Nike enters into partnership with T1, includes LoL and Dota 2 teams
T1 Entertainment and Sports, the parent company behind top Korean League of Legends team T1, has announced a new partnership with Nike.
Nike and T1 revealed the news via press release, and also discussed plans to open new training facilities at T1’s headquarters in Seoul. The reveal highlighted how T1’s legendary mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok visited Nike’s headquarters in Oregon, got a behind-the-scenes tour of Nike’s Sports Research lab, and did some work with the company’s trainers and biomechanists.
The partnership seems to be more than just a simple apparel agreement, as it will include research into the relationship between esports performance and overall physical fitness.
“We’re interested in understanding and learning more about the relationship between improved physical fitness and athleticism as it relates to gaming, these athletes have unique skill sets that we believe we can help them improve through tailored training methods.” said Brant Hirst, Marketing Director at Nike Korea.
Though the announcement highlighted Faker, the partnership will include the entire T1 organization including its players competing in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Dota 2, Fortnite, and fighting games. Nike will produce uniforms, shoes, and sportswear for the team.
On Twitter, CEO Joe Marsh has alluded to additional merch, but hasn’t revealed what kind or for what teams the merch will be for. With esports becoming a bigger mainstream business, more teams are looking for partnerships like these to supply fans with the merch they want.
The arrangement with T1 continues a relatively aggressive push into esports by Nike.
In 2018, Nike signed an endorsement deal with Royal Never Give Up LoL player Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao. This was followed by Nike becoming the exclusive apparel manufacturer of the LPL, China’s top League of Legends league in 2019. Later in the year Nike became a sponsor of Furia Esports, a Brazilian organization best known for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.
Read Also
League of Legends
LEC 2026 Summer split preview, schedule, predictions, and more
Hannan Mundia
The 2026 LEC Summer split will be the deciding split to determine which teams can make it to the World Championship, and this preview aims to highlight everything you need to know about it. It isn’t a stretch to say that the LCK and LCP are the only two competitive League of Legends regions actually pulling their weight currently. The LEC did show potential at the start of the year, ...
League of Legends
How is League of Legends Classic different from the modern version?
Hannan Mundia
League Classic brings the classic League of Legends gameplay and design from when the game first came out, but how is it different from the modern version? The modern League of Legends mode is arguably in its best state in terms of popularity, with a study even reporting that playing LoL can improve brain function. Over a decade of gameplay and multiple marketing tactics by Riot Games have bumped up ...
League of Legends
Best Champions for every role in League of Legends Classic mode
Hannan Mundia
League Classic sees the return of League of Legends Season 3, but which champions were deemed the best during that time? League of Legends has gone through a lot of changes since it first came out. While the map and item-related changes naturally impacted the game's state, so did the many champion nerfs, buffs, and reworks. Multiple champions played completely differently in Season 3 than they do now. Since League ...
Valorant
OBS Game Capture isn’t working on Valorant and League of Legends? Here’s why and how to fix it
Khizar Mundia
Several reports suggest that OBS Game Capture is broken, with Valorant and League of Legends streamers only being able to broadcast a black screen. OBS has responded to the issue, confirming that it exists and also provided a way to fix it. Valorant and League of Legends are two of Riot Games’ most popular titles, and they are being streamed on streaming platforms by creators regularly. On July 21, 2026, ...
League of Legends
Dplus sweeps Karmine Corp to win the 2026 LoL EWC grand final
Hannan Mundia
The League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 grand final just concluded, where Dplus absolutely swept Karmine Corp to win it all. The League of Legends Esports World Cup may only have been taking place since 2024, but it has already become a key international event for fans and professional players. With a large prize pool and consecutive matches with little delay, fans have a blast seeing their favorite teams ...
Esports Betting
Dplus vs Karmine Corp: Best betting odds, picks for Esports World Cup 2026 grand final
Hannan Mundia
The League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 grand final matchup has been determined, but which team will come out on top between Dplus and Karmine Corp? While there were multiple favorites going into the LoL EWC 2026, few assumed that Dplus and Karmine Corp would make it to the grand final. Both teams have showcased exceptional growth, but only one team can win the top prize. While Dplus is ...
League of Legends
League of Legends EWC 2026 group stage recap: G2 crash out as T1, Gen.G and HLE advance
Hannan Mundia
The League of Legends EWC group stage just concluded, and here’s a complete summary of everything that transpired in the two extremely eventful days. The League of Legends Esports World Cup is already making waves for all of the right reasons. While it isn’t nearly as long as the game’s esports fans are usually used to seeing, it’s still packed with awesome matches in which the best teams play each ...
