Team Solo Mid is the most successful and powerful US team in League of Legends. TSM won 7 out of 20 championship titles in the LCS. For 8 years the organization of superstar Bjergsen lived. But in 2023 the team is apparently on the brink of collapse. Because the organization got into financial difficulties due to the bankruptcy of a crypto bank, TSM is now allegedly planning to sell its professional slot in the LCS. An insider report says so. Fans are horrified, the CEO is silent.
This was the message:
We reported extensively on MeinMMO about the demise of the alleged crypto genius Sam Bankman-Fried.
What does it mean to sell your “spot”? The LCS professional league is a franchise league: you cannot be promoted or relegated to it. Teams must purchase a spot in the league from another team if they wish to enter the league. Such spots are traded in tens of millions.
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CEO does not deny, makes vague statements
What does TSM itself say about this? You don’t comment directly on the story. However, TSM boss Reginald indirectly responded on Twitter a day later.
Reginald said: TSM is committed to esports.
He says they plan to get into CS:GO – it’s a bigger investment than “all the games” they’ve left: they’ll always look at the situation in e-sports and decide where it’s best to invest.
The “games you left” could actually refer to an exit from LoL – but also to the fact that TSM withdrew from Rainbow Six Siege e-sports in February 2023 (via Dexerto).
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On reddit, Reginald explains:
what does he mean with that? Ahead of 2022, TSM reportedly faced a crossroads after superstar Bjergsen decided to resume his career as a professional player.
It is said that Reginald planned:
Fans mourn the heyday with Bjergsen
How is this discussed? This is a huge story for League of Legends, because until a few years ago TSM was still the colossus in US LoL and should have been the dominant power in North America for years due to the gigantic crypto deal.
On reddit people write:
The “TSM” shouts have been a well-known phenomenon in League of Legends for ages:
What is it with Bjergsen? Dane Bjergsen joined TSM in 2013 and stayed with the organization until 2021: he became a superstar in LoL.
In 2021, however, Bjergsen left the team. At the time there was conflict over Reginald being portrayed as a tyrant.
Without Bjergsen, TSM relied on a young team with a strong China influence, but had some problems here. A coach is said to have siphoned €200,000 into his own pocket while trying to attract Chinese players to TSM.
Without Bjergsen, TSM haven’t had much success in the last two years.
Is TSM really selling its LoL spot? It’s not official, but there’s a lot to be said for it. Immediately prior to the report, the LoL Pros head coach said that the LoL team had to work on a very low budget. In addition, many key employees were laid off and Reginald was said to have “hired too many new people too quickly.”
Losing the deal with the crypto exchange was obviously a heavy blow.
Reginald’s statements do not sound like a denial. For the US scene in LoL, an exit from TSM would certainly be a big loss. For many years, TSM was the team you had to beat – or transfer to – if you wanted to be champions in the LCS.
The crisis at TSM began in November 2021 when the negative reports surrounding Reginald multiplied:
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