#Gucci is known as a luxury fashion label. The Italian fashion house is now breaking completely new ground. Gucci has entered the #eSports business.

The Italians have joined forces with the London-based eSports organizer FACEIT. Check out the news for all the relevant information on the project.

The plans of the Gucci Gaming Academy

Gucci has not entered the e-sports business as a sponsor. The fashion label has taken a completely different approach. The Gucci Gaming Academy was founded. It is intended to create the perfect environment for young talents in particular to make it as a professional in the eSports scene.

Every player has the chance to become a professional

How does Gucci find the talent for the academy? This is exactly where FACEIT comes in. The eSports organizer has been at the start with its in-house league, the FPL (FACEIT Pro League), since 2015. Every ambitious Counter Strike player can recommend themselves for higher tasks in the FPL via the qualification rounds. According to the company, over 26 million users play in the FPL. The biggest talents are always given the chance by FACEIT to play against professionals in order to establish appropriate contacts for their careers.

The first players already have contracts

FACEIT has several, technical systems and analysis tools to analyze the playing qualities of the users. The top talents are then invited for interviews. Personal values and team skills, for example, are then checked. If the FACEIT coaches come to a positive conclusion, this could mean entry into the Gucci Gaming Academy. Four players have already made the leap:

• Lukasz “mwlky” Pachucki (18) from Poland.
• Mārtiņš “shadiyy” Gūtmani (19) from Latvia
• Brajan “DGL” Lemecha (24) from Poland
• Rokas “EspiranTo” Milasauskas (20) from Lithuania
• The perks in the Gucci Gaming Academy

The players in the Gucci Gaming Academy will of course be provided with the very latest gaming technology, provided by Dell Alienware and Logitech G. Furthermore, the fashion label will provide them with a professional contract. The financial support ensures that the talents can devote themselves fully to their careers. As a team, the players will represent the Gucci Gaming Academy in league matches in the FACEIT Pro League and play other CS:GO Counter Strike competitions in parallel.

The special feature is that the pro contracts have been designed to be open. Players always have the chance to sign contracts in higher-class, more prestigious eSports clans. It is the goal of the Gucci Gaming Academy to bring players to the top league of eSports. Nevertheless, the young professionals will continue to have access to the Gucci and FACEIT network throughout their careers.

Professionals and ambassadors alongside the players

Gucci has brought real professionals on board to build the academy. For the health approach, the WHO (World Health Organization) are on board. The professionals organize special coaching sessions and teamwork activities. The main aim of the events is to promote mental health and responsible gaming and gambling addiction prevention. The players are also helped to cope with the pressure of competition as professionals.

Of course, there’s also high-level training for the gamers. Working for the Gucci Academy are commentator James Bardolph, pro CS:GO legend Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and women’s eSports pioneer Stephanie “missharvey” Harvey. Academy members can book monthly 1-to-1 coaching sessions.