Edge Up is using Watson to improve fantasy football decision-making

Fantasy football analytics provider Edge Up Sports is partnering with IBM to deploy a Watson-based service that helps users manage the performance of their teams.

Edge Up, which will launch alongside the upcoming NFL season, bills itself as a one-stop shop of insights for users to supplement their current fantasy platforms, providing analysis of additional information like NFL players’ Twitter activity and coach statistics.

The company has enlisted IBM’s Watson-as-a-Service to bring some of the platform’s cognitive capabilities to bear on some of the more nuanced elements involved in how a team performs, like the emotional preparedness of a team, or how well players sustain hits on the field.

“Edge Up grabs vast amounts of available NFL data, and with the help of Watson, team general managers are able to make informed decisions and adjustments to their fantasy football roster picks,” said Edge Up Sports chief executive Illya Tabakh.

“By leveraging Watson technologies, we’re excited to be able to transform the way fantasy football is played, and provide a platform that is assisting team owners with the necessary analysis and insights that could increase their chances in winning their league.”

The companies said combining more data points and automating the analysis of how teams performance will help reduce the amount of time users need to spend on fantasy football decision-making.

“The purpose of opening up IBM Watson capabilities to our Ecosystem Partners via an open developer platform is to accelerate creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and Edge Up Sports is a perfect example,” said Lauri Saft, vice president, IBM Watson.