Jesse Davis
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
Professor @ KU Leuven researching AI, machine learning, and sports. Co founder of runeasi
Pinned
Jesse Davis
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics
www.tandfonline.com
Excited to announce a new paper together with @sigridolthof.bsky.social entitled "Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics".
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
Reposted by Jesse Davis
My latest blog post "From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level" explores how football clubs can move from simply collecting data to making better, evidence-based decisions.
janvanhaaren.be/posts/from-d...
janvanhaaren.be/posts/from-d...
From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level – Jan Van Haaren
From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level.
janvanhaaren.be
November 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
My latest blog post "From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level" explores how football clubs can move from simply collecting data to making better, evidence-based decisions.
janvanhaaren.be/posts/from-d...
janvanhaaren.be/posts/from-d...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
I've always wondered (and feared) what might happen if everyone started taking set pieces seriously. The first eight weeks of the Premier League season might be giving us a glimpse into the future, where soccer no longer features much, well, soccer: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
Are set plays ruining the Premier League? How throw-ins are boosting Arsenal, but adding boredom
As Premier League teams learn set pieces are a more efficient way to score, open play goals become rarer. Can the game withstand such a shift?
www.espn.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I've always wondered (and feared) what might happen if everyone started taking set pieces seriously. The first eight weeks of the Premier League season might be giving us a glimpse into the future, where soccer no longer features much, well, soccer: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
Congratulations to DTAI PhD student Laurens Devos for successfully defending his PhD thesis on "Verification and reasoning for decision tree ensembles": tinyurl.com/47efmbj5
🎓👏🥂🍾
@wannesm.bsky.social
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
🎓👏🥂🍾
@wannesm.bsky.social
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Congratulations to DTAI PhD student Laurens Devos for successfully defending his PhD thesis on "Verification and reasoning for decision tree ensembles": tinyurl.com/47efmbj5
🎓👏🥂🍾
@wannesm.bsky.social
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
🎓👏🥂🍾
@wannesm.bsky.social
@jessejdavis.bsky.social
Reposted by Jesse Davis
We’re excited to launch the 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐗 𝐏𝐲𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐩 - a hackathon-style challenge that will bring together the community to collaborate, compete, and innovate using open-source SkillCorner data.
👉 Sign up pysport.org/analytics-cup
👉 Sign up pysport.org/analytics-cup
October 14, 2025 at 10:36 AM
We’re excited to launch the 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐗 𝐏𝐲𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐩 - a hackathon-style challenge that will bring together the community to collaborate, compete, and innovate using open-source SkillCorner data.
👉 Sign up pysport.org/analytics-cup
👉 Sign up pysport.org/analytics-cup
Reposted by Jesse Davis
Before an app launches, it undergoes usability testing. Why shouldn't an advanced sports metric?
In our latest blog, we propose 4 criteria:
1️⃣ Trustworthy
2️⃣ Novel
3️⃣ Intuitive
4️⃣ Useful
Then, we put VAEP to the test...
\w @jessejdavis.bsky.social & Maaike Van Roy
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
In our latest blog, we propose 4 criteria:
1️⃣ Trustworthy
2️⃣ Novel
3️⃣ Intuitive
4️⃣ Useful
Then, we put VAEP to the test...
\w @jessejdavis.bsky.social & Maaike Van Roy
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
How Do We Know a Metric Is Good? A Case Study on VAEP
In sports analytics, the primary goal is to develop indicators that quantify the skills, capabilities, and tendencies of athletes and…
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be
September 22, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Before an app launches, it undergoes usability testing. Why shouldn't an advanced sports metric?
In our latest blog, we propose 4 criteria:
1️⃣ Trustworthy
2️⃣ Novel
3️⃣ Intuitive
4️⃣ Useful
Then, we put VAEP to the test...
\w @jessejdavis.bsky.social & Maaike Van Roy
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
In our latest blog, we propose 4 criteria:
1️⃣ Trustworthy
2️⃣ Novel
3️⃣ Intuitive
4️⃣ Useful
Then, we put VAEP to the test...
\w @jessejdavis.bsky.social & Maaike Van Roy
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
We can use xG to compute post-hoc win-draw-loss probabilities.
Our new blogpost shows MCMC's estimates of these probabilities are unstable, computing them exactly is faster than approximating them, and MCMC's runtime strongly depends on its implementation.
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Our new blogpost shows MCMC's estimates of these probabilities are unstable, computing them exactly is faster than approximating them, and MCMC's runtime strongly depends on its implementation.
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Expected goals and the Monte Carlo Trap
On a team level, xG is often used to assess the quality of the goal scoring opportunities that a team creates and concedes. That is, it…
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be
September 11, 2025 at 11:34 AM
We can use xG to compute post-hoc win-draw-loss probabilities.
Our new blogpost shows MCMC's estimates of these probabilities are unstable, computing them exactly is faster than approximating them, and MCMC's runtime strongly depends on its implementation.
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Our new blogpost shows MCMC's estimates of these probabilities are unstable, computing them exactly is faster than approximating them, and MCMC's runtime strongly depends on its implementation.
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Burger time! With a very fitting flipper thanks to @janvanhaaren.be and Giels
September 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Burger time! With a very fitting flipper thanks to @janvanhaaren.be and Giels
Reposted by Jesse Davis
🚨🚨You can now pre-order my book, THE LONG GAME, on the United States men's national soccer team and its messy rise from total international irrelevance to, well, TBD!🚨🚨
I spoke to ~150 players/coaches/etc. and got fresh stories and unprecedented access!
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...
I spoke to ~150 players/coaches/etc. and got fresh stories and unprecedented access!
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...
The Long Game by Leander Schaerlaeckens: 9780593653876 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The gripping account of the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s winding saga from obscurity to the global stage as they stand on the brink of a seminal World Cup in 2026. For almost half a century,...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:20 PM
🚨🚨You can now pre-order my book, THE LONG GAME, on the United States men's national soccer team and its messy rise from total international irrelevance to, well, TBD!🚨🚨
I spoke to ~150 players/coaches/etc. and got fresh stories and unprecedented access!
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...
I spoke to ~150 players/coaches/etc. and got fresh stories and unprecedented access!
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...
At OHL for women’s champions league qualifiers with the whole family
August 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
At OHL for women’s champions league qualifiers with the whole family
Excited to announce a new paper together with @sigridolthof.bsky.social entitled "Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics".
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics
www.tandfonline.com
August 20, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Excited to announce a new paper together with @sigridolthof.bsky.social entitled "Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics".
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
1 / 4
Reposted by Jesse Davis
🔷 𝐏𝐲𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐗 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐬! 🔶
On December 9th @PyData Eindhoven and @pysport.org will organize 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨: lnkd.in/eBGWKs3V
On December 9th @PyData Eindhoven and @pysport.org will organize 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨: lnkd.in/eBGWKs3V
August 15, 2025 at 6:44 AM
🔷 𝐏𝐲𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐗 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐬! 🔶
On December 9th @PyData Eindhoven and @pysport.org will organize 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨: lnkd.in/eBGWKs3V
On December 9th @PyData Eindhoven and @pysport.org will organize 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨: lnkd.in/eBGWKs3V
Reposted by Jesse Davis
If you loved Sarri's Napoli or De Zerbi's Brighton, you should be watching Mikey Varas's San Diego.
I wrote for the Guardian about the risky press-baiting style that makes MLS's newest team its most tactically interesting, statistically extreme and just plain fun.
I wrote for the Guardian about the risky press-baiting style that makes MLS's newest team its most tactically interesting, statistically extreme and just plain fun.
San Diego FC are setting risky new records in an eye-catching MLS debut
No team in the world relies on buildup quite like the newly-formed group of ‘30 strangers’ with teenagers in key positions
www.theguardian.com
July 30, 2025 at 12:26 PM
If you loved Sarri's Napoli or De Zerbi's Brighton, you should be watching Mikey Varas's San Diego.
I wrote for the Guardian about the risky press-baiting style that makes MLS's newest team its most tactically interesting, statistically extreme and just plain fun.
I wrote for the Guardian about the risky press-baiting style that makes MLS's newest team its most tactically interesting, statistically extreme and just plain fun.
Reposted by Jesse Davis
EurIPS is coming! 📣 Mark your calendar for Dec. 2-7, 2025 in Copenhagen 📅
EurIPS is a community-organized conference where you can present accepted NeurIPS 2025 papers, endorsed by @neuripsconf.bsky.social and @nordicair.bsky.social and is co-developed by @ellis.eu
eurips.cc
EurIPS is a community-organized conference where you can present accepted NeurIPS 2025 papers, endorsed by @neuripsconf.bsky.social and @nordicair.bsky.social and is co-developed by @ellis.eu
eurips.cc
July 16, 2025 at 10:01 PM
EurIPS is coming! 📣 Mark your calendar for Dec. 2-7, 2025 in Copenhagen 📅
EurIPS is a community-organized conference where you can present accepted NeurIPS 2025 papers, endorsed by @neuripsconf.bsky.social and @nordicair.bsky.social and is co-developed by @ellis.eu
eurips.cc
EurIPS is a community-organized conference where you can present accepted NeurIPS 2025 papers, endorsed by @neuripsconf.bsky.social and @nordicair.bsky.social and is co-developed by @ellis.eu
eurips.cc
Reposted by Jesse Davis
Minnesota United became the most aggressive set-piece team on the planet with old-fashioned tactics backed by new analytics — and now they can’t stop scoring from it.
My first for The Guardian:
My first for The Guardian:
The most aggressive set-piece team in the world plays in Minnesota
Under the guidance of a former Manchester United assistant, Minnesota United are finding MLS success with a surprising tactic
www.theguardian.com
July 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Minnesota United became the most aggressive set-piece team on the planet with old-fashioned tactics backed by new analytics — and now they can’t stop scoring from it.
My first for The Guardian:
My first for The Guardian:
Reposted by Jesse Davis
I took my 8-year-old son to his first professional soccer game... at the Club World Cup. It was too much of everything.
But we found a moment of humanity in amid the artifice and the avarice.
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
But we found a moment of humanity in amid the artifice and the avarice.
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
In the stands with my son, the Club World Cup was as human as it could possibly be
Unexpectedly cheap tickets gave my boy an overwhelming soccer experience, and me a jolt of faith in a flawed tournament
www.theguardian.com
July 10, 2025 at 12:35 PM
I took my 8-year-old son to his first professional soccer game... at the Club World Cup. It was too much of everything.
But we found a moment of humanity in amid the artifice and the avarice.
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
But we found a moment of humanity in amid the artifice and the avarice.
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
Column on last night's spirited #USMNT penalty-shootout win over Costa Rica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals, and what this tournament really represents to the Americans.
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
The US needed more than a trophy from the Gold Cup, and it may just get it
Missing stars and short on sparkle, the USMNT have still found something vital at this Gold Cup: a renewed sense of belief, identity and collective fight
www.theguardian.com
June 30, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Column on last night's spirited #USMNT penalty-shootout win over Costa Rica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals, and what this tournament really represents to the Americans.
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
Our Women's Euro 2025 predictions are out! 🔮
Spain 🇪🇸 is our model's favorite to win the title, with Germany 🇩🇪 close behind. Meanwhile, Belgium 🇧🇪 will most likely be eliminated in the group stage.
w\ @jessejdavis.bsky.social
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Spain 🇪🇸 is our model's favorite to win the title, with Germany 🇩🇪 close behind. Meanwhile, Belgium 🇧🇪 will most likely be eliminated in the group stage.
w\ @jessejdavis.bsky.social
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Predicting the 2025 Women's European Championship
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 will be held in Switzerland in July. Will Spain capture the title after winning the World Cup in 2023? Or will…
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be
June 24, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Our Women's Euro 2025 predictions are out! 🔮
Spain 🇪🇸 is our model's favorite to win the title, with Germany 🇩🇪 close behind. Meanwhile, Belgium 🇧🇪 will most likely be eliminated in the group stage.
w\ @jessejdavis.bsky.social
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Spain 🇪🇸 is our model's favorite to win the title, with Germany 🇩🇪 close behind. Meanwhile, Belgium 🇧🇪 will most likely be eliminated in the group stage.
w\ @jessejdavis.bsky.social
dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/blog/...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
I think we should be building systems that complement people; systems that do well the things that people do poorly; systems that make individuals and organizations more effective and more humane. 3/
June 15, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I think we should be building systems that complement people; systems that do well the things that people do poorly; systems that make individuals and organizations more effective and more humane. 3/
Reposted by Jesse Davis
If you missed it yesterday, I spoke to fans, economists and players unions and wrote long about the overlapping ways in which the Club World Cup represents a collision of all the untenable forces in modern soccer.
I wrote about the Club World Cup, which is at once a money-grab, a power-grab, a litmus test for FIFA’s working assumption that the demand for soccer is infinite, and maybe a referendum on the American soccer market, just a year out from the World Cup proper.
www.theringer.com/2025/06/11/s...
www.theringer.com/2025/06/11/s...
FIFA’s Club World Cup Is an Audacious Bet on Limitless Growth—and Greed
Taking place almost exactly a year before the 2026 World Cup, and also hosted in the United States, the newly-revamped competition is a litmus test on the supply and demand for global soccer
www.theringer.com
June 12, 2025 at 1:08 PM
If you missed it yesterday, I spoke to fans, economists and players unions and wrote long about the overlapping ways in which the Club World Cup represents a collision of all the untenable forces in modern soccer.
Reposted by Jesse Davis
I strongly believe biomechanical analysis will be the next big leap in sports analytics—and not just for the pros. I got a glimpse by testing the @runeasi.bsky.social sensor (a @dtai-kuleuven.bsky.social spin-off) and wrote about how it helped during my marathon training → runeasi.ai/my-marathon-...
My Marathon Journey with Runeasi by Pieter Robberechts
Discover my marathon journey with Runeasi by Pieter Robberechts, including my race day experience and new personal best of 2:31:59.
runeasi.ai
June 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
I strongly believe biomechanical analysis will be the next big leap in sports analytics—and not just for the pros. I got a glimpse by testing the @runeasi.bsky.social sensor (a @dtai-kuleuven.bsky.social spin-off) and wrote about how it helped during my marathon training → runeasi.ai/my-marathon-...
Reposted by Jesse Davis
🌀 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 @ 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
On Saturday I presented a Graph Neural Network Expected Possession Value model at @pydatalondon.bsky.social 2025.
This 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐄𝐏𝐕 model is an ML approach that predicts scoring probability for any moment in the game
🔗 tinyurl.com/pydata-ldn25
On Saturday I presented a Graph Neural Network Expected Possession Value model at @pydatalondon.bsky.social 2025.
This 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐄𝐏𝐕 model is an ML approach that predicts scoring probability for any moment in the game
🔗 tinyurl.com/pydata-ldn25
June 10, 2025 at 12:46 PM
🌀 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 @ 𝐏𝐲𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
On Saturday I presented a Graph Neural Network Expected Possession Value model at @pydatalondon.bsky.social 2025.
This 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐄𝐏𝐕 model is an ML approach that predicts scoring probability for any moment in the game
🔗 tinyurl.com/pydata-ldn25
On Saturday I presented a Graph Neural Network Expected Possession Value model at @pydatalondon.bsky.social 2025.
This 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐄𝐏𝐕 model is an ML approach that predicts scoring probability for any moment in the game
🔗 tinyurl.com/pydata-ldn25
This is one meal that makes both kids very happy
June 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
This is one meal that makes both kids very happy
To give an example that funding research can have positive benefits beyond what was intended: we were able to apply some ideas from our sports research to play a small role in a study on Parkinson’s disease
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
June 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
To give an example that funding research can have positive benefits beyond what was intended: we were able to apply some ideas from our sports research to play a small role in a study on Parkinson’s disease
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...