Gaming peripherals brand ZOWIE has named French Counter-Strike player Dan ‘apEX‘ Madesclaire as its latest partner.
As part of the partnership, the four-time Major champion will collaborate with ZOWIE to offer feedback during the product development process and share insights from the perspective of one of Counter-Strike’s most successful in-game leaders.
Unveiled on February 14th, apEX will also take part in sports science testing to assist ZOWIE’s refinement of creating peripherals used by professional players in high-profile tournaments across a range of titles.
Notably, the partnership is a move away from ZOWIE’s usual approach of collaborating with entire esports organisations and their rosters. On January 9th, the brand partnered with North American organisation ENVY, with ZOWIE becoming the organisation’s official monitor partner.
Following the announcement, apEX thanked ZOWIE, alongside revealing that he’s “so excited” to begin collaborating with the brand.
In recent years, ZOWIE has continued to apply a range of innovations to its esports-focused product line. In June 2025, it opened an esports science lab to apply sports science to the design of esports peripherals.
apEX isn’t the only Counter-Strike player to collaborate with ZOWIE. In recent years, fellow French player Richard ‘shox’ Papillon has represented the brand as an ambassador, frequently appearing in content showcasing products at events across the world.
ZOWIE in 2026
In addition to partnering with the world’s top players and several notable organisations, ZOWIE continues to join forces with the biggest esports tournaments. January saw it provide its range of monitors for IEM Kraków 2026, an event where apEX’s Team Vitality secured victory to cement its place as the world’s top Counter-Strike team.
The collaboration with apEX demonstrates ZOWIE’s ability to attract the biggest names to its partnership programme. As one of Counter-Strike’s most experienced players, his insight, feedback, and participation in sports science testing will prove useful in the process of developing products optimised for esports.
