Sweet’s SCOR Leans on NHL, MLS Loyalty To Steer Clear of Telegram’s Play-To-Earn Graveyard

• SCOR is a new sports-centric mini-app in Telegram’s gaming ecosystem.
• TON currently has 215 GameFi titles on its network.
• The SCOR token has a capped supply of 4 billion tokens.

As Telegram cements itself as the new frontier for Web3 gaming, a fresh contender has entered the field.

Sweet, a platform known for its digital sports collectibles, has debuted SCOR—a mobile gaming mini-app designed to blend professional sports fandom with crypto rewards.

Like most play-to-earn titles, the game allows players to earn points that they can later convert into a token, in this case, the unreleased SCOR token.

With once-hyped titles like Hamster Kombat and Catizen now fading after explosive starts, what makes SCOR any different? CCN spoke with Sweet to find out.

What’s the Score?

Sweet, which has licensing agreements with major sports leagues like Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Hockey League (NHL), is bringing sports-based mini-apps and incentivized experiences to Telegram.

Tom Mizzone, CEO and founder of Sweet told CCN that the company is excited to join Telegram’s expanding Web3 gaming ecosystem.

“We view this as a net positive and an opportunity for cross-pollination and collaboration,” he said, adding that Sweet aims to offer “fresh, differentiated” experiences within Telegram, featuring sports-based gameplay and “pro-sports IP.”

Sweet’s latest venture, SCOR, aims to deepen its Web3 presence with a gaming mini-app ecosystem that will eventually incorporate the SCOR token.

However, players can currently accumulate in-game points that will convert into SCOR once the token generation event occurs.

While some may view SCOR as just another short-lived play-to-earn title, Mizzone takes a different stance.

“The $SCOR integration is designed from the ground up to drive genuine retention and engagement by delivering real value to fans and players. Rather than being a speculative token, $SCOR is collected through meaningful fan actions, like supporting teams, collecting, participating in challenges, and engaging with content,” he explained.

This approach creates a “virtuous cycle” where more engagement leads to greater rewards and unlocks further in-game experiences for players. But how does SCOR avoid the issues that plagued games like Hamster Kombat?

Mizzone believes the SCOR token’s integration into Sweet’s platform offers a broader vision than a simple play-to-earn model.

“Many token launches miss the mark as it relates to providing meaningful use-cases of the token within the greater ecosystem. This is where $SCOR is very different, and Sweet is uniquely positioned to excel here,” he noted.

Through its pro-sports partnerships, Sweet aims to onboard sports fans into Web3 and keep them engaged by offering rewarding, sports-centric gaming experiences.

Web3 Gaming on TON

On April 9, 2025, SCOR launched its mini-app on Telegram, debuting two retro-style games on the platform.

Speaking with Sweet, the firm’s decision to select TON as the protocol of choice for SCOR was a “thoughtful and detailed one,” adding that the “decision was not taken lightly.”

Citing its technological prowess, Sweet concluded that TON’s scalability and speed were exactly what it needed to extend its platform.

Indeed, Telegram’s TON integration proved bountiful for Hamster Kombat, which pulled hundreds of millions of players and distributed tokens to over 100 million players for its HMSTR airdrop.

The same can be said for Catizen and PAWS, which are also tapping into Telegram’s 900+ million user base to roll out Web3 gaming experiences and platforms.

“Building on TON gives us a fast, scalable foundation, but it doesn’t confine us. It’s simply the infrastructure layer powering $SCOR, and we retain full flexibility to build the kinds of experiences we envision across platforms,” the CEO said.

Mizzone notes that since launching the Sweet platform, it has drawn both native and non-native crypto users. With its Telegram launch and future plans, Sweet is eager to see how far it can take the tech.