Rekkles’s brand sucess reaches new heigths with Nike

Rekkles’s first full year in the LFL competition ended with a disappointing exit in the first round of the LFL playoffs. But that didn’t stop Karmine Corp’s bot laner from achieving probably his brand’s biggest success up to date.

When looking at everything that League of Legends star Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has managed to accomplish throughout his career, it’s almost impossible to find someone to match those lofty standards. After starting his esports career in late 2012, the Swedish prodigy has found success wherever he has been. And that success gave him a platform to grow his brand.

If anyone told you in 2012 that a teenager playing video games would be signing a deal with Nike 10 years from now, what would your reaction be? Luckily, esports have grown so much over the past decade that players like Rekkles and Faker can be ambassadors of the game, similar to what Michael Jordan did for basketball. Being one of the best players in the world certainly helps with that, but what Rekkles and his management team have done to get him here cannot be underestimated.

Reshaping the image of esports athelte

Even in his Fnatic days, Rekkles was always an easily marketable figure. Winning two consecutive splits and being crowned the Most Valuable Player in both of them surely had an impact. Consequently, being the leader and face of the first Western team to reach the World Championship Finale since season one exposed him to a worldwide audience.

All of this publicity had potential, and in esports, very few players knew how to harness it. Rekkles was breaking and reshaping all of the molds that surrounded the image of an esport athlete. No longer were the stereotypical views of gamers the norm. Soft-spoken, good-looking, and best of all, noncontroversial, were the main qualities big companies and brands were looking for. At the same time, the rapid growth of the esports scene resulted in many big companies with money to spend wanting a piece and a chance to reach this huge audience.

Merging global brands with G2

Joining G2 Esports was his first step towards becoming a global brand, considering how the organization conducted itself. In less than six years since entering esports, G2 has managed to garner some of the largest and most dedicated fan bases in esports. Utilizing social media to its full extent and making it about something more than the game is the formula to success that Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez used.

Despite flaming out with the team in one year, the merging of two global brands in the League scene gave us the G2 and Ralph Lauren collab which was headlined by no other than Rekkles.

New heights

His next venture after leaving G2 took him to the ranks of LFL powerhouse Karmine Corp, who, much like G2, have gained an exceptionally devoted and large fan base for esports standards. KC Rekkles has been a sensation from day one, with record-breaking numbers of viewers attending and watching the team’s games.

All of this has led up to this moment, with him and Surge Management celebrating this collaboration for what it really is. Big brands creating exclusive partnerships with individuals is a rare thing in esports, considering how much power their organizations hold. This deal can be considered as pioneering the esports scene into the modern corporate culture on a large scale, setting an example for everyone in the ecosystem.

Header: Rekkles/ Twitter