During the Milan Games Week which took place in the Lombard capital this weekend, we had the opportunity to visit the station dedicated to Mkersone of the top eSports teams in Italy, and now thanks to the partnership with Philips with OneBlade (obviously both companies also teamed up at the event, with even one barber station for try the product “on the field”). The Milan Games Week, according to what has been declared, is only one of the events foreseen by the campaign that sees them as partners, and others will soon arrive, such as the development of contents dedicated to style and sport, “leveraging a multitude of channels from Mkers Pro-Players”.
Hundreds of people followed one another on site, to play, meet the team, try simulators with Mercedes, and much more that the facility offered. Clearly we too did not miss the opportunity to participate in all the activities, as well as having a chat with PrincessFIFA Pro-Player obviously part of the Mkers team, as well FIFA 17 European Champion And EClub Champion in FIFA 21.
Interview with Prince
– GL: We and all Game Legends friends welcome you! You don’t need an introduction, but we’ll let you do it anyway!
– Prince: Hi guys! My stage name is Prinsipe, my name is Daniele and I’m a professional FIFA player, I’ve been playing competitively for 7 years now and I’m part of the Mkers team. It’s really exciting for me to be able to do it again, because at 26 it’s not very simple: there are many young 16-year-olds who are now taking off, they are all young “rampant”. It’s wonderful to still be able to play, and it’s especially nice for someone like me who has always had this passion and has turned it into a job.
– GL: A job that has also allowed you to obtain great satisfaction over time!
– Prince: Yes, I won the European Championship in 2017 and with my team I won the Club World Cup two years ago, with my Swedish teammate Oliboli. So yes, come on, I got some satisfaction and we hope to get more! The thing that interests me most is that there has been a huge growth in the eSports world, it is an increasingly followed world and I believe it will always be more. In fact, as you can see, there is Philips OneBlade which is one of our team sponsors, as in general many important sponsors are investing in this world, and this means that there is a good deal, also of money and business, and this it will make it grow in general all over the world.
– GL: To what extent have you felt this growth in Italy from within? It is no secret that this phenomenon has grown more in recent years, but that it has struggled for quite a while, with the economic and political interest slow to make itself felt compared to other European and non-European countries.
– Prince: In my case, I felt this change a lot, because having started several years ago I can feel a clear difference, which then with COVID increased even more (you want it or you don’t want it, there was this slowdown for two years). For example, when I started playing FIFA, you could win petrol coupons, or at most you could win a television, now you win a lot of money and the competitive world of FIFA is growing significantly, but not only . Even at the political level things are changing, it is beginning to be recognized as a thing. It’s changing a lot and it will change again, it’s a constant thing, and I don’t mean year after year, but even month after month. All this is very positive, I hope that we will slowly get closer to giants like Japan and Germany, but yes, they are big steps forward compared to five years ago.
– GL: This is really good news, both for Italy and specifically for you and your fellow Mkers! How are you experiencing this Milan Games Week? What was the public response? How are you – and are you – experiencing this moment in close contact with the fans?
– Prince: I’ve attended several editions of Milan Games Week and other fairs in the past, and I’ve never seen so many people in my life, and we’re talking about Friday! Unfortunately I won’t be there on Saturday and Sunday because I’ll be participating in a tournament. It’s always nice to meet the people who follow us, and then, as I said, I didn’t expect all this turnout on the first day. All this is very nice, the environment, seeing that there are so many people, I’m happy with all this passion in the air. I hope for those who will be there that even in the next few days there will be an opportunity to meet with the people who follow, because it is the most important thing, those who watch you from the screens. When I meet people that I may never have seen, but who have always followed me, it’s as if they’ve been my lifelong friends, it’s always nice.
– GL: Let’s hope the next tournament you mentioned goes well too!
– Prince: The tournament is good, it’s the Champions League, let’s hope it will be good in terms of results too!
– GL: What will be the plans for 2023? With the team and individually?
– Prince: As far as FIFA is concerned, there are already many tournaments, from January onwards there will be many qualifiers, every month there is a tournament, so it will be a long and tight season. Also consider that it is a game where you play a lot in singles, I play for the team on an individual level. There will also be the Club World Cup, which I will play with my teammate. In short, so many commitments, we hope to have a good season!
– GL: Many hopes and many expectations, and we also hope that luck helps us in some cases!
– Prince: That always!
– GL: One last question for you, which may be a bit off topic. As you obviously know, next year there will no longer be EA Sports’ FIFA, whose football brand will change its name, and the game will certainly also undergo some changes and consequences. How much do you think this, in terms of eSports and maybe even gameplay, can it affect?
– Prince: They’ve been telling me for two years – being a Pro-Player I know a little about this world specifically – that “next year’s game will be the turning point”. Are they rumors or not, I can’t know this, but I have high expectations, so that maybe by detaching from FIFA now EA can put that little bit more into it, given that perhaps over the years it has settled down a bit as I see it. I hope and I am convinced that the next one can really be the turning point compared to recent years. For sure something will change, because now there are things that can be done that were previously under restrictions.
– GL: Let’s hope it’s the breakthrough year, and we hope these great results come for you and the Mkers too! We wish you the best of luck!
– Prince: Crepe, and thank you! Until next time!