21 January 2020. Mark it in your diary, ‘coz it’s the date that the next generation of Predator is set to launch. Promising some radically aggressive aesthetics, the Predator 20 features the welcome return of rubber, with 406 game-changing spikes in the forefoot offering something that many Predator enthusiasts feel has been missing from recent iterations.
The next generation of Predator has been teased recently along with the caption “Who said anything about ‘fair?’”, which is a play on the original Predator’s advertising slogan of “100% legal, 0% fair.” from back in 1996. And that ties in nicely, as the Predator 20 also sees the return of something that many purists deem an essential component in the silos DNA – rubber elements. Yes, the Predator 20 will see the return of power-increasing, swerve-inducing rubber elements in the forefoot, here incarnated as rubberised spikes. 406 of them in fact. 406 game-changing spikes that adidas say are “100% unfair.”
From the short video tease (click below) it appears that the Predator 20 will still feature a Primeknit upper, as expected, but it seems as though the rubber spikes then protrude through the upper, like nothing that's been seen before. Sort of like the OG Predator when it first arrived then. The video also hints at a potentially black and red launch colourway, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a hint of white thrown in there to complete that traditional Predator trio.
Blacked-out versions of the Predator 20 have been glimpsed on the feet of several pros over the last few weeks as they put it through its paces ahead of its official launch, including a lo-cut version worn by Lorenzo Insigne, signalling that adidas will launch the Predator 20 series with a choice of three top tiered choices: the laceless Predator 20+, laced mid-cut Predator 20.1, and laced lo-cut Predator 20.1.
The adidas Predator 20 will be available from prodirectsoccer.com from 21 January.
