Amir Mirzaee is the dynamic Managing Director and CEO at Bayes Esports – a pioneering esports data specialist and provider.
With an impressive career spanning more than 19-years in the tech industry, Amir has been a driving force at Bayes Esports for over four-years, steering operators and directing growth.
Before joining the company, Amir honed his expertise as the business development lead at tech giants Google and Waze. His top career has taken him across the globe, from Silicon Valley to Europe, and now he’s joining our Head of Content, Curtis Roach, on the iGamingFuture couch.
They discussed the brand’s landmark deal with Genius Sports, how the more complex nature of esports data can drive engagement, and the future of esports betting as the sector transitions from a niche and fragmented market to a mainstream, unified phenomenon.
One of Bayes Esports’ milestones this year has been the partnership with Genius Sports. What does this mean for the future of esports products and their ability to mature into a mainstream market?
“To sign a landmark partnership with one of the largest companies in sports data commercialisation is a transformative signal to the market that esports is an essential and strategic investment. It provides us with expansive reach globally, building on relationships in the traditional sports market where sportsbooks may have previously viewed esports as a niche.
“To see the full potential of returns that esports can offer, sportsbooks must build a solution reflecting the full breadth of the sport. This includes everything from the most premium events like the ESL Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament series to qualifier matches and eLeagues, all accompanied by detailed visualisation tools like stats, maps, videos, and scoreboards.
“Bayes Esports aims to make it as easy as possible for any company, no matter their technical setup or resources, to provide a complete and engaging esports solution. Together with Genius Sports, we are setting a new standard for esports product quality and profitability.”
Does esports have the potential to be as exciting as traditional sports spectatorship? How can increased and better-quality data help esports content providers achieve this?
“Firstly, anyone who thinks esports can’t be as exciting to follow as traditional sports has undoubtedly not been to the ESL IEM Cologne. This event is a hallmark of sports entertainment globally.
“Data can unlock engaging experiences for esports like those we’ve come to know and love in traditional sports.
“Think of Formula 1 with the head camera, fastest lap, and replays. These are a large part of what makes our favourite sports exciting to watch while also helping viewers understand the intricacies of each event.
“The more data points, visuals, or statistics to follow, the more interesting each esports match becomes.
“Now, let’s take this one step further. The storytelling around esports, which engages fans and builds passion for a game, is also driven by data. Cheering for the underdog can be heightened by sharing live probabilities. Celebrating record-breaking wins requires us first to gather the statistics to witness records being broken. Historic rivalries, like those we’ve seen between Federer and Nadal in tennis, are fuelled by head-to-head match-up records.
“In esports, we can share metrics such as the most match wins, map win probabilities, average kill/death ratios, and more.
“But it’s not just about the quantity of the data points. It requires a specific tech stack as well as key partnerships, which help unify the fragmented esports industry.”
The esports data ecosystem is notoriously fragmented, as every game has its unique range of Intellectual Property (IPs). How difficult would it be to create a unified set of data points across the entire sector, and how would this benefit the esports market going forward?
“There is no universal governing body for esports as in football, so each game publisher and tournament organiser has a different product setup and way of managing and utilising their data. Because of this, there is no uniform user experience in game titles or across tournaments with the same game title.
“Counter-Strike, for example, is highly fragmented in terms of IPs, and because of this, there is no all-time best scorer for the game. The underlying data foundation isn’t unified and validated. This is where Bayes Esports comes in.
“The Esports World Cup this year, and Gamers8 before that, marked the first time a single tournament gathered all the biggest game publishers under one roof. We are uniquely positioned to be deeply connected to the rest of the industry and have the opportunity to act as the unified data layer.
“We can transform the entire esports experience and offer fans the same excitement and captivation we are used to seeing with traditional sports. The potential exists, so we are excited to continue exploring this further.”
The esports industry is still relatively young, with plenty of room for growth. How does Bayes Esports envision expanding within this space, and more importantly, how will it help its partners grow alongside it? What will be the key factors?
“2024 has been a really exciting year for Bayes Esports as we drive for profitability. We’ve unlocked some incredible partnerships that have set us up for significant future opportunities.
“In terms of our 2025 content, we are in a fantastic spot, being able to offer our customers approximately 80% of tier 1 and 2 CS2 and Dota 2 content. This helps us massively close the gap in our premium content offering and limits the number of integrations for our customers.
“In January, we will see the regulatory changes come into effect in Brazil, which will open up a sizeable new market for us and our B2B customers, especially given the popularity of CS2 in this region.
“Lastly, we are very excited to launch new projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been a driving force for esports. Our team has been developing a regional presence here. We’ll continue to expand on this to scale esports IP commercialisation from the region and build a first-of-its-kind service offering.”
Editor’s Note:
Esports has evolved from a niche offering into an increasingly vital component for sportsbooks. Its emergence as an “essential and strategic investment” presents a tremendous opportunity for operators to capitalise on the trend.
But in Amir’s view success will only be realised by those committed to delivering a comprehensive esports experience built on high-quality data that captures the sector’s full scope. Half measures simply won’t suffice.
By focusing on strategic partnerships to reduce esports fragmentation, Bayes Esports simplifies, unifies, and validates data across diverse esports titles, streamlining integration for operators of all sizes.
And with their rich datasets, engaging visuals and detailed statistics, Bayes delivers the depth and variety required to captivate bettors, help them understand the complexities of different events, and sustain engagement through creating compelling narratives.
Ultimately, this is setting a “new standard for esports product quality and profitability”.
