North American esports organisation Sentinels has announced a new collaboration with anime streaming giant Crunchyroll, releasing a fresh apparel collection inspired by the hit volleyball series Haikyuu!!

Sentinels x Haikyu!!

Limited Edition drop available now pic.twitter.com/1inmBuO7JC

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) August 22, 2025

This marks the first time Sentinels have ventured into anime-inspired merch, and the timing couldn’t be better. The collection launched on 22 August, lining up perfectly with the team’s VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Americas Stage 2 Playoffs run.

What’s in the collection?

Fans can pick from two hoodies, a short-sleeve graphic tee, two performance jerseys, two sets of athletic shorts, and even a custom water bottle.

Sentinels’ red-and-black branding naturally fits with Nekoma, one of the rival schools in Haikyuu!!: The Dumpster Battle, the anime’s latest film, which has already made more than $125 million worldwide. The drop also includes merch celebrating Karasuno, the main team in the series.

we’ll save Boaster a jersey pic.twitter.com/kHZshylFTr

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) August 22, 2025

Jerseys are priced at around £59, with the rest of the range available now via the Sentinels’ official website.

Why this collab works

Sentinels’ CEO Rob Moore explained the crossover:

“This partnership with Haikyu!! and Crunchyroll is a celebration of two communities built on passion, teamwork, and competition. Anime and esports share the same cultural energy, and we’re excited to give our fans a collection that unites those worlds in an authentic and meaningful way.”

It’s an authentic match-up. Anime and esports communities overlap heavily, with many players and fans equally invested in both cultures.

Anime and esports crossovers are on the rise

While it’s a debut for Sentinels, anime x esports collabs are nothing new. Crunchyroll has been at the forefront, teaming up with FURIA and TSM for My Hero Academia collections, and running activations at the Esports World Cup earlier this year.

Vista-se como um verdadeiro herói! 🔥

A collab My Hero Academia x FURIA, em parceria com a @Crunchyroll_PT, já está disponível para pré-venda em https://t.co/StKbiDLlJY.

Plus Ultra! pic.twitter.com/3AtoxpMGIZ

— FURIA (@FURIA) October 24, 2024

Other big names have joined in too. Cloud9 released a collection with One Piece, while Team Liquid has partnered with Naruto Shippuden and Death Note for both clothing and gaming gear.

The Cloud9 x @OnePieceAnime collab is real!

‍☁️ https://t.co/8N4zHkp2GO 🏴‍☠️

Online and Los Angeles Pop-Up 12/9#C9xOP #OnePiece pic.twitter.com/1eDazm7oyh

— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) December 5, 2023

Popular esports titles are no strangers either. Overwatch 2 has rolled out anime-inspired skins from Gundam, One Punch Man, Cowboy Bebop, and My Hero Academia. PUBG Mobile launched an Attack on Titan update earlier this year, and Call of Duty Mobile has featured Gundam collabs as well.

A wider cultural trend

This kind of crossover reflects the bigger picture, esports mixing more and more with mainstream pop culture. Just recently, League of Legends legend Faker appeared in a Stray Kids K-pop music video, proving how gaming and wider fandoms are increasingly intertwined.

For Sentinels, this debut anime partnership is more than just merch, it’s a signal of how esports teams are embracing the shared passions of their fans. And given the hype around this collab, it likely won’t be their last.

The post Sentinels Team Up With Haikyuu!! for Anime-Themed Merch Drop appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

When it comes to crossovers you didn’t see coming, this one’s right up there. Legendary League of Legends pro Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, has made a surprise cameo in Stray Kids’ latest music video, CEREMONY. And fans from both esports and K-pop circles are loving it.

The T1 midlaner appears right at the end of the clip, calmly sitting at his PC before hitting his iconic “shh” pose. It’s just a few seconds long, but it’s already gone viral. Within hours of release, the video hit over 3 million views on YouTube, and as of now it’s blasting past 9 million.

Faker and Stray Kids: Not Their First Link-Up

For those out of the loop, Stray Kids are one of K-pop’s biggest boy bands, with more than 10 million monthly Spotify listeners worldwide. The group has eight members, Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N.

This isn’t the first time Faker and Stray Kids have teamed up. Earlier this year, Felix posed with Faker in a UNICEF photoshoot, and the band even name-dropped him in their track Hall of Fame. They also contributed to the Arcane Season 2 soundtrack with their song Come Play.

Image Credit: UNICEF

With this cameo, though, the collab feels bigger than ever. Some fans are even speculating Stray Kids could be behind this year’s Worlds anthem — though with Worlds 2025 set for China, that might be a stretch.

Faker: The Face of League of Legends

LoL TI Pro Faker isn’t just a player; he’s the face of an entire esport. With five World Championship titles to his name, he’s widely seen as the Messi or LeBron of League of Legends. In 2024, he was inducted as the game’s first-ever Hall of Fame member, solidifying his legacy even further.

Now, Faker is right in the middle of T1’s 2025 campaign, pushing through the LCK playoffs as the team aims for another Worlds run. After winning back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024, the pressure is on for a historic three-peat.

For now, though, Faker once again proved his star power. Even in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, LoL’s greatest player still manages to steal the spotlight.

The post LoL TI Pro Faker Surprise Cameo in Stray Kids’ New Music Video appeared first on Shane the Gamer.