US production companies EverWonder Studio and BZ Entertainment have announced cryptocurrency brand Crypto.com as title sponsor of an upcoming golfing mini-tournament on December 17 in Las Vegas.
The Crypto.com Showdown will be the first-ever golf tournament with a multimillion-dollar purse to be paid using the Cronos (CRO) cryptocurrency, and will see Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler (both from the PGA Tour) competing against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka (who play in the LIV Golf League).
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Reports have suggested the prize purse is worth the equivalent of $10 million in cryptocurrency, with players able to sell or trade their winnings.
The event has been created by BZ Entertainment, led by producer Bryan Zuriff, and EverWonder Studio, the independent content studio backed by RedBird IMI. It will be broadcast domestically by Warnr Bros. Discovery network TNT.
Kris Marzalek, chief executive of Crypto.com, said: "Crypto.com's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to cryptocurrency and today's announcement is our latest effort by introducing the world's first major golf tournament with a purse in CRO cryptocurrency.
"This is testament to our confidence in the future of the US crypto market and the power of sports to bring fans to the most licensed crypto platform in the world – Crypto.com."
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By GlobalDataSteven Kalifowitz, chief marketing officer at Crypto.com, added: "The first crypto company to put our name on an iconic arena, The Crypto.com Arena. The first to be a global sponsor for Formula 1, UFC, and the FIFA World Cup.
“Now, we will be the first to host a major golf tournament with the world's top-ranked players teeing off for a world's first purse in CRO cryptocurrency."
The Crypto.com Showdown will take place at MGM Resorts International's Shadow Creek.
In terms of similar high-paying golfing exhibition contests, in 2018 icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson faced off in Las Vegas, in a winner-takes-all event with a total purse of $9 million.
In August it was announced that the UEFA Champions League (UCL), European men's soccer’s elite club competition, was set to have a cryptocurrency sponsor for the first time after governing body UEFA announced a deal with Crypto.com for the 2024-27 commercial cycle.
The two parties secured a deal at the second time of asking after Crypto.com reportedly pulled out of a UCL sponsorship agreement with UEFA in 2022 worth almost €500 million ($547 million) over five seasons.
The agreement was said to have fallen through at the last moment, amid concerns about increased crypto regulation.
