In one of the odder partnerships to emerge from the esports world so far, both Team SoloMid and Cloud9 have announced a deal with Axe. 
A succinct blog post on the TSM site went up yesterday, declaring “We at TSM are proud to announce our new partnership with Axe, the No.1 men’s fragrance brand in the world*. As of today, Axe will be an official partner of TSM. We’re excited to bring Axe into the world of Esports and welcome them to the TSM family!”. A similarly short post appeared on the Cloud9 site too.
In case you were speculative, fear not the number one men’s fragrance brand claim is backed up by a reference from Euromonitor Ltd regarding sales.
One advert has come out so far starring TSM’s LoL mid laner Bjergsen, and the tagline ‘Find Your Magic’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvgzRHuL-0
Axe is one of ‘those brands’ that in the UK we know by another name. Having confirmed this via Google, Axe is 100% the same company as Lynx, the name by which the product is known not only in the UK, but in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and China.
North American organisation Team SoloMid is now partnered with a range of brands including Logitech, HTC, Cyberpowerpc, Geico, HyperX, Twitch and now Axe. Cloud9 meanwhile is partnered with Overwolf, Logitech, G2A, HTC, Axe, ibuypower, MSI and Loot Gaming.
Esports Insider says: We’ve seen Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Snickers enter via ELEAGUE agreements but this makes more sense given the TBS broadcasts. In terms of team partnerships, this is the amongst the strangest to date, though the Team YouPorn (turned Team YP) still holds the crown. Team YP incidentally remains alive and kicking, despite its ban by ESL back in April, and has rosters in Overwatch, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat X.
