What Matcherino does

Matcherino is a Seattle-based (Bellevue, WA) private company that operates an esports tournament management and crowdfunding platform connecting three user groups: tournament organizers who run grassroots and professional events, game publishers who fund and supply prizes for community tournaments, and sponsors seeking visibility among esports audiences. The platform provides tournament infrastructure including crowdfunding, brackets, player signups, streaming overlays, ticketing, and entry fee collection for both online and in-person events, plus a Publisher Dashboard for managing reward programs and a Payout Powerhouse that distributes winnings to 120+ countries with integrated tax-form handling.

The underlying technology is a cloud-based SaaS platform with a proprietary Managed Payment Processing (MPP) layer integrated with third-party payment processors (including PayPal), merchant acquirers, and money transmitters. The platform supports social login via Twitch, Google, YouTube, Discord, Facebook, X, Battle.net, Microsoft, LINE, and Supercell ID, and embeds YouTube API and Google Analytics. Additional modules include SponsorQuests and SponsorOverlay for sponsor activation, a Rewards Store, a Partner Program with contribution codes, and a Charities Integration. The company is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant.

Matcherino's revenue model is purely transactional: service fees are charged on ticket sales, registrations, prize-pool donations, and merchandise purchases routed through the platform, plus fees on Managed Payment Processing and on sponsorship activation services. Basic account creation and event listing are free, with revenue earned only when transactions occur; an inactive-account maintenance fee of $3.00/month applies after six months of dormancy. Notable customers include Supercell/Brawl Stars (the platform's flagship publisher program with 46,578 tournaments), ESL Gaming (using MPP for global prize distribution), and GameStop (sponsorship). The company has raised approximately $7.2M across multiple funding rounds from 2015 through 2024, with investors including Madrona, Vulcan Capital, Seven Peaks Ventures, AXiomatic, EOS VC Fund, Galaxy Interactive, Wells Fargo, and Techstars.

Name

Matcherino

Legal name

Matcherino, Inc.

Website

https://matcherino.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Matcherino is an esports tournament management and crowdfunding platform that connects tournament organizers, game publishers, and sponsors, offering prize pool crowdfunding, global payouts to 120+ countries with tax handling, and sponsor activation tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Esports Tournament Management Platform

NAICS

Other Spectator Sports (711219), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Esports Competition Platforms (Tournament Platforms, Matchmaking, Ladders) (MPAFADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online/Remote Esports Tournaments (MPAGANAH), Third-Party Esports Tournament Organizers (TOs) (MPAGANAB), Mobile Esports Tournaments & Leagues (MPAKANAK), Esports Platforms & Competitive Gaming Networks (BPAMAKAH)

Keywords

• Esports tournament management
• Tournament crowdfunding platform
• Global prize payouts
• Gaming event infrastructure
• Publisher organizer programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees (Revenue Share): Matcherino charges service fees on each order processed through the platform, including ticket sales, registrations, donations to prize pools, and merchandise purchases. Fees are applied to each transaction and deducted from order proceeds.
2. Managed Payment Processing Fees: Fees for processing payments through the proprietary MPP platform, utilizing third-party payment processors and gateways.
3. Sponsorship Services: Revenue from advertising and sponsorship tools, including SponsorQuests and SponsorOverlay, where sponsors pay for visibility placements and engagement quests.
4. Rewards Store: E-commerce functionality allowing organizers to sell merchandise and rewards, with Matcherino taking a transaction fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Matcherino provides a cloud-based esports tournament management platform that enables organizers to create events with crowdfunding, brackets, player signups, streaming overlays, ticketing, and entry fee collection. The platform includes a Publisher Dashboard for distributing in-game prizes and cash to organizer communities, sponsor activation tools, and a global prize payout infrastructure covering 120+ countries with integrated tax form handling via a proprietary Managed Payment Processing (MPP) system.

Product overview

Matcherino is an esports crowdfunding and tournament management platform. The core offering consists of Tournament Tech for running tournaments (crowdfunding, brackets, signups, streaming overlays, ticketing, entry fees) combined with a Payout Powerhouse that distributes prizes to 120+ countries with tax form handling. A Publisher Dashboard enables game publishers to manage prize distribution to their organizer community. Additional modules include Sponsor Activation for sponsor engagement tools, Real-Time Metrics for live dashboard visibility, a Partner Program offering enhanced organizer support and contribution codes, a Rewards Store for merchandise sales, and a Charities Integration for cause-related crowdfunding. The platform integrates with multiple identity providers (Twitch, Google, YouTube, Discord, Facebook, Twitter/X, Battle.net, Microsoft, LINE, Supercell ID) and payment processors (PayPal, credit card gateways) to enable tournament organizers to run and monetize events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tournament Tech

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Supercell (Brawl Stars)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor publisher partnership with Supercell for Brawl Stars, featuring the largest organizer program on Matcherino with 46,578 tournaments and $1.4M+ in payouts. Supercell provides in-game prizes and funding for community tournaments through Matcherino's infrastructure.
• ESL GamingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESL, a major tournament organizer, uses Matcherino's payment platform for global prize distribution. ESL has praised the platform for making international prize payouts and tax processing seamless.
• GameStopcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGameStop sponsors thousands of tournaments through Matcherino, using the platform to engage with esports communities and support players. CMO Frank Hamlin has publicly endorsed the platform.
• MetalstormcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMetalstorm has a rapidly growing esports ecosystem powered by Matcherino, with 596 tournaments and $20,805.85 in payouts facilitated through the platform.
• The BazaarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuto-battler game that recently launched tournaments through Matcherino, representing Matcherino's most recent publisher launch on the platform.
• RazerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGaming hardware brand featured as a partner/sponsor in the Matcherino partner ecosystem.
• IntelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTechnology sponsor partner featured in the Matcherino partner ecosystem.
• Team LiquidminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional esports organization featured as a partner in the Matcherino ecosystem.
• American Red CrossminorOthersPartner charity through Mission Red program, with 251 events and $36K raised through the platform.
• The Trevor ProjectminorOthersLGBTQ youth crisis intervention charity partner, with 71 events and $18.4K raised through Matcherino.
• Trans LifelineminorOthersTrans-led microgrants nonprofit, with 18 events and $8K raised through the platform.
• UNICEFminorOthersGlobal children's charity with 56 events and $4.4K raised through Matcherino.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Battlefy: Battlefy is a leading esports tournament platform offering brackets, league management, and organizer tools — directly comparable to Matcherino's Tournament Tech stack for grassroots organizer use cases.
• Toornament: Toornament is a tournament management platform providing brackets, registration, and API integrations for esports organizers — overlapping with Matcherino's core tournament infrastructure offering.
• Challonge: Challonge provides tournament brackets, scheduling, and organizer tools widely used in grassroots esports — a directly competing platform serving the same organizer persona as Matcherino.
• Start.gg: Start.gg is a tournament platform (acquired by Epic Games / Fortnite ecosystem) offering organizer tools, brackets, and publisher integrations — a direct competitor especially in the grassroots publisher-funded tournament space.
• Challengermode: Challengermode is an esports platform providing tournament organization, leagues, and community tools for game publishers and organizers — directly comparable to Matcherino's publisher dashboard and tournament infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• FACEIT: FACEIT operates competitive gaming matchmaking and tournament infrastructure at scale, with broader esports capabilities than Matcherino's grassroots focus — a broader incumbent in the competitive gaming platforms space.
• ESL Gaming: ESL is a major tournament organizer (and Matcherino customer) operating large-scale esports events with proprietary infrastructure — represents both a customer relationship and a broader incumbent with overlapping tournament capabilities.

Emerging players

• PandaScore: PandaScore provides esports data, odds, and APIs serving betting and media verticals — overlaps with Matcherino's data/analytics features and serves adjacent publisher and sponsor personas.
• Ray Gaming Network: Ray Gaming Network provides tournament and community infrastructure for game publishers — an emerging competitor in the publisher-backed tournament platform category where Matcherino operates.

Others

• Stripe (Atlas / Connect): Stripe provides global payment infrastructure with multi-country disbursement and tax handling capabilities that could compete with or enable Matcherino's Managed Payment Processing — an adjacent infrastructure provider in the platform's stack.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/matcherino_
• Facebookfacebook.com/matcherino

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matcherino