PRESS RELEASE |

Euroleague to add new fantasy dimension, Ultimate Champions

French company Unagi will launch the NFT game next season
Euroleague Basketball's gamification strategy adds blockchain technology and Web3 space

For fans, one of the greatest advantages of NFT Gamification is being able to own the assets they play with, which readies them for a future in which interoperability will be the norm, and their devotion will enable them to experience new products and perks. The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague will be part of the Ultimate Champions platform, developed by Unagi, starting with the 2022-23 season. Ultimate Champions is a completely free-to-play fantasy game with officially licensed digital cards of your favourite basketball players that you can fully own, collect and trade because they are NFTs.

Ultimate Champions launched its fantasy football game in April of 2022 with over 35 clubs, including the English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal FC, and has now set its sights on the second most popular sport on the planet: basketball. Ultimate Champions is fulfilling its vision of becoming the go-to fantasy sports platform for all major sports through this long-term partnership with Euroleague Basketball, which is the top professional basketball management company in Europe. With over 500 games every season across the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7Days EuroCup, it is perfectly suited to this new era of fantasy gaming.

Unagi's co-CEOs, Charlie Guillemot and Remi Pellerin, stated: "We are really excited about the partnership with the Euroleague. As lifelong fans, we know the passion, energy and enthusiasm brought by both the EuroLeague and EuroCup. We have been impressed by their new corporate strategy – focusing on youth, urban locations, and new distribution channels – including the Web3 ecosystem. We believe the Ultimate Champions platform provides a new way for European basketball fans to engage with their teams and players. The EuroLeague is the anchor of our strategy around basketball for our product expansion. Let's ball!"

Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer at Euroleague Basketball, said: "We are honored that Unagi has chosen Euroleague Basketball to expand their Ultimate Champions platform into new sports, basketball in particular. It is a unique fan engagement platform that is currently being built on top of renowned football properties, and that will grow exponentially thanks to basketball and the EuroLeague. That is a testament to our gaming strategy and the legacy of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge community."
About Unagi and Ultimate Champions

Unagi's CEOs, Charlie Guillemot and Remi Pellerin, have co-managed a free-to-play video game studio at Ubisoft in Paris for 7 years. They stumbled upon blockchain early in 2017 and quickly became fascinated with the new technology, which they have been following closely since.
As sports fans and experienced gamers, the opportunity to create a company mixing both passions plus bringing innovation to this field was a no brainer.

Determined to venture into this new world, they left Ubisoft last year to found Unagi with the ambition of bringing Web3 gaming to the masses!

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational activities, led by the One Team program, in alignment with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On the academic side, the EB Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.