Esports data and analytics company Shikenso Analytics has announced a partnership with North American esports organisation M80.
The deal will help M80 better understand the performance of its partnerships by using Shikenso’s custom-built AI partnership analysis tool. This will, in turn, be beneficial to both the organisation and its roster of partners and sponsors.
The partnership is the latest in a string of high-profile new deals for M80, a young esports organisation founded just under a year ago in North America by Marco Mereu, the Co-founder of gaming and lifestyle brand XSET. The company has since partnered with the likes of Zowie, Secret Lab and Forge, and brought tennis player Daniil Medvedev on board as a part of its ownership group.
The organisation fields teams in VALORANT, Street Fighter, Rainbow Six: Siege and CS2. Its VALORANT roster has been successful in its home region, placing second at VCT Ascension in 2023. Moreover, its Rainbow Six team has also shown promise by placing second at the Gamers8 tournament in Riyadh this year.
Shikenso Analytics is well-known in the esports space for being the provider of AI-based anaylitics tools that monitor broadcasts and provide information about audiences and partnership metrics. This allows esports brands to make better sense of fanbases and adapt partnership strategies and pricing. Shikenso has partnered with the likes of Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, BLAST and other high-profile esports brands in 2023, with M80 being the latest to join.
Marco Mereu, CEO and Co-Founder of M80, commented on the deal: “Now more than ever, esports organisations need to show the tangible value of their audience. By partnering with Shikenso, M80 is able to more fully understand its fanbase and demonstrate why esports is the best way to reach young, highly engaged consumers.”
