[ { "id": 948, "name": "Blitz Esports", "slug": "blitz-esports", "former_names": [ "Instant eSports" ], "small_logo_thumb_url": "/company/thumb/missing.png", "website": "http://blitzesports.com", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA; Berkeley, CA, USA", "long_description": "Blitz Esports is a tech and media startup focused on bridging the gap between esports fandom and personal gameplay. We're one of the premier media publications in esports, specializing in educational video content for League of Legends, CS:GO and Overwatch.\n\nWe've also developed the first fully automatic League of Legends coaching app, which uses computer vision and data-driven insights to proactively help gamers make better decisions at each step of their gameplay experience. A month into open beta, the Blitz app is now used in over a million games each week.", "one_liner": "Blitz breaks down the complex world of esports and offers new…", "team_size": 11, "industry": "Consumer", "subindustry": "Consumer -> Content", "launched_at": 1430202918, "tags": [ "Media", "eSports" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Summer 2015", "status": "Acquired", "industries": [ "Consumer", "Content" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/blitz-esports", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/summer-2015/blitz-esports.json", "year_founded": null, "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": null, "x_url": "https://twitter.com/BlitzEsportsCOM", "fb_url": "https://www.facebook.com/blitzesports/", "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/instant-esports", "github_url": null, "logo_url": null, "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 63063, "full_name": "Jonathan Lin", "title": "Founder", "founder_bio": null, "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=236978274", "x_url": null, "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/0d7a12d0d246388dbef8366fb825c908d23f2e87.jpg" }, { "user_id": 14757, "full_name": "Rick Ling", "title": "Founder", "founder_bio": "", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickling", "x_url": "", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/472823a2c2b340c2bb6d667a58b33f7758d07574.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [] }, { "id": 1681, "name": "Gamelynx", "slug": "gamelynx", "former_names": [], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/4f594856da7516e2da32926b353dc6064da567fe.png", "website": "https://gamelynx.gg", "all_locations": "Los Angeles, CA, USA; Santa Monica, CA, USA", "long_description": "Gamelynx is creating easily watchable cross-platform competitive games. We're a passionate team with diverse experience from Riot Games, Google, Jane St, and Quantum Computing research labs. Gamelynx has raised $1.2 million to date with investors including Riot Games, M Ventures and Y Combinator. ", "one_liner": "Easily watchable cross-platform competitive games.", "team_size": 5, "industry": "Consumer", "subindustry": "Consumer -> Gaming", "launched_at": 1493928725, "tags": [ "Gaming", "eSports" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Summer 2017", "status": "Inactive", "industries": [ "Consumer", "Gaming" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gamelynx", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/summer-2017/gamelynx.json", "year_founded": null, "city": "Los Angeles", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/playgamelynx", "fb_url": null, "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gamelynx", "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/4f594856da7516e2da32926b353dc6064da567fe.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 120647, "full_name": "Alexander Mistakidis", "title": "Founder/CEO", "founder_bio": "Games founder. Designed characters and gameplay for VALORANT. Founded Gamelynx YCS17 (Jan 2016 - Dec 2020) 1+ million users. Senior Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund since Jan 2018. ", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aamistak", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/alexanderzone7", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/c0f03d02f4efd1770a635e72f6d9370b67a72272.jpg" }, { "user_id": 187329, "full_name": "Carter Minshull", "title": "Founder/CTO", "founder_bio": "", "is_active": false, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter-minshull-923b9a7a/", "x_url": "", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/9cfd6a652048f1a3051242017cc1dcbf01cb2828.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [] }, { "id": 32748, "name": "PokerClubHub", "slug": "pokerclubhub", "former_names": [ "Rounder" ], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/bdce623e4f66c5199feb962395591af2b0973e32.png", "website": "https://www.pokerclubhub.com", "all_locations": "Jaco, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica", "long_description": "TL;DR: PokerClubHub is the first licensed poker club platform. We protect players’ deposits and allow anyone to open their own poker club and make money.\r\n\r\nRegulated online poker sites like PokerStars have open player pools and thus are full of pros and bots, driving players to unregulated private clubs.\r\n\r\nExisting poker club platforms like ClubGG have no payments processing. Players deposit with a club owner by sending them crypto for play-money chips. In theory, these chips can be exchanged back for money. However, players can get scammed and withdrawing takes ages.\r\n\r\nThis model is also broken for honest club owners who have to manually process hundreds of deposits a day. They lose out on rake when they sleep and struggle to get players to trust them.\r\n\r\nOn PokerClubhub, players deposit with PokerClubHub, not the club owner. We handle all deposits and withdrawals for the club owner, saving them time and increasing their earnings. We pay the rake (if any) to club owners as affiliate fees.\r\n\r\nWe hold the same gaming license as BetHog (built by founders of FanDuel) and Nexa Poker (part of World Poker Tour). Player deposits are secured using Fireblocks.\r\n\r\nYou can also play rake-free games with your friends and acquaintances on our platform. We ensure that everyone pays up.", "one_liner": "Host a Poker Club and Make Money", "team_size": 0, "industry": "Consumer", "subindustry": "Consumer -> Gaming", "launched_at": 1785028791, "tags": [ "SaaS", "Crypto / Web3", "Gaming", "eSports" ], "tags_highlighted": [ "Crypto / Web3" ], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Summer 2026", "status": "Active", "industries": [ "Consumer", "Gaming" ], "regions": [ "Costa Rica", "Latin America" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/pokerclubhub", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/summer-2026/pokerclubhub.json", "year_founded": 2026, "city": "Jaco", "country": "CR", "linkedin_url": "", "x_url": "https://x.com/pokerclubhub", "fb_url": null, "cb_url": null, "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/bdce623e4f66c5199feb962395591af2b0973e32.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": { "name": "Ankit Gupta", "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/people/ankit-gupta" }, "founders": [], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [ { "id": 107788, "title": "PokerClubHub - The First Licensed Online Poker Club Platform", "tagline": "Host Your Own Poker Club, Make Money", "body": "**TL;DR:** PokerClubHub is the first licensed poker club platform. We protect players’ deposits and allow anyone to open their own poker club and make money.\\\n\\\n[https://drive.google.com/file/d/15qCencYd92aBcZdMjZxykUytkduYrGIb](https://drive.google.com/file/d/15qCencYd92aBcZdMjZxykUytkduYrGIb/view?usp=sharing)\n\n**♣️ Problem**:\n\nRegulated online poker sites like PokerStars have open player pools and thus are full of pros and bots, driving players to unregulated private clubs.\n\nExisting poker club platforms like ClubGG have no payments processing. Players deposit with a club owner by sending them crypto for play-money chips. In theory, these chips can be exchanged back for money. However, players often get scammed and withdrawals are regularly delayed.\n\nThis model is also broken for honest club owners who have to manually process hundreds of deposits a day. They lose out on rake when they sleep and struggle to get players to trust them.\n\n**Solution:**\n\n**Players deposit with PokerClubHub, not the club owner.** We handle all deposits and withdrawals for the club owner, saving them time and increasing their earnings. We return the rake to club owners as affiliate fees.\n\nWe hold the same gaming license as BetHog (built by founders of FanDuel) and Nexa Poker (part of World Poker Tour). Player deposits are secured using Fireblocks.\n\nYou can also play rake-free games with your friends and acquaintances on our platform. We ensure that everyone pays up.\n\n**Our ask:**\n\nPlease play some cards on [www.pokerclubhub.com](http://www.pokerclubhub.com). Sign up using code: “LAUNCH” and receive up to $40.\n\nContact us at [support@pokerclubhub.com](mailto:support@pokerclubhub.com) if you’re a club owner and interested in starting a club on our platform.\n\nIf you know anyone in iGaming, we’d love to chat to them! ([ivan@pokerclubhub.com](mailto:ivan@pokerclubhub.com))\n\n**Why we built PokerClubHub:**\n\n1\\. To stop players from getting scammed\n\n2\\. All the value in poker is created by players but too much of it accrues to a handful of companies. We think clubs, where hosts build communities and share in the economics, are healthier for the ecosystem.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post&id=107788&key=user_uploads/2574088/85ca689f-b4f9-4d4d-b6af-afa61336a17c)\n\n", "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/S2W-pokerclubhub-the-first-licensed-online-poker-club-platform", "votes": 14, "created_at": "2026-07-27T15:27:37.799Z" } ] } ]