qualify for the finals. Partnering with teams and events is nothing new to us, but having creative control over the Pinnacle Cup allowed us to elevate our efforts to a new level which wouldn’t have been possible through more traditional sponsorship arrangements.

Five million-plus unique viewers consumed over two million hours’ worth of Pinnacle Cup content over the month long event. These are significant numbers for a fresh launch, and we’ve got to give credit to our data and streaming partners who took a month’s worth of intense competition to the audience in a seamless, hugely engaging manner.

Underpinned throughout by unique content, which was localised in multiple languages, we were able to deliver our sportsbook partners with the betting opportunities that the CS:GO fans resonate with. It takes huge resource to deliver a market-leading esports betting product. Modelling requirements are complex with esports data infrastructure still maturing, and esports trading expertise is rare. These resource-heavy demands have led to a divergence between two types of esports operator.

There are those who take it seriously and engage on a higher level with the esports fan to offer something more than just basic Money Lines. This means varied title-specific markets, sharper prices and a seamless live product with greater uptime. Then there’s those who fall into the ‘build it and they will come’ camp, expecting rich returns from a supposedly lucrative audience that’s easy pickings for incoming sportsbooks.

Simply put, the latter get found out. Esports fans are savvy. They want to be treated with respect and offered a product that fits with their idea of what esports betting looks like, rather than being delivered an adaptation of a sports betting product which has little reference to what makes esports so unique and special.

Our approach, which sees partners kitted out with an authentic, bespoke esports betting product, while driving funding and support to grassroots esports teams and industry stakeholders with a view to a better-positioned industry down the line, has proven successful to date and we want to take it further.

The article has been adapted from the original publication in Esports Journal Latam.

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The Pinnacle Cup is Coming!

testuser001 — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 21:05:59 +0000

The Pinnacle Cup is Coming!

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The Pinnacle Cup is coming!

testuser001 Mon, 01/10/2022 - 16:05

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The Pinnacle Cup, a ground-breaking esports event featuring top tier CS:GO teams and a prize pool totalling $100,000, kicks off on March 3, 2021, with Pinnacle Solution partners set to benefit from an extensive array of exclusive betting content from the month-long event.

Live bettors will also benefit from the Esports Hub’s introduction of live streaming across all channels, as well as data-rich scoreboards which both educate betting decisions and bring the frantic nature of in-play esports action to life.

Esports data giant GRID will build on its existing partnership with Pinnacle, providing live data on every match throughout the event, to be utilised by traders, bettors, and fans alike. Online payment provider Trustly is also involved as an ancillary sponsor, while Relog Media will use its expertise in esports production to showcase the high-level competition in its full glory.

The tournament, which will be held online and streamed globally via Twitch, will see some of Europe’s best CS:GO (Counterstrike: Global Offensive) teams battle it out across an initial qualifier stage, with the four winners progressing to a Swiss-format group stage with 12 invited teams, including GODSENT and HAVU.

Those who progress will find themselves in a knockout stage with a further four invited teams, including FunPlus Phoenix, before the final two compete for the grand prize of $100,000 which will be distributed between the winners and runners-up in an 80/20 split.

Pinnacle Solution’s operator partners will be able to leverage exclusive betting content from the Pinnacle Cup, with numerous outright markets, more live selections, as well as a selection of bespoke prop bets across every matchup, all underpinned by a market-leading trading team proven to drive esports revenue and engage new customers.

Paris Smith, Pinnacle CEO, said:

"Pinnacle’s drive to be at the forefront of esports has allowed us to partner with some of the best people in the market. We are really excited to be working with GRID, Relog Media, and Trustly, and can’t wait to deliver something special for our customers and esports fans around the world. We have shown through previous partnerships that we are committed to giving back to the esports community and helping the industry develop. It’s yet another big step forward for Pinnacle as we continue to strengthen our connection with esports fans. Launching a Pinnacle-branded event on this scale is a huge moment for us as a company and one we hope will be a real game changer for the industry. We can’t wait to begin the event and crown our first Pinnacle Cup champions!"

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Danske Spil agrees landmark esports deal

testuser001 — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 20:10:07 +0000

Danske Spil agrees landmark esports deal

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Danske Spil agrees landmark esports deal

testuser001 Mon, 01/10/2022 - 15:10

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Under the terms of the deal, Pinnacle Solution will supply its market-leading esports product to the Danish national lottery operator. This announcement marks a major milestone in the growth of Pinnacle Solution, with its official arrival into the European market. Supplying such a prominent and respected brand like Danske Spil is a testament to the quality of the Pinnacle Solution product.

Paris Smith, Pinnacle CEO, said:

"We’ve always been confident that there was a gap in the market that Pinnacle Solution could fill and that it wouldn’t take us long to break into the higher reaches of the B2B sports betting industry. The fact that no one comes close to what we offer in terms of esports experience and integrity, and expertise in providing profits has been the key to driving our growth over the past few years. We know we can help others take advantage of esports, but they need to understand where the value is and partner with the platform that produces. That’s definitely the case with Danske Spil, who themselves are highly regarded for their belief in esports."

Marco Blume, Pinnacle Trading Director, added:

"One of the main reasons we’ve seen such growth in esports at Pinnacle is our passion for esports and the belief in its ability to thrive in a sports betting environment. It was clear after our initial conversations with Danske Spil that they are on the same page as us. They’re fully aware of the potential of esports. They have a clear understanding of why our product is so unique and the value it offers. We happened to be the missing piece of the puzzle for them, and we look forward to the success that this partnership will bring."

Jens Nielsen, Danske Spil Sports Betting Director, commented:

"At Danske Spil we have prioritised esports as a focus area since we launched esports betting in early 2014. We very much look forward to our new partnership with Pinnacle Solution, a pioneer within esports betting, which will support our continued ambition of offering a modern and competitive esports offering to our clients."

This is just another step in the growth of Pinnacle Solution and deals similar to the one struck with Danske Spil won’t be too far away for Pinnacle Solution. The tireless commitment to developing our esports product and protecting the integrity of esports has helped Pinnacle Solution find a unique position within the market. While the rise of esports was already following a notable trajectory, the recent COVID-19 situation has only accelerated this growth and magnified the benefits esports betting has to offer for operators.

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