The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new partnership with fan engagement technology company Monterosa has delivered record user retention for The Hundred Fantasy during its first season, as the governing body expands its use of digital products to deepen engagement with cricket audiences.
The revamped fantasy game recorded a 58% participation rate across every playable block of The Hundred in 2026, compared with 50% for the previous product. The eight-percentage-point increase represented a 16% improvement in the proportion of users participating continuously throughout the tournament.
The performance is particularly significant for the ECB given the role fantasy plays within The Hundred’s digital ecosystem, with the governing body identifying the game as its leading driver of engagement across the competition’s digital products.
The Hundred Fantasy gets new digital experience
Under the partnership, Monterosa became the ECB’s new Fantasy Game and gamification supplier and introduced a redesigned experience bringing The Hundred’s men’s and women’s competitions together within the same product.
The mobile-first game incorporates live cricket data and allows users to build teams, select captains and compete across different playable blocks during the competition. Fans can also establish mini-leagues to compete with friends, family and colleagues.
ECB Head of Product & Data David Payne said in a statement: “We’re delighted to have partnered with Monterosa as our new Fantasy Game and gamification supplier. The Hundred Fantasy Game has been a key part of the fan experience over the past five years, with our data showing it is the number one driver of engagement across The Hundred’s digital products. Partnering with Monterosa has enabled us to take the game to the next level, introducing a refreshed experience and innovative new features. The response from our fans has been hugely encouraging, with the game achieving its highest-ever user retention rate – a fantastic result that demonstrates the strength of the new experience.”
Partnership marks first deployment of Monterosa Fantasy
The Hundred also became the first deployment of Monterosa Fantasy, a new product developed by the company for sports rights-holders seeking to operate fantasy games across both shorter tournaments and full-season competitions.
Its integration into Monterosa’s wider technology platform is designed to bring fantasy together with other forms of digital fan interaction, giving rights-holders a single environment for building recurring engagement and collecting first-party audience data.
Monterosa CEO Tom McDonnell said in a statement: “Adding Fantasy to the Monterosa platform means rights-holders can combine daily engagement, loyalty, community and fantasy in one place, supported by shared data and AI-powered intelligence. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the ECB, and this record first season gives us a strong foundation for an ambitious roadmap together.”
ECB builds deeper digital relationships with fans
The partnership forms part of the ECB’s wider effort to develop more direct digital relationships with cricket audiences, with fantasy providing a mechanism for encouraging repeated interaction across an entire competition rather than around individual fixtures alone.
For the ECB and Monterosa, the 2026 retention figures provide an early measure of the redesigned product’s performance. With The Hundred Fantasy already established as a significant component of the competition’s digital offering, the partnership gives both organisations a platform for further development following the new product’s first season.
