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The Australian Open (AO) got underway on January 17, 2022. And while defending men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic's visa issues have dominated the headlines, the eye-catching element of this grand event is sure to be its alliance with Decentraland.
The open-source 3D virtual platform is set to take a billion viewers of the tournament into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the Metaverse. Fans will be treated to an experience of the "digital land" through their VR headsets or browsers.
How will Decentraland helps viewers delve into the Australian Open Metaverse?
Decentraland has already conducted multiple high-profile events and experiences in the past and is now set to take over the Australian Open.
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Fans will be able to login to Decentraland and witness a virtual recreation of the grounds of the Melbourne courts for the entire tournament, which is set to last a fortnight. They will be able to compete in virtual challenges, discover the precinct, view historic AO content, and interact with players and other fans.
And supporters can experience all of this and more through their laptops, which is quite a remarkable aspect in itself. With COVID-19 casting a dark shadow over this year’s event as well, Tennis Australia wants fans from all over the world to immerse themselves in the entertainment provided by the event. It is all part of the new age Metaverse experience.
To put it into perspective, the US Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon are yet to provide do something similar on such a massive scale.
Beyond this, the Australian Open is set to launch its AO Art Ball NFT collection.
What is the AO Art Ball NFT Collection?
The AO Art Ball NFT collection will comprise of 6776 unique NFTs. Each Art Ball will be unique in its appearance through the use of an algorithmic combination of colors, schemes, patterns, and textures. The fuzz on the ball will also be different. These Metaverse Art Balls have been made available on OpenSea.
Interestingly enough, each Art Ball’s NFT metadata will be linked to a 19cm-by-19cm plot on the surface of each tennis court. If the winning shot, or the "match point," as tennis aficionados call it, of any of the 400 professional matches lands on that particular plot, the NFT metadata will be updated in real time to highlight the match information. This gets even more engrossing once we get to the Championship final.
If any of the 11 Championship points land on a plot, the corresponding NFT owner can claim and receive that particular tennis ball in a handcrafted case. All of this is an experiment to better learn how sporting data can be integrated into NFTs while also providing a chance to delve into the metaverse.
The inaugural NFT drop will also be followed by airdrops with footage of the point, merchandising opportunities, and virtual wearables.
But that is not all.
Collaboration with Sweet.io
On top of this, the Australian Open has teamed up with NFT and Digital Collectible platform Sweet.io to release the AO Decades Collection.
This collection will include six commemorative NFT collections, thereby celebrating the six iconic decades of the Australian Open, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Each decade drop will possess particular collectibles ranging from a 3D Umpire chair and 3D Tennis Court to a "Legendary Moment" containing a highlighted match from a specific era. Those fans that manage to complete the set for a specific decade will receive a "Master NFT," which would be in the form of a commemorative 3D poster of that decade.
One of the most valued collectibles is a special edition 1 of 1 NFT AO 2023 ticket. It will be auctioned, with the winner receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to the Australian Open in 2023. The dates for the Decades release drops are as follows: (All are to take place at 10:00 am AEDT)
17 January: 1970s
19 January: 1980s
21 January: 1990s
23 January: 2000s
25 January: 2010s
27 January: 2020s
The entire strategy is a crucial step towards a larger Web3 plan, in which fans will get to own various elements and components of a new digitally-native tennis community. The Australian Open did enter the metaverse era in 2020 by organizing a Fortnite Summer smash, which was an esports event with a $100,000 prize pool.
However, the alliance with Decentraland is a long-term commitment to engage the tournament’s massive fan base with the virtual world of this mammoth event year-on-year and increase global user engagement. The Metaverse is the next big thing on the block, and this is Australia Open’s way of taking notice of the same.
