Runestone monetizes esports broadcasts with live match data

Runestone, led by Shane Clarke, collects live tournament telemetry to create broadcast features, sell exclusive data rights and monitor matches for suspicious patterns. The company operates inside the Realms Group and has about 40 employees.

Founded less than a year ago, Runestone signed a data partnership with StarLadder for the Counter‑Strike 2 Budapest Major and secured a multi‑year agreement with PGL covering the CS2 circuit through 2029. That PGL deal was later extended to include Dota 2 for an additional four years. Runestone has also partnered with NODWIN Gaming to support data integrity efforts across the Global South, teamed with SURGE to scale the EMEA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang circuit, and became a title partner for Global Esports Industry Week 2026 in Cologne.

Runestone provided the Esports Integrity Commission with detailed, real‑time match data that identified a pattern of repeated deaths linked to Molotov and incendiary grenade use in Counter‑Strike 2. ESIC used that analysis in an investigation that resulted in a four‑year ban for professional player Dmytro “nifee” Tediashvili for match fixing. Clarke described the platform as supplying data that enabled that review.

The company processes in‑game telemetry into three primary products: enhanced broadcast features designed to deepen fan engagement during live matches, exclusive datasets that organizers can license, and integrity monitoring tools that flag gameplay anomalies. Runestone focuses on providing infrastructure and data services to publishers and tournament operators rather than consumer apps.

Clarke, who spent seven years at ESL working on the Dota 2 ecosystem before founding Runestone, said the firm aims to make tournament data easier for broadcasters and community sites to use. He pointed to broader access to accurate data as a way to enable new storytelling and revenue opportunities for tournament operators and content partners.

Clarke noted changes in Counter‑Strike’s competition structure, including Valve’s VRS system, have increased the number of tier‑two operators and complicated commercial scaling for organisers. Runestone has prioritized mobile gaming and signed agreements covering the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Championship Tour AMER 2026, which includes North America, Latin America and Brazil.

The company plans to release additional technology products by late June or July. Runestone’s recent commercial agreements and its role in the ESIC investigation are based on the same source: live match telemetry that the company collects and analyses.