Sports core tier intermediate Reliability 95/100

ESPN Game Context

Authoritative pre-game intelligence from ESPN's data pipeline

18 Leagues Covered

Overview

Fetches real-time team records, injury reports, recent form, head-to-head history, and news headlines directly from ESPN's API — providing every pillar with authoritative ground truth data instead of relying on web search luck.

What It Does

Connects directly to ESPN's scoreboard and team APIs to pull authoritative pre-game context: current season records, standings, injury reports (OUT/DOUBTFUL/QUESTIONABLE), last 5 game results with scores, head-to-head history, venue information, broadcast details, and breaking news headlines for the matchup. This structured data becomes the foundation that every other pillar builds upon.

Why It Matters

Without authoritative game context, every pillar is guessing. Vegas Lines pillar can't properly assess line value without knowing the injury report. Line Movement can't interpret sharp action without understanding roster changes. This pillar eliminates the information gap between professional oddsmakers (who have ESPN feeds) and prediction market analysts (who rely on stale web searches).

How It Works

1) Detects the sport and league from market title using ESPN_SPORT_MAP (18 leagues covered). 2) Queries ESPN scoreboard API for the specific matchup using fuzzy team name matching. 3) Extracts structured data: team records, scores, injury lists, recent results, venue, broadcasts. 4) Pulls ESPN news headlines and commentary for narrative context. 5) Packages everything into a structured briefing that gets injected into every subsequent pillar's analysis prompt as GROUND TRUTH CONTEXT.

Key Indicators

  • Team Records & Standings

    high

    Current W-L record, conference standing, home/away splits

  • Injury Report

    high

    Full injury designations: OUT, DOUBTFUL, QUESTIONABLE, PROBABLE

  • Recent Form (Last 5)

    high

    Results and scores from last 5 games for both teams

  • Head-to-Head History

    medium

    Historical matchup record between the two teams

  • Venue & Home Court

    medium

    Game location, home/away designation, travel context

  • Breaking News & Headlines

    high

    ESPN editorial headlines and commentary about the matchup

Data Sources

Example Questions This Pillar Answers

  • → What's the full pre-game context for tonight's NBA game?
  • → Are there any key injuries affecting this matchup?
  • → What's the recent form for both teams?
  • → What are ESPN experts saying about this game?

Use ESPN Game Context on a real market

Run this analytical framework on any Polymarket or Kalshi event contract.

Try PillarLab