While details of the partnership remain unknown, Mkers have revealed what the project will entail. It is basically content production with unique aims.

Eight episodes of a video series will be produced, aimed at showcasing the lives of professional players across four teams from the four major regions in esports – Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

All four cast members will be swapped between organizations as opposed to the regular capturing of teams doing their daily routine. This way, an exchange of experience will be promoted.

Dolce & Gabbana will be duly represented in each of the eight episodes. Added to that will be a gamers-focused capsule scheduled to be launched.

Speaking of the collaboration, Mkers president Thomas De Gasperi expressed his satisfaction with the deal while pointing out that things are finally falling in place for the organization based on set goals.

“The collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana is the consecration of a path that Mkers has been pursuing for five years, promoting the values of exclusivity and style in the esports sector,” he said.

“The operation we have built is unique in its kind and will strengthen the internationalisation process which represents a further evolutionary step for us.”

Luxury fashion brands are starting to enter the esports scene, and D&G is working to not be left behind. In May, Gucci partnered with FACEIT to launch an academy that will coach and aid the development of young talents.

Mkers step up rebranding campaign

For their fifth anniversary, Mkers unveiled a new brand identity, one that could be built on with this new deal with D&G. The rebrand was showcasing the organization in a new light, with major changes effected on just their logo.

Mkers marketing director Maurizio Quintavalle spoke on the rebranding, pointing out that the change was necessary to represent the organization’s style and how it hopes to be seen in the coming years.

“We needed a rebranding that represented the style, innovation, and passion with which we work every day,” he said.

“With this operation, Mkers re-elaborates its own brand, up to now depicting the face of a creator god, inspired by the traditional iconography of the gaming world by proposing a logo with simple, recognisable, and actual lines.

“It is with this approach and with these intentions that Mkers wants to face the next few years, growing in numbers, strengthening the participation of the community, and maintaining the leading role on the international competitive stages.”

Although the rebranding took place in April 2022, Mkers have been seeking out partnerships with fashion brands for years. In 2019, they announced a sponsorship deal with Armani Exchange.

However, Mkers have not had much success in the gaming scene in recent years. Although they participated in the 2021 Six Invitational, finishing 12th out of 20 participants, they failed to qualify for the 2022 edition of the Rainbow Six Siege event.

In the regional open qualifier 2, they fought their way to the semifinals but lost to the eventual champions MNM Gaming 2-0. Despite a third-place finish, only one spot was available for the 2022 Six Invitational.

Mkers are currently participating in the first division of the 2022 PG Nationals Spring. Although they are currently ranked second with a 9-1-0-1 record, a first-place finish will guarantee them a Challenger League berth.

?More esports news

?BIG enter the final round of the LoL European Masters group stage with a perfect 3-0 record. Their last fixture of the tournament happened on Saturday, when they defeated Anorthosis Esports in under 30 minutes.

That bout was pretty straightforward, but it wasn’t like BIG were that much better than their opposition. The Germans won solely due to the performance of ADC Tim “Keduii” Willers, who recorded an 8.00 KDA with a 13/2/3 score (56% of his team total kills).

Besides the mid lane, which went even, BIG finished behind in all other positions in that clash, so it doesn’t make sense to see Anorthosis Esports priced as rank outsiders. It’s not like BIG are a bad team, but they are severely overrated at this price.

The value is with Anorthosis. You might also want to take the underdogs to secure first blood at $2.31, as they have done so in 66.7% of games at this tournament compared to BIG’s 0% return.

K1CK eSports Club have yet to win a single match this tournament. That needs to change quickly if the Poles want to emulate their run at the European Masters Summer edition, where they reached the quarter-finals.

Mkers, meanwhile, have outperformed everyone’s expectations. They enter the final day of the group stage with a 2-1 record thanks to wins against Anorthosis Esports and K1CK, and boast the fourth-highest team KDA (1.60) of the tournament.

Mkers are better than K1CK in almost all team metrics, most notably in the early-game stats (+2640 vs -1223 GD@15). K1CK usually come online in mid/late-game, but if their performance against the Italians last time out is any indication, the Ultraliga Season 5 runners-up will struggle to come back from an early deficit.

?There isn’t much else to be said about these two teams. Anorthosis Esports are very efficient in the early game, while K1CK eSports Club are not, and that was the main reason why Anorthosis won their previous meeting.

Although it may seem that match was close since Anorthosis Esports won with only six kills to spare, the Cypriot squad walked away with a gold lead of almost 10k. K1CK showed some resistance, taking two drakes and a Herald, but that’s nothing to Anorthosis’ four drakes, one Herald and two Barons.

K1CK’s main carry, ADC ?ukasz “Puki style” Zygmunciak, failed to deliver that day, but that’s hardly an excuse for the team’s shaky performance. Anorthosis Esports might have weaker individual pieces, but they at least know how to play around their strengths.