XY Gaming Secures $2.5 Million For Esports Tournament Platform

$2.5 million has been raised by San Fransico-based XY Gaming, which will be used to expand its esports tournament platform that offers gamers cash prizes for competing.

Having already hosted more than 16,000 tournaments and 12.5 million games to date, XY Gaming organises asynchronous esports tournaments using its proprietary technology, to create a convenient and hassle-free global arena for gamers to compete in some of the world’s top games, including League of Legends and Dota 2.

“The majority of the esports market has few opportunities to compete for cash prizes,” XY Gaming CEO, Aaron Fletcher, said in a statement.

“Through simple, free, and one-click to enter and play, our platform enables gamers of all skill levels to take their gaming to the next level in a fair and secure environment.”

The worldwide gaming market includes 2.5 billion active gamers, however, esports has only targeted the top tier professional players.

XY Gaming automatically tracks players’ in-game statistics and awards scores based on performance, which allows for a level playing field when competing.

Unlike some tournaments which only divvy up earnings to players in the top 1%, XY Gaming divides cash awards between 30% to 40% of all participants in a tournament to increase the likelihood that everyone has a chance to win something.

XY Gaming also offers brands engagement and advertising access to its more than 100,000 registered users.

The company will use the new capital to enhance its advertising offering by developing a new branded tournaments model and creating a new advertising vertical, to better enable direct brand engagement.

“Numerous brands have indicated a big disparity between what current tournament platforms offer and what brands expect, and I am excited that we now have the capital to grow XY Gaming and create a new marketing vertical aimed at gamers that is global, inclusive and scalable,” Fletcher said.

Competitors include GameBattles, Players’ Lounge, Faceit, ESL and Battlefy.

Additional funds will also be used to expand their team, create marketing campaigns, partnerships and influencer sponsorships to grow the site, and add new well-known game titles including Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Rocket League.