The third season of the Golden Boomerang Awards by Boomerang Partners is gaining momentum. Following the conclusion of the First Half, the tournament has confirmed one of the main ideas behind this season: long-term mechanics can increase partner engagement, while a sports-focused strategy can help turn that activity into measurable results.
First Half leaderboard and highlights
The Kickoff stage concludedwith impressive participant engagement. Mystery Boxeswere raffled off among all participants, featuring exclusive prizes such as limited-edition FIFA World Cup 2026 jerseys, three per box, each representing a different participating country.
The winner of this opening stage – Team AskBonus – will attend the Wimbledon Championships. For Boomerang Partners, sport remains one of the key areas of expertise, which is why it runs through the tournament mechanics, partner activities and the Prize Pool. The rules are the same across all stages: the top 10 teams qualify for a random draw for the main stage prize, while Mystery Boxes are available to all active participants, not only the leaders. This keeps the competition open for everyone.
GBA 2026 standings update
Currently, a clear leader has emerged in the tournament. Team Lily has already scored 6,029 points (of which nearly 5,200 come from sports FTDs). Team O follows in 2nd place with 2,677 points. The rest of the Top 5 currently hold 750, 504 and 341 points respectively. At the same time, the leaderboard is changing dynamically, driven by high participant activity.
The sports vertical accounts for nearly half of all FTD activity
About half of the FTDs brought by Golden Boomerang Awards participants to the partner brands in the company’s portfolio come from the sports segment.This confirms a strong audience interest in sports events, especially given the active stage of the FIFA World Cup in North America. The third season of GBA prioritizes long-term strategy over participants’ short-term successes. This is backed up by data on activities in the online casino segment. Around one-third of participating teams actively use the Lucky Five mechanic, whichallows affiliate teams to earn FIVE bonus points per week if they generate 10 or more Casino FTDs during the reporting week.
Second half introduces upgraded mechanics
The Second Half runs until July 19th, with the winner attending the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix on September 6th. Even those joining the race now have every chance of catching the leaders and seriously competing for the prize.
Boomerang Partners has introduced a key feature for the Second Half aimed at new participants, Welcome Boost. Every new affiliate team will receive double points for every FTD throughout the first 14 days from the moment of joining. The Lucky Five and Last Minutes Winner mechanics also continue, with the latter allowing participants to earn 3x the points for every FTD during the last seven days of the stage. In addition, the value of sports FTDs has increased – teams now earnTHREE points instead of TWO for each such FTD.This will be particularly beneficial for sports-focused affiliates, given that the stage runs alongside the FIFA World Cup and Wimbledon, both of which are driving high demand from audiences.
As soon as the Second Half concludes, the Overtimestage will begin, featuring its own prizes, bonus mechanics and enhanced point scoring. This keeps the tournament challenges completely open, giving every active participant a real opportunity to reach the top ranks.
The Awards Ceremony in 11 categories takes place in September in Lisbon as part of SBC Summit, allowing winners to gain a sense of belonging among the best in the affiliate marketing industry – a feeling that fully aligns with the concept of the third season, Beyond the Moment.
Find out more on the official Golden Boomerang Awards website HERE
