The future of sports: Digital experiences for the win
The future of sports requires great digital experiences that meld physical and online worlds, as well as a deep understanding of fans.
Competitive gaming is more than reflexes, reaction time, and fast thinking—it’s about data. And where milliseconds can make the difference between victory and defeat, Team Liquid—one of the world’s most successful esports organizations—has taken the transformation of raw data to a whole new level.
With SAP, they’re building intelligent tools to transform preparation, strategy, and in-game performance. Whether it’s optimizing the draft phase in League of Legends or detecting critical team fights in real time, AI in esports is helping Team Liquid stay one step ahead in the fast-moving world of gaming.
Data-driven excellence in esports
With more than 160 professional players competing in 18 major titles, including Dota 2 and League of Legends, Team Liquid is a powerhouse in esports. The team has won more than 75 premier events and attracted 10 million fans on social media.
But success on the global stage requires more than mechanical skill and strategic thinking. It demands precision, preparation, and the ability to adapt instantly.
As an innovation partner, SAP provides Team Liquid with cutting-edge AI and analytics tools built on SAP Business Technology Platform powered by SAP HANA Cloud. With these tools, analysts and coaches can extract actionable insights from over 6 million match records in real time.
“We’re not just storing data anymore. We’re making it work for us,” says Victor Goossens, Co-CEO and Founder, Team Liquid.
AI in esports: Draft like a pro with AI-powered picks and bans
Quick primer for non-gamers: In games like Dota 2 and League of Legends, each player controls a unique character—called a “hero” in Dota or a “champion” in League—chosen during the pre-game draft. These characters come with distinct roles, skills, and strategic value, making the draft one of the most decisive moments in a match.
In both games, the draft phase involves selecting five heroes per team while banning five others. This is a high-stakes process that can determine the course of a match. But with a pool of more than 120 heroes and bi-weekly game updates, predicting optimal picks and counters can be an analytical nightmare.
Previously, Team Liquid relied on time-consuming manual analysis to prepare for drafts. Now, with SAP AI Core and SAP BTP, they’ve developed an AI draft bot that processes 1.6 terabytes of game data—including more than 6,000 pro matches and 1.6 million amateur games—to suggest optimal champion and hero combinations for upcoming matches.
This generative AI system visualizes each draft scenario in real time, providing live win-rate probabilities as champions and heroes are picked or banned. The result is faster, smarter, more confident decision-making and approximately 10,000 hours saved per year.
“With the draft bot, we’re simulating matchups we wouldn’t have thought of before. The suggestions often go against intuition—like a chess computer—but they make total sense in the end,” says Mathis “Jabbz” Friesel, Dota 2 Analyst for Team Liquid.
Automating team fight detection
Team fights—or, more precisely, high-stakes clashes—between all players, are often where matches are won or lost. But until recently, analyzing them meant manually combing through hours of game footage.
With SAP, Team Liquid automated this entire process. The solution detects fights based on player movement, damage output, and proximity, clustering participants and scoring outcomes. It works as fast as the game moves, flagging critical moments instantly.
Machine learning models continuously improve the detection accuracy, helping coaches dissect not just what happened, but why it mattered. With more than 16,000 professional games analyzed, Team Liquid can now identify behavioral patterns, refine tactics, and track player performance for competitive advantage—all without lifting a finger.
Team Liquid’s coaching staff say the solution helps them see the full picture: Who was involved, what role they played, and how to adapt.
AI in esports gets real results
By using advanced technologies, Team Liquid is rewriting the playbook for esports success. What once took a full workday is now done in seconds, freeing up time for what matters most: team development, strategy, practice, and performance.
With real-time dashboards, intelligent simulations, and fully integrated analytics, the team is moving from reactive to predictive even proactive gameplay.
Here are just a few of the results so far:
- 60x faster draft analysis from 60 minutes to 1 minute
- More than 10,000 analyst hours saved annually across draft preparation and team fight detection
- $250,000 projected cost savings from automation and improved efficiency
- More than 6 million matches analyzed, including real-time insights from live games
As esports continues to evolve, AI will play a central role in forecasting strategies, recognizing trends, and recommending next moves. As Team Liquid demonstrates, when talent meets technology, it’s game on.
