Bowlero Brings Esports to its Bowling Centers with New Skillz Partnership

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bowlero Corp, the worldwide leader in bowling entertainment, and Skillz, the leading mobile games platform for fun, fair, and meaningful competition, today announced a first-of-its-kind mobile esports partnership connecting the 30 million registered Skillz players with Bowlero's 300 bowling centers and 28 million annual customers.

Touch Mechanics, a UK-based studio that has been creating Skillz-powered games since 2014, has been tapped to launch the new Bowlero-branded mobile game called Strike! By Bowlero. The optimized game merges the physical and digital worlds, extending the Bowlero bowling experience beyond physical locations while bringing sponsored esports tournaments to the Bowlero bowling centers. 

Supported by a nationwide marketing effort across its venues in North America, Bowlero will encourage its customers to download the mobile game and compete for prizes and bonuses at Bowlero centers, creating a fun and interactive physical-to-digital experience for bowlers on and off the lanes. 

"We're thrilled to partner with the leader in competitive mobile games and to be the first in our own entertainment sphere to launch such an exciting esports product," said Lev Ekster, Vice President of Business Development at Bowlero Corp and COO of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). "With Strike! By Bowlero, we can maintain and strengthen the connection to our center guests even when they are not on the lanes." 

"Bowling is the most popular participatory sport in America and a very popular genre on Skillz," said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. "As the offline and online worlds collide, partnerships like the one we've created with Bowlero are how Skillz is helping to define the future of entertainment." 

Skillz has previously leveraged its platform to help notable charitable organizations reach a younger mobile-first demographic. Through partnerships with the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund, and NFL Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice's 8 to 80 Zone, Skillz has launched large scale digital fundraisers engaging new donors in fun, fair, and meaningful competition. Bowlero is the latest brand to harness the power of the Skillz mobile esports platform as a digital marketing strategy to boost consumer engagement. 

About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players around the world in fair, fun and meaningful competition. The Skillz marketplace helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for 30 million mobile players worldwide and distributes over $60 million in prizes each month. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading venture capitalists, media companies, and professional sports leagues and franchises. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, CNBC's Disruptor 50, Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.

About Bowlero Corp
Bowlero Corp is the worldwide leader in bowling entertainment, media, and events. With more than 300 bowling centers across North America, Bowlero Corp serves over 28 million guests each year through a family of brands that includes Bowlero, Bowlmor Lanes, and AMF. In 2019, Bowlero Corp acquired the Professional Bowlers Association, the major league of bowling, which boasts thousands of members and millions of fans across the globe. For more information on Bowlero Corp, please visit BowleroCorp.com. 

SOURCE Skillz

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