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The truth is that most of us watch the sport we consume via TV streams. These days there seems to be an endless list of devices that allow us to follow all the action LIVE! Even when we’re on the move. It’s a great way for sporting bodies to expand their fan base, promote their sport and showcase their stars. But sometimes, do you ever see a sporting venue and think wow, I wish I were there? I know I do. Here are three sporting arenas, I believe should be on your bucket list.

The Bird’s Nest

The official name of this amazing structure is The Beijing National Stadium. Built to host the 2008 summer Olympics, and now set to host the 2022 winter Olympics. It’s due to its unique appearance that it earned the nickname, The Bird’s Nest! 

Designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the Nest has a capacity of 91,000. During the summer Olympics, the stadium was home to all track and field events and soccer matches. Since then, it has been used mainly for basketball, but for the 2022 winter Olympics, the plan is to host the Ice Hockey there. I for sure, can’t wait to see this amazing venue in use again for a major sporting event!

For those that like some numbers!

1. The stadium covers 258,000 square meters.
2. Cost around 500 million dollars to build.
3. Construction took 5 years.
4. Used 42,000 tonnes of steel.
5. It’s 332.3 meters in length, 297.3 in width and 69.2 meters high.

Augusta National Golf Club

It is said that St Andrews, in Scotland is the birthplace of golf. But for many, Augusta is at the pinnacle of the sport as a venue.

I can’t lie, being a massive golf fan, I get goosebumps every time I see this course at its best, and that’s the day before the first round of the Masters! With every hole named after flowery connections, the Masters is normally held in April, when the course is in full bloom. This magical place was designed, by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie and opened in 1932. It has hosted the Masters since 1934 and is the only course in the world to host a golfing major every year. Fitting recognition of its place in the history of golf.

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Now some fun facts!

1. Club membership is by invitation only, so don’t ask!
2. The famous green jacket was first presented to the winner in 1949. Who? Sam Snead.
3. The champions dinner is a tradition where the previous winner selects the menu. Oh yes, you only get to eat if you have won the event yourself!
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower is the only U.S. President to be granted membership.
5. While the players can wear their outrageous coloured trousers, caddies must wear all white.

Monte Carlo

At the best of times, Monaco’s Monte Carlo area is a very lively place. But once a year it truly becomes the place to be when F1 comes to town!

The fastest drivers in the world just love racing here. The city’s streets and tunnels are transformed, into one of the most spectacular racing tracks on the planet. Full of tight corners and super fast chicanes, it’s really, a great test of skill. Normally held in the last week of May, this great event has been taking place since 1929. The race is run over 78 laps, on a course that is 3.337 km in length (2.074 miles). Last held in 2019 but is back on the racing calendar this year. Can’t wait!

But did you know?

1. The circuit used for this race is the shortest on the F1 calendar.
2. It also has the slowest conner of any track.
3. Lewis Hamilton may hold many F1 records, but Senna still has the most race wins here with 6.
4. The track is lined with 33 kilometres of safety rails.
5. As well as the rails, there are 3,600 tyres used to make up the tyre. barriers
6. Every year it takes two months to get the track ready.

3 great venues that maybe one day, I will get to see. For now, it’s back to the TV!

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FIFA World Cup

We just couldn’t get away from the fact that the FIFA World Cup had to be number one on the list. This mega footballing (soccer) event was first played in 1930. But did you know that:

1. This tournament has been held 21 times and in 17 different countries.

2. In 1966, the year that England won the event. The Jules Rimet Trophy went missing, it was stolen but thankfully recovered.

3. Only European & South American teams have even won this event.

4. Every World Cup has been won by a coach who holds the same nationality as the winning team.

5. Mexico holds the record for the most losses with 25.

6. I’m sure we know that Brazil has the most wins with 5.

7. At 42 years old, Roger Miller playing for Cameroon is the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history.

8. The last World Cup Final had an average live audience of around 517 million viewers.

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The Super Bowl

The first-ever Super Bowl was played between the Green Bay Packers & the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers came out on top, 35-10. But did you know:

1. 12 teams have never won the Super Bowl.

2. Peyton Manning is the only quarterback who has won a Super Bowl title with two different teams.

3. The only person ever voted the most valuable player from a losing team was Chuck Howley. He played for the Dallas Cowboys when they lost to the Baltimore Colts.

4. The New England Patriots have appeared in the most Super Bowls with 11.

5. The Patriots also hold the record for the most losses along with the Broncos. They have lost 5 each.

6. Super Bowl LI was the only one to go to overtime. The game between the Falcons and the Patriots ended 28-28. The Patriots went on to win 34-28 after trailing 28-3.

7. The only time Roman numerals were not used, was for Super Bowl 50.

Wimbledon Tennis Championship

Last year, the Wimbledon tennis championship was cancelled due to the situation with Covid-19. This was the first time since World War 2 in 1945 and, for the first time ever in peacetime. Not bad for a tournament that’s been taking place since 1877. But did you know:

1. Wimbledon had insurance in case of a pandemic and, was rumoured to receive a pay-out in the region of 114 million pounds.

2. The tennis balls weren’t always yellow. The original balls used were white and, only replaced in 1986, so they could be seen better on TV coverage.

3. Wimbledon is the largest annual sporting catering operation in Europe. They serve somewhere in the region of 234,000 meal, 330,000 cups of tea and coffee, 140,000 portions of strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream.

4. Wimbledon is the oldest tennis competition in the world. The first time it was held, it was contested by only 22 participants.

5. It’s now the only Grand Slam held on grass and, it’s cut to a very precise 8mm.

6. Wimbledon has it’s own hawk, who goes by the name Rufus. His job is to scare off pigeons.

7. The longest match ever played at Wimbledon took place in 2010. An epic that was played over 3 days and lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. In the end, John Isner (USA) beat Nicolas Mahut (FRA), 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. A grand total of 183 games! If anyone ever needed a nice cup of tea, it’s these two!

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The game today

Snooker is still a very popular game, played and watched by millions all over the world. I just recently watched the very popular Ronnie O’Sullivan win the 2018 UK Championship, and continue to break records in the process. His victory of 10-6 in the final, was in fact the 7th time he won this tournament, a record in itself. He has how own 34 ranking events and is 2nd on the all time list to Stephen Hendry, who has 36. He has won the World Championship 5 times and holds the record for the most 147’s (15) as well as the fast ever 147 on record (5 minutes and 20 seconds).

The golden age

No matter how popular the game is today, in my opinion it can’t compare to what’s become know as the golden age of Snooker in the 70’s and 80’s! These two decades boasted the names of Alex Hurricane Higgins (2 World Championships), Ray Reardon, also know as Dracula (6 World Championships), Steve Davis (6 World Championships) Dennis Taylor (World Champion in 1985) and Jimmy White, considered the best player never to win the World Championship, but was runner up an incredible 6 times.

The best snooker match ever

The golden age left us with what many people call, the best snooker match of all time. This is of course the 1985 World Championship Final, between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor, often referred to as “the black ball final”. I still remember watching every minute of this marathon match as it continued in the early hours of the night. The match lasted 14 hours and 50 minutes over two days and is still the longest “best of 35 frame” final ever. The match was decided on the last ball of the last frame when Dennis Taylor finally held his nerve to pot the final black of the match. Such was the interest and excitement, the final frame was watched by a record UK audience of 18.5 million people! This still remains the highest audience for an event on BBC 2,and the record for any event, on any channel, to take place after midnight on UK TV.

My playing days

I say my playing days, the truth is I still play from time to time if I get the opportunity, but it was back in the 80’s I played a lot of Snooker. My favourite player was Jimmy “The Whirlwind” White, not only are we around the same age, but we were born and grew up in the same part of London. I was lucky enough to see him play a few times in exhibition matches at my local club where I played most of my snooker. Hopefully by now, you can see that I’ve been a fan of, and participated in many sports, but although Snooker will always be a game that I love, It’s not a game that I have excelled at. Over the years, I must have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds on playing Snooker. I even had a little coaching at one point, but I’ve still never had a break of more than 30 plus, which just goes to proves, practice, doesn’t always make perfect.

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1. Jesse Owens’ four gold medals – Berlin, 1936

During the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove that the Aryan people were the best and the strongest race. His plan failed – American Jesse Owens won four gold medals – in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4 x 100 meters relay and the long jump – he became the first American to win four gold medals at one Olympics. After his performance, Hitler tried to shun Owens – but after such success, the American became a very popular sporting figure.

2. Usain Bolt’s three world records – Beijing, 2008

There’s no doubt – Usain Bolt is the best sprinter in history. In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics he did something incredible – he became the first athlete to set three world records in a single edition of the Olympic Games – he ran the 100 meters in 9.72 seconds, the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds and with the Jamaican 4 x 400 meters relay team set a new world record of 37.10 seconds. It is worth mentioning that all of these records were later broken – by Usain Bolt!

3. Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals – Beijing, 2008

The Beijing Olympics were an incredible time. Usain Bolt was not the only person to shock the world. The American swimmer Michael Phelps won 8! Yes, 8 gold medals in 8 events. Additionally, he set seven world records (4 individually & 3 in medleys). In achieving this feat, he beat the record set by Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals 36 years earlier in Munich.  Phelps during his career won 28 Olympic medals (23 gold) over 5 Olympics.

4. Derek Redmond’s injury – Barcelona, 1992

It’s remembered as one of the most touching moments in the history of sport. Derek Redmond, Great Britain’s 400 meter runner, fought with injuries for many years. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he injured his Achilles tendon just 90 seconds before his heat and had to pull out. In 1992 his dream to take part in the Olympics finally came true and he advanced to the semifinal with the best time from the first round and went on to win his quarter-final heat. He started the race but after 250 meters his hamstring tore and he fell down in a lot of pain. Redmond decided to finish the race and a  few moments later his father rushed past security to help his son complete the lap. The 65,000 people in the stadium gave them a standing ovation.

5. Nadia Comaneci’s perfect appearance – Montreal, 1976

 Not many people tend to watch gymnastics and many of them know this little piece of history. At only 14 years old the Romanian gymnastic, Nadia Comaneci got the perfect score of four 10’s from judges during the uneven bars competition. No one had ever been awarded a perfect score before and this day is still seen as one of the greatest days in the history of sport.

If you want to get in touch to find out more, just contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com. We will be more than happy to schedule a call and discuss how we can help your organization!

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TENNIS – WIMBLEDON

The oldest tennis tournament in the world is coming! This prestigious competition will begin on the 1^st of July and continue until the 14^th of July when the men’s Grand Final will be played. Wimbledon’s history will show that Roger Federer and Martina Navratilova have won the most single titles. Last year’s champions were Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber. Who will walk away as champions in 2019?

Experience more: Follow Wimbledon on LivematchPro!

CYCLING – TOUR DE FRANCE

Cycling also has its biggest event, the Tour de France! This is the oldest race on their calendar from all active competitions and it arouses the biggest interest both among fans and participants. There are as many as 4 cyclists that have won the race the a record amount of times – 5. They are Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault (both from France), Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Miguel Indurain (Spain). This year’s Tour de France will start on the 6^th of July and last until July 29^th.

FOOTBALL – WOMEN’S WORLD CUP IN FRANCE

The tournament enters its decisive phase in July and we will be treated to the semifinals and the final as well as the 3^rd & 4^th play-off. Will the team with the richest history add to its record? The United States team already has 7 World Cup medals, including 3 golds up to this point.

FORMULA 1

July sees the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. These races will have special significance for Lewis Hamilton. This year he will have the chance to beat the record for wins at both tracks. For the moment Hamilton has 4 wins in Germany, just like Michael Schumacher and 5 wins in Great Britain – as many as Jim Clark and Alain Prost. We can’t wait to see if he will end up holding these records alone!

If you want to get in touch to find out more, just contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com. We will be more than happy to schedule a call and discuss how we can help your organization!

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WHAT ARE THE FUTSAL RULES?

This is a fast-paced, dynamic team sport played by two teams of five players. Both sides try to score more goals than the other team. What makes this sport ever faster, is the ball, which is heavy and keeps low to the ground. This favors the most technically gifted players when it comes to passing or dribbling.

The current men’s world champion title is held by Argentina. The  Albicelestes defeated Russia 5:4 in 2016, World Cup final, in Cali. The best women’s team is Brazil, who have won the Women’s Futsal World Title six times in a row.

WHY IS THE WORLD IS SO CRAZY ABOUT FUTSAL?

The flow of the game changes rapidly. It’s very demanding when it comes to stamina and technique. What’s more – the small pitch at its maximum option is 45 x 25 meters. It is surrounded by stands, which allows the fans to be close to the game. Playing under a roof makes futsal totally independent from the weather conditions, because of this the result is all about the skills. Betting companies learned this a long time ago and that’s why they added futsal to their offering.

HOW STATSCORE MAKES THE EXPERIENCE EVEN BETTER

We are sure you’re aware of our live action sport widgets for soccer because LivematchPro is a huge success when it comes to visualizing the most popular sport in the world. Not a surprise that we made sure to deliver futsal with the same quality that made LivematchPro the best-selling STATSCORE product of all time! We bring you all key incidents like shots on target, goals and attacks with a graphical representation to make sure that the fans miss none of the action.

Futsal has also been added to other products across our range. You will now find this great sport in ScoreFrame and PrematchPro along with the 19 sports already covered and in our SportsAPI feed, alongside the 28 other sports. It’s all to make sure that you can offer your clients the best sports coverage ever.

Read more: What are the four stats level STATSCORE offers in LivematchPro?

If you want to get in touch to find out more, just contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com. We will be more than happy to schedule a call and discuss how we can help your organization!

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OKAY, SO… WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT?

League of Legends is a multiplayer, online, battle arena video game which popularity has exploded over the past few years. Each player takes on the role of a unique hero with a special set of skills that if used in the right way, can bring victory to a team.

Yes! LoL is a team game. Each team consists of five players who have specific tasks in the team and so we can see characters responsible for eliminating opponents or saving and supporting their allies in trouble.

The main goal of the game is to destroy the main enemy’s structure – Nexus. Is that simple? Not necessarily. On the other side, there are five other players who want to do it faster. In this way, we receive about forty minutes full of tactics and emotions.

INCREASING POPULARITY OF E-SPORTS

The growth of LoL’s popularity over the last ten years is almost unimaginable. Just look at the numbers – the final of the last World Championship was watched by over 200,000,000 viewers… at the same time! For a game created in 2009 – that’s an amazing result.

The potential of eSport is increasingly recognized by organizations that on a daily basis are associated with more traditional sports. A great example here may be Paris Saint-Germain or German Schalke 04, both are remarkable football clubs. PS S04 has one of the best formations in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC).

Despite the fact that the majority of eSports viewers live in Asia, traditional TV stations from France, Spain, Italy, German and even from Poland are also interested in League of Legends.

Experience more: Follow e-sports results in the new version of ScoreFrame!

HUGE MONEY BEHIND E-SPORTS

A few years ago, Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez Santiago, a former professional player and current founder of G2 Esports – one of the best eSport organizations around at the moment said that today, with money he earned thanks to eSport, he can buy a car, but maybe in a few more years, he will be able to buy a house or a yacht.

Looking at the current earnings of professional players, we can say that “Ocelote” was not wrong. An interesting fact is that the average earnings of players in LCS (North America) are similar to the athletes in the MLS football league and overall can’t be less than 60,000 EUR per year!

It is also worth mentioning that every team wishing to appear in LEC or LCS has to pay about 10,000,000 EUR franchise to the competition’s owner – Riot gaming. Compared to the prize pool, which is 200,000 EUR, it is a huge amount of money to invest.

The functioning of the teams is much easier thanks to the huge help they get from sponsors and investors. The major competitions in Europe and North America are sponsored by well-known companies such as Shell, Kia Motors and Alienware. Single teams also receive a substantial subsidy.

At the end of February 2019, the aforementioned G2 Esports received 15,000,000 EUR from investors, among them was Dan Gilbert, the owner of the basketball club – Cleveland Cavaliers. Keeping in mind the dynamics of its development, is it unrealistic to ask the questions: Will eSport be able to match the most popular traditional sporting disciplines or… even become an Olympic discipline in the next few years?

Read more: STATSCORE on IEM Katowice 2019.

Read more: The future of sports with the letter “E”

If you want to get in touch to find out more, please contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com, so we can schedule a call and discuss how our LeagueCenter can help your organization!

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Read more: did you miss part 1? Check it asap!

JULY

We know we have already mentioned one tennis event to look out for this year, but in July we would like to bring your attention to the 3^rd tennis slam of 2019, Wimbledon! It’s always a great occasion and a great tournament. Two weeks of fantastic tennis and wall to wall sunshine, that said, we think it’s a good idea that they are adding a second retractable roof to No. 1 Court, that will complement the one they already have on Centre Court! Do you remember who won last year’s single events? Of course, you do, a back to form Novak Djokovic won the men’s tournament for the 4^th time and Angelique Kerber won her first Wimbledon title to add to the 2 slams she won in 2016, bringing her grand total to 3. This years event kicks off on the 1^st and comes to an end on the 14^th with the words, Game, Set and Championship!

AUGUST

For cricket fans, August starts with the first Ashes Test of 2019. Now the Ashes is a Test cricket series between England and Australia. The first of 5 matches will be held at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in Birmingham. This is a biannual event and the present holders of the trophy are Australia, who won the last contest down under, at home. Now we know that crickets not everyone’s cup of tea, but here at STATCORE, we like to cater for all sports fans – so you’re welcome! And we wish both teams all the best.

Read more: New to cricket? Been there, done that – learn more from Matt’s cricket guide.

Experience more: visit Cricket’s results and schedules in ScoreFrame.

SEPTMEBER

The 21^st of September sees the start of the Cycling Road World Championships and they will continue to the 29^th. This years event takes place in the UK for only the 4^th time and will be the 92^nd time the event has taken place. Those among us, that love what cycling has to offer, will remember that last year the event took place in Innsbruck, Austria and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde won the men’s road race and Rohan Dennis of Australia won the men’s time trial, while on the women’s side the Dutch completed the double with Anna van der Breggen taking the road race and Annemiek van Vleuten taking the time trial. This year In total there will be 12 gold medals up to grab, so plenty to keep you entertained.

OCTOBER

Sees us returning to the US for 2019, Major League Baseball’s postseason that kicks off on the 1^st. The best of 7 World Series games will start on the 22^nd and if needed, game 7 will be held on the 30^th.  The 2018 World Series was contested between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was the 114^th edition of the World Series and the Red Sox went on to win in 5 games to claim their 4^th win in 15 years. The Series will be remembered and go down in history for its third game, which went on for a world record 18 innings! Go Red Sox!

Experience more: Yeap, we have baseball covered in PrematchPro!

NOVEMBER

Only a couple of months left, but still plenty of sporting events taking place around the globe to choose from, so what do we suggest? We are advising you to keep your diary free for the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup Final. We know this is an event that rugby fans have been waiting 4 years for! Last held in 2015 and hosted by England, who didn’t make it out of the group stages. New Zealand came into that tournament as the reigning champions and left the same way after defeating Australia 34-17. So will they be able to do the same again? Only time will tell!

Read more: What are the four othe top UK sports besides of rugby?

DECEMBER

They say time flies and it’s the end of the year already! So what have we got you for Christmas? It has to be the PDC World Darts Championships, taking place at the world famous Alexandra Palace, in London. The 2018 event saw Michael van Gerwen win his 3^rd world title against Michael Smith. The event started with an extra 16 participants, taking the total to 96 and was played over 20 days. We think the tournament will always be remembered for being the 1^st ever World Championship, without the great Phil Taylor, who won a staggering 16 World Titles!

Read more: 3 wonderful Darts stats that you might not know

That’s 2019, taken care of, we will surprise you again with more events in 2020!

The post STATSCORE loves sport: 12 great events to look out for in 2019! Part 2 appeared first on STATSCORE.

After a few years of commuting by bike and a change of jobs, I met a work colleague who was into cycling in a big way and took part in competitions. At the start, I would just go on training rides after work and from time to time we would meet up at a race. It was at one of these meetings I met and become friends with a guy from a local cycling club, the 34^th Nomads, and I joined up.

MY COMPETITIVE CYCLING

The 34^th nomads were well known around the area I live due to the connection with ex-professional ride Sean Yates, who rode for the Nomads as an amateur like myself. Yates went on to ride the Tour de France 12 times and raced alongside the likes of the now infamous Lance Armstrong. I competed in cycling for around 10 years.

The first couple of years I concentrated on road racing, which I enjoyed, but once the family came along I could no longer justify the number of hours I needed to train. At the time I was cycling somewhere between 7,000-8,000 miles a year just to be competitive, so from here I switched to time trialling and competed mainly over 10 and 25 miles.

I had the best time of just under 24mins for the 10 and if I remember well, around an hour and 6mins for the 25. Even though I stopped racing over 20 years ago, I have continued cycling both as a means of transport and a great source of exercise. As I ease myself into old age, I have for sure become a fair weather cyclist (only getting the bike out on sunny days), but riding a bike is in the blood and something I like to think I will always be able to do.

CYCLING SUCCESS IN THE UK

The UK has had a golden era of cycling so far this century. When I started out as a fan of cycling, the Tour de France along with the one-day road racing classics were the events I looked forward to. The likes of Laurent Fignon, Greg LeMond, the great Miguel Indurain and of course Lance Armstrong, who was recently stripped of his 7 wins. The Tour de France is still a big event on the calendar and British riders have won 5 of the last 6, Bradley Wiggings (1), Chris Frome (3) and the 2018 winner, Welsh rider Geraint Thomas.

As well as this success on the road, the UK have won numerous medals at World and Olympic level in both the men and women’s competitions on the track. These include husband and wife team, Jason and Laura Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggings and Ed Clancy, just to name a few, who between them have 23 Olympic medals alone. So why have we done so well? I’m not 100% it’s true, but after the last Olympics, an Australian newspaper suggested it’s because we Brits are lazy and only do well in sports where we can sit down! How dare they!!!

Read more: what is so special about Wimbledon?

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