This December, Crypto.com will sponsor a tournament with a cryptocurrency-based prize, marking its debut in the golf world. On December 14, the Crypto.com Showdown tournament will take place at Las Vegas’ renowned Shadow Creek Golf Course, offering a $10 million purse in Cronos (CRO), the native token of the cryptocurrency platform.
The PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will compete against Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau from LIV Golf. The format will be Ryder Cup-style, with four-ball, singles, and alternate-shot rounds.
Golf’s largest purse has traditionally been substantially lower, with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson competing for $9 million in 2018. We anticipate significant interest in the Crypto.com Showdown due to its unique crypto-based reward. DeChambeau acknowledged his delight, adding, “The Showdown has always been about innovation, and now, with Crypto.com, we’re delivering the best entertainment with a cryptocurrency prize.”
The tournament will appear on TNT on December 17, featuring a fight between players from two rival golf tours: the long-established PGA Tour, started in the 1910s, and the newer LIV Golf, which debuted in 2021.
Crypto.com, which has created a name for itself in sports sponsorship, has also entered into high-profile relationships with Formula 1, UFC, and FIFA. However, its relationship with the cryptocurrency sector has not been without controversy. Previous sports alliances have faced legal hurdles, such as those involving the now-defunct Voyager Digital and FTX exchanges, which resulted in litigation against famous figures such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry.
This sponsorship underscores the expanding significance of digital currencies in sports, as Crypto.com looks for new ways to combine these two businesses.
