The big reveal was made on Twitter, with BLAST sharing a promo video using Counter-Strike: Global Offensive caster Mohan “launders” Govindasamy. According to the release statement for BLAST, the new collection will include T-shirts, hoodies, jerseys, and caps.

Based on the teaser, the collection will have a simple, yet classy look. Nike’s iconic “swoosh” will be perfectly placed under the BLAST Premier logo straight down the middle.

The idea of this collaboration was first teased during the 2022 Spring Finals in June. However, it was all speculation until the recent announcement.

While a sneak peek into the collection has been revealed, it is not available for fans to purchase yet. BLAST revealed that the merchandise will become available during the Fall Groups, which is expected to run from August 19 to August 28.

BLAST’s head of creative solutions, Faye Marlborough, commented on the collaboration, saying that the company aims to encapsulate the passion for competitive gaming through the collection.

“Our ambition is to work with the most reputable brands in the world, and they don’t come much bigger than Nike. Gaming has become a lifestyle over the last few years with the rise of esports, we are excited to be able to encapsulate the passion and uniqueness associated with competitive gaming through this collection.”

BLAST has in the past offered its line of esports apparel for purchase through a dedicated website. The limited-edition collection was made possible through a partnership with sportswear brand Champion.

Meanwhile, there is no information on how fans can purchase the expected collection. Although BLAST has used a dedicated website in the past, it is currently unavailable.

If BLAST makes use of its online store, it begs the question of exclusivity. Nonetheless, an update regarding how fans can purchase the merchandise is expected soon.

Compared to other apparel brands, Nike has been relatively quiet in the esports scene. For a brand as big as Nike, it is surprising that it does not have as many esports collaborations as they do in regular sports.

While this is the latest, it is not the first for the sportswear brand. In September 2019, Nike unveiled kits for all 16 teams that were participating in the League of Legends Pro League.

Earlier in that year, Nike signed a four-year deal with the Chinese league organizers. It also has an active deal with Brazilian esports team FURIA.

BLAST has also been super busy in the first half of this year. The company has secured several new partnerships while announcing expansions on several other existing collaborations.

Two weeks ago, BLAST announced a partnership with media company DAZN. The British company will ensure that the remaining BLAST CS: GO tournaments in 2022 will be broadcasted across over 100 territories worldwide live and on-demand.

Back in February, it was revealed that BLAST will be venturing outside of CS: GO for the first time in its history. They have been contracted to produce all Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) events in 2022.

The FNCS 2022 season will culminate with the Fortnite Champions Series Invitation scheduled to be held in November. The tournament promises a prize pool of $1 million, but the participants remain unknown at this stage.

?More esports news

It would be hard to believe, right?

Well, that’s exactly what’s happening tomorrow as Nike continues to cater more and more to its demographic in the world of gaming.

The apparel giant will provide a live stream from its Nike HQ in New York from 9am, with a number of special guests on to discuss the new shoe.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time Nike has used Twitch to reveal a new product.

In 2015, riding a wave of incredible popularity in NBA 2k16, former Cleveland super star Kyrie Irving debuted his new basketball shoe, the Kyrie 2, on a Twitch Stream.

The thinking behind Nike’s marketing strategy is not rocket science.

There is a clear and direct correlation between basketball, the popularity of EA’s NBA title, a love for the fashion behind basketball shoes and a young demographic.

Nike is not the only company to turn to eSports recently to grow its customer base and reach a younger audience.

Puma recently signed on with League of Legends team, Cloud9, while Adidas also inked a sponsorship deal last year.

According to a report from Newzoo, the world of professional gaming is going to become a $1 billion industry in the next 12 months.

With hundreds of millions of young fans and a growing list of global brands jumping over one another to become financial partners, eSports has gone from strength to strength in the last 24 months, making the sport a phenomenon enjoyed on multiple platforms with a number of professional leagues around the world.

The potential of the eSports industry is a point of focus that we have reported on at length at Esportsbet.com.

Every week, cities proudly announce new eSports franchises. Every week, different sporting codes around the world establish eSports leagues of their own. Every week, eSports stars become bigger and more well-known around the world.

Twitch, the most popular esports platform for viewers, has turned into one of the biggest streaming websites in the world, thanks to the tens of millions of fans that are watching the sport.

Twitch is owned by Amazon, in case you thought Jeff Bezos couldn’t get any richer over the next few years.

While eSports has some work to do to attract more females and diversify its audience, there’s no denying its viewing numbers are extraordinary. There are more than 200 million that currently watch eSports online around the world and that number is expected to increase by another 100 million next year.

With viewers comes the advertisers looking to attract their business.

Sporting apparel giant, Nike, put the exclamation mark on the corporate rush to the sport, which still relies heavily on sponsorship and advertising.

With this incredible growth will come more opportunity for young gamers to see a pathway to make a living out of what they love.

There will also be incredible opportunity for experts and people wanting to take advantage of all the bookmakers offering esports markets and betting.

Be sure to take your knowledge and harness it in the right way — read our betting guides and free predictions and do your homework before you place your bets.

Long live eSports!

The sporting apparel giant has inked an endorsement deal with Royal Never Give Up League of Legends player Jian “Uzi” Zihao.

Uzi will feature alongside Chinese actor Bai Jingting and NBA superstar LeBron James promoting the “Dribble &” campaign. Promotional posters of Zihao wearing a black T-shirt with the text “Dribble & Carry” have already been released.

The word carry has it’s own eSports specific connotation – League of Legends players will know that it’s a term used when a single player pushes their team to victory.

The endorsement deal is an historic one for both Nike and the eSports industry, given it is the first time the company has dipped its toe into the gaming world.

Nike has clearly done its homework on who to partner up with for the campaign.

Zihao has earned his reputation as one of the best League of Legends players on the globe. The Chinese star has been a consistent performer on the LoL professional tour and also won a gold medal for the national LoL team in the recent Jakarta Asian Games.

While the news of Nike’s endorsement is a big deal and another defining moment for the industry, it is certainly not the first company to tap into the growing success. Mercedes-Benz and KFC having both signed one-year sponsorships deal with Royal Never Give Up.