Cheering for fantasy sport: Gaming platforms see growth amid lockdown

Fantasy sports, where fans create their own virtual teams made up of real sportspersons, have been growing in popularity in India.

Krishan, 28, has a new favourite sports star. It’s Franklin Session, a professional basketball player with Taiwan’s Super Basketball League (SBL). With most of the popular sporting events cancelled in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, fantasy sports fans like Krishan, who is from Karnal in Haryana, have started putting their money on the few sports leagues that are still active, including the SBL, Belarus Premier League (BPL) and Nicaragua's top division football league, Liga Primera.

Fantasy sports, where fans create their own virtual teams made up of real sportspersons, have been growing in popularity in India. Apart from cricket and kabaddi, fantasy sports titles are designed for many other sports such as football and basketball.

“With most of the popular leagues and sporting events having either been postponed or cancelled, some of the smaller leagues are gaining popularity amongst fans of fantasy sports,” says Sudhanshu Gupta, chief operating officer, at gaming platform Paytm First Games. “However, the total number of users showing interest in these leagues is fractional compared to the more popular leagues.”

The unique game play model of fantasy sports is central to their popularity. Typically, fans create their own team made up of real-life players from upcoming matches. These virtual teams garner points based on the actual performance of the players during the real matches. Users whose teams perform well are given points, and those who feature at the top of the list, win actual cash rewards.

The key to success in fantasy sport lies in selecting the right players. This is where technologies like big data and analytics come into play. The gaming platforms feed information about the teams, and players’ performances are evaluated on various metrics with the help of the open source and paid software available in the market.

World Cup upset shocks German media, sparks celebrations in Mexico

People from across the world, including Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, took to Twitter to heap praises on the Mexican team.

Germany Vs Mexico : Germany's shocking defeat at the hands of Mexico in the FIFA World Cup 2018 has sparked concerns and worry among the German media.


Top-selling German daily Bild declared on its website: "Embarrassing performance against Mexico: this crash causes us World Cup worry".


Munich-based newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung agreed with "There are reasons to worry" over a picture of the dejected German team, who need to beat Sweden and South Korea to be sure of going through.


In Mexico, thousands of jubilant Mexico supporters partied in the streets of the capital by singing, dancing, blaring car horns and cheering El Tri.


In capital Mexico City, the streets were filled with exhilarated fans, on foot, bicycles, motorbikes or in cars. Some blasted their car stereos, while others shrieked in glee.


Amid the cacophonous bustle, a veteran violinist played the traditional tune "Cielito Lindo" -- roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One." The victory was a heart-stopping one, but "a small goal is still a goal," said the musician, while fans left coins in his instrument case.


One female fan, a flag in her hand and the national colors painted on her cheeks, screamed: "We are an Aztec warrior force!"


"Lozano for president, Lozano for president!" fans cheered -- not forgetting that the country will hold elections to choose a new leader on July 1.
Ana Maria Contreras, a primary school teacher, came with her children and even dogs decked out in El Tri's signature green jerseys to join the festivities.


"We have shown that we can compete with any power. And I hope that whoever wins as president also knows how to lead us to victory," she said.

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