Nike has announced a footwear and apparel collection based on the four teams from China's League of Legends Pro League (LPL) that will represent the region at the upcoming 2020 League of Legends World Championship later this month. Headlining the collab is a new Air Jordan 1 Zoom colorway, inspired the Summoner's Cup trophy. It is made out of reflective materials, has an indented swoosh and has a graphic of the Summoner's Rift map on its right tongue.
There will be seven other sneakers in the collection: the Air Max 90, Blazer Mid 77, Air Force 1 Low, Air Force 1 Hi, Air Max 270 React, Air Max 2X, and Joyride Dual Run 2. The Blazer Mid 77 revealed in the collection confirms an earlier leak back in July which anticipated a Fall 2020 release. This particular model has glow-in-the-dark swooshes and "Just Do It" phrases covering the body, as well as a pixelated swoosh which is common across the collection.
The collab also includes hoodies, t-shirts, and a "Conquer" bomber jacket with the LPL's slogan "All We Fight For" printed inside of it. Each piece has different designs, but share aspects such as pixelated swooshes and the "Have a Good Game" tagline. The jerseys of the four teams (Top Esports, JD Gaming, Suning Gaming, and LGD Gaming) are made out Dri-FIT fabric to ensure that players are comfortable during intense games.
Nike has dabbled in the gaming world before and is currently the team kit sponsor for the LPL, but a clothing collection of this magnitude is unprecedented. It is unknown if this collection will be available outside of China considering it is based on the Chinese domestic league, but expect it to make a wave in Western resell markets, especially the Air Jordan 1 Zoom colorway.
There is great anticipation surrounding the 2020 League of Legends World Championship which marks the tenth year of the game's competitive history and it appears that Riot Games is going all out to make it a special occasion. A collab with Japanese clothing brand A Bathing Ape via the secondary AAPE line will also be released on September 26.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will be operated within a bubble system in Shanghai, China, similar to the NBA and NHL. Riot has confirmed that the two representatives of the Vietnam Championship Series will not be able to attend due to travel restrictions enacted by the Vietnamese government. After this year's Mid-Season Invitational was canceled, fans are hungry for international competition and hopes are high that the 2020 World Championship will be able to deliver.
League of Legends is available on PC.
Source: Nike