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Welcome to another edition of Tongram Innovators, where we spotlight the best projects within the Tongram Ecosystem. Today, we’re excited to introduce Fanton Fantasy—a Telegram game that revolutionizes the fantasy league experience by blending traditional fantasy football competitiveness with blockchain technology and the Tongram App Store.
Fanton offers a distinctive opportunity to compete in fantasy football tournaments against players from around the globe, all while vying for top positions and attractive rewards. The game operates seamlessly through Telegram, featuring an accessible user interface that allows you to draft your teams, participate in various tournaments, and earn points based on your squad's real-world performance.
Fanton is gaining traction and has been recognized as the Top Product of the Week by Product Hunt. As a leader in the fantasy sports arena, its promising roadmap includes expansions into other sports, enhanced features, and customizable tournaments.
This interview serves informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of the project. The views expressed are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tongram Foundation. This is not investment advice.
"Welcome to Tongrqam Innovators, Fanton! Your team is considered one of the pioneers in the Tongram and Telegram ecosystem. Can you tell us how it all began?"
"Hello, community! I’m Eldar, the CEO of Fanton!
The journey began when I worked for one of Eastern Europe's largest loyalty programs. I envisioned creating Fanton there while overseeing gamification. We developed games with loyalty bonuses, and I had the idea for a fantasy football game, but bureaucratic hurdles stalled its progress.
After learning about the Tongram ecosystem from a friend who launched a successful NFT collection that sold for $2 million, I realized that fantasy sports and NFTs could blend perfectly. At that time, it was only possible to create mini apps within Telegram.
I shared my concept with Vadim Sterlin, a friend from university. Although a similar game existed, we believed we could offer a superior experience for Telegram and Tongram users.
After several months of discussion, we initially hesitated due to fear. However, after Vadim’s Vipassana retreat, we gathered the courage to move forward and invited Aleksey, a former colleague from Kaspersky Lab, to join us. Together, we began developing the Fanton project, and we’re thrilled with the outcome."
Your team is one of the few that is doxxed and does not operate under pseudonyms. Can you introduce us to the core team driving Fanton?
We chose to reveal our identities from the beginning to demonstrate our commitment. By being open, we show that this project is significant to us, and we’re willing to stake our reputations on its success.
From the start, we participated in AMA sessions with transparency and engaged with our audience openly. In Web3, transparency is key. Projects with visible founders inspire trust, as teams risk their reputations.
Investing time or money in a project is inherently risky. While many businesses might succeed without transparency, those that foster openness and honesty build stronger connections with their audience.
Our leadership team includes:
- Eldar Khayretdinov - CEO
- Vadim Sterlin - COO and co-founder
- Aleksey Frolagin - CTO
We began this project from scratch, and later we welcomed Sergey Lyadov, our head of community, and Igor Bael, our commercial director. Each team member plays a crucial role in our success.
And, of course, our community plays an essential part, providing us with valuable advice, ideas, and support. A vibrant community is vital for any Web3 project. As they say in football, the 12th player is the fan—here, our 12th player is our community.
If I'm new to fantasy football, how do I start with Fanton? Should I do my research first, or can I dive right in?
To enjoy the fantasy football genre, you should love football. It’s simple:
- Select five players for free and see the results.
- Analyze your results to understand the scoring system and how fantasy football operates.
- After your first tournament, you can try several more free tournaments and earn tickets to paid tournaments that require better skills.
If you’re already a fantasy football fan, you’ll easily immerse yourself in our game. We’ve worked hard to simplify the onboarding process for everyone, and it’s clear our efforts are paying off.
We aim to make the simplest fantasy football experience ever by leveraging Telegram’s convenience. We strive to create a game that is easy to understand and appealing to a wide audience, and we’ve confirmed this with many users who discovered fantasy football through our project and became enthusiastic fans.
What makes Fanton Fantasy different from traditional fantasy football platforms?
First, our user-friendly integration within Telegram allows us to attract native users. There’s no need to download an app or log into a website. Second, the game format is simple; you only need to choose five players to create your team. We also welcome registrations from anyone around the world.
Lastly, users can pay with Tongram or Telegram stars, making it straightforward for players unfamiliar with crypto. It’s easy to understand, register, and enjoy a game in this genre.
Let’s discuss the NFT aspect. Do I need to own Fanton NFTs to play, or do they give players an edge in tournaments?
NFT cards were crucial for our project’s initial funding. We launched a collection of football players, and then we developed a product using these NFT cards. Each NFT card belongs to one of three categories:
- Legendary: only one per player
- Epic: only three
- Rare: only twelve per player
Each NFT rarity has its coefficient: Legendary—x2, Epic—x1.75, and Rare—x1.5.
To ensure participation, we offer both NFT and Common tournaments. NFT tournaments require players to own an NFT card, while Common tournaments allow anyone to choose players for different positions, regardless of NFT ownership. This approach makes the game accessible to more people.
Currently, NFT tournaments and NFT cards appeal to collectors and gamers alike. These digital assets can also serve as investments, providing potential returns through gameplay.
Fanton includes a variety of leagues, teams, and nationalities for players to choose from. Are there plans to expand this list? What new leagues can players look forward to?
We currently feature eight leagues, including the top European leagues (England, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany), the Russian league, the Brazilian league, and the MLS. We plan to expand our leagues, aiming to add the Saudi Arabian league (Rest of the World) and possibly the Turkish league this season.
Our team is discussing these additions while considering customer needs. We want to ensure that our engaging tournaments complement the new leagues and attract interest. Given the increasing number of Chinese users on Telegram, we’re also considering adding the Chinese League. Further tournaments are still under discussion, and I believe we will expand our offerings.
What motivated you to launch Fanton as a Telegram game?
Over two years ago, Telegram introduced the ability to create mini-apps. Inspired by this, a friend launched an NFT collection on Tongram called Animal Red List, which earned $2 million. This success made us realize that fantasy football was a perfect fit for NFTs, and we could create a fantasy football game within Telegram.
Since Tongram and Telegram work so well together, we saw an opportunity to simplify this process for Web2 users. Our Web3 initiative aims to create an accessible product using familiar Web2 mechanics.
Attracting users is significantly cheaper than on traditional websites, where registration is required. With Telegram, users log in using their Telegram ID without additional registration. There's no need to download a separate mobile app; if you have Telegram, just click 'start,' and the game begins.
Recognizing the potential of developing a game within Telegram for the fantasy football genre, we moved forward with our idea, and it has successfully found its audience. Moreover, Telegram allows for channel management, interactive chats, and timely updates, benefiting users who love our game.
Through Telegram channels, we can share news for our fans, facilitate user discussions, and communicate directly with them. We also conduct video AMA sessions where we answer questions and address concerns, maintaining an open dialogue. Integrating the game into Telegram is incredibly convenient, and recognizing this potential motivated us to launch our game on Telegram.
How does Fanton’s use of blockchain enhance the fantasy sports experience?
Blockchain technology enables us to attract a global audience to our game, allowing anyone with a crypto wallet to participate in paid tournaments. Additionally, we offer free games for users to join and explore Web3 through engaging mechanics tailored for football fans, especially in the fantasy sports genre. Launching our project as a Web3 initiative allows us to attract investments, grow our community, and introduce our token.
For those who have supported us from the start and believe in our project, our token offers a chance to earn through in-game mechanics and early support. After launching our token, players can earn it through various game mechanics and airdrops, allowing them to benefit from their early involvement. This approach has helped us engage our audience from the beginning, as users are invested not just in the game but also in the potential rewards for their loyalty and participation.