Gucci launches new CSGO playing academy, but can you join?

Aspiring Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players can find an unlikely ally in high-end Italian fashion.

Italian fashion studio Gucci and CSGO matchmaking service FACEIT have teamed up to create a training program for aspiring esports professionals. The system, called Gucci Gaming Academy, will prepare young players to join the top level of CSGO esports. Although technically any player can join Gucci Gaming Academy, the program will pull from existing FPL players.

Gucci’s official announcement came during the final day of the Antwerp Major. Despite the name, the Gucci Gaming Academy is not a real location and is instead an online program meant to help rising CSGO pros.

Players working with Gucci can expect advanced coaching sessions with established CSGO talent. Young guns will also benefit from extensive mental and physical health tools. Players will work with Gucci for up to a year before being signed to a professional team. 

If Gucci really is taking an interest in CSGO, it could lead to the game’s most luxurious crossover yet. CSGO is no stranger to showcasing other gaming titles with its skins and stickers, including Battlefield 2042 and Valve’s own Half-Life: Alyx. It’s possible that Gucci could design gun skins or stickers for players to use in-game. Gucci could also release real-life fashion inspired by CSGO through its Vault crossover brand.

How to join Gucci Gaming Academy as a CSGO player

To join Gucci Gaming Academy, CSGO players must first reach FPL and then establish themselves as up-and-coming professional talent.

FACEIT Pro League represents the highest-skill matchmaking experience possible in CSGO. The talent pool consists of mostly pro or semi-pro players with unsigned and highly skilled players filling out the ranks. Gucci Gaming Academy will sign four players for its first class, but it could sign more in the future.

Whether or not the new Gucci-trained player will go on to dominate the game is uncertain. But it’s interesting to know that up-and-coming players may soon be keeping it Gucci in more ways than one.