“We’re living in a fast-changing world where brands can stay alive if they adapt to what people want.” – a key message from Šarūnas Mazalas, Chairman of Twain Sport,.
Ahead of next month’s SBC Summit Barcelona, Mazalas explains the ways that T-Basket will “transform the world of sports” before giving us a sneak peek into what we can expect from Twain Sport over the next few months.
SBC Barcelona is nearly upon us and it has coincided neatly with Twain Sport’s launch of its T-Basket competition – the perfect stage for a major launch. Why was now the right time to launch?
The timing is perfect, it‘s been two years since we started developing our first hybrid game and finally, we started the inaugural season this summer. SBC Barcelona offers a great opportunity to present our revolutionary hybrid sports concept to the wider industry.
We’re living in a fast-changing world where brands can stay alive if they adapt to what people want. Our newly invented sports are exactly what today‘s generation expects. They’re quick, dynamic and it only takes a minute to find the winner.
Watching traditional sports is still popular, but we believe they will need to change to stay attractive to new generations. We have created something from the future and SBC Barcelona visitors will understand that after seeing our product in action.
Being such an innovative new product and the anticipation that surrounds it, what has the early player reception been like?
We are extremely pleased with our initial launch, with basketball fans engaging really well with the new concept. There are many reasons to be excited, from the players we have chosen, to the staff working around the sports. It’s especially amazing to have Virginijus Praskevicius, former NBA player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and EuroBasket 2003 winner with the Lithuanian national team on our side. There’s some really great diversity too – and we have attracted many players with professional experience, both men and women.
As well as that, we have many young prospects – who offer some serious talent. But the most amazing feeling is that they’re coming to compete with desire. For athletes, nothing can be better than competing for hours instead of having hundreds of practices and only a few games. With Twain Sport, we’re giving them exactly what they want, and they give their best in return. I have seen many sports teams from the inside and trust me, the atmosphere in Twain Sport is amazing – you can really feel the vibes. This proves our idea fits great for the athletes and they’re communicating this to the audience watching the action live.
T-Basket is your day one competition but what others do you have planned to expand the vertical?
It took two years to develop T-Basket, but we have already had ideas for future games being worked on in conjunction. Developing technical solutions was the hardest part and since we have a fully working solution, it will be easier to launch other Twain Sport games. We already have two other game concepts we are expecting to present in the upcoming months. It’s not a secret T-Kick will be our second game and since football is the most popular sport worldwide, the quick and dynamic version of T-Kick should be a big hit in the sports industry.
Unique products and services are hard to come by in today’s competitive industry – what was the development and thought process behind Twain Sport? What does it offer that other products don’t?
It’s always hard for new brands or projects to enter the industry, but what makes you truly standout from the competition is uniqueness. The initial idea was to create sports taking a new generation of players into account, particularly with millennials and below, it’s the Instagram Reels and TikTok age where people pay attention only for seconds or a few minutes. We understood this and anticipate traditional sports will have to adapt accordingly, instead we have created new sports that deliver the future today.
You see emotions every minute, which lasts minutes every hour and you see standings being updated every three minutes. This is every sports fan’s dream! NBA has already thought of it and offered last quarter subscriptions or purchases for 10 minutes of stream only. What we’re offering here is a last-minute action every game.
What’s on the agenda for Twain at the show? Are there any particular goals that you’re targeting?
Our main objective is to raise awareness. Hybrid Sports League was created this year and our inaugural game was launched this summer, with our project just at the beginning of its journey.
Alongside our partners at BetGames, we will present Twain Sport to the world and our aim is to make this an amazing new piece of entertainment both for businesses and for sports fans. This concept is transforming the world of sports, so make sure to check out one of the most interesting stands at SBC Barcelona!