TSM's League Of Legends Roster Cost $5million This Off-Season
Now we know where that FTX cryptocurrency sponsorship is being spent…
01st Mar 2022 16:13
TSMFTX
TSM's League Of Legends Roster Cost $5million This Off-Season
Now we know where that FTX cryptocurrency sponsorship is being spent…
01st Mar 2022 16:13
TSMFTX
After signing the dotted line on a whopping nine-figure sponsorship deal in the summer of 2021, TSMFTX (formerly Team SoloMid) hasn’t wasted any time in splashing the cash, lauding their new-found wealth on their League of Legends roster in the off-season - to little success, so far.
Despite kicking off their LCS season with a dismal 1-8 record, TSM’s CEO Andy "Reginald" Dinh has opened up about their trifecta of new arrivals, and how they are not worried about the current standings.
TSM’s reputation within esports has recently been smeared by bad results across the board until a turnaround in VALORANT and a championship in Rainbow Six: Siege began to put some respect back on their name. However, over in League of Legends where they remain the most successful organisation in LCS history, an embarrassing eight losses in nine games has begun to besmirch their legacy.
But, with such a tarnished position in the current standings, Reginald has taken to a TSM subreddit to explain that they splashed the cash on a project for the future in the off-season, pouring $5million into three signings that they hope will be champions again in three years.
Mingyi "Spica" Lu, Edward "Tactical" Ra, and Wei "Shenyi" Zi-Jie were all brought into the TSM starting roster in the off-season, although the latter has recently been dropped from the team in favour of Academy graduate Wang "Yursan" Sheng-Yu. Through buyouts, lengthy in-person trials, and an extensive scouting network, Reginald claims the org spent $5million on the LoL roster and settled on rookies to "rebuild over three years".
Amid the claims, Reginald continued, "We also knew the above roster would lead to a more consistent performance but thought it wouldn’t have the potential to dominate the league or go far at worlds. Probably top 4. We wanted to build over 3 years, not one.
"We don’t want to make safe bets to be in the top 4 in NA for one year and then rebuild again with veterans. We spent over 1M buying out both shenyi and KDO. We went with rookies to rebuild over 3 years, not build for one year at a time."
He further claimed that the organisation flew in 20 players to the TSM compound to try out for the roster, completing an extensive scouting network across NA, Korea, and China in order to get the roster that Head Coach Parth Naidu wanted.
Reginald is currently under investigation by Riot Games for his treatment of TSM employees, including Parth, after ex-players, such as Doublelift, has claimed instances of bullying and verbal abuse.
"We actually spent 5M on League which is top 3," Reginald claimed in a post, responding to comments from Ex-TSM Executive Leena Xu, who claimed that the organisation doesn’t see value in the LCS and are operating with a roster they don’t want.
Leena Xu, the former President of Esports at TSM, claimed that the roster that the side wanted to start the 2021 season with Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen, AD Carry Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, and support Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme, but the organisation did not see it to be "worth the cost", and the org has spiralled as a result.
About The Author
Jack Marsh
Jack is an Esports Journalist at GGRecon. Graduating from the University of Chester, with a BA Honours degree in Journalism, Jack is an avid esports enthusiast and specialises in Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and trending gaming news.
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