North American esports organisation TSM is set to pull out of ‘several’ titles, and is considering selling its League of Legends LCS slot, according to a report by Sports Business Journal.
In a subsequent post on Twitter, TSM’s CEO Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh did not deny the report, though highlighted TSM is ‘committed to esports’ and is still planning on entering CS:GO.
Sports Business Journal reported that TSM was considering selling its slot in North America’s franchised LCS league, which it has competed in since the league’s creation in 2013.
Following the report, TSM’s CEO Dinh reassured fans via Twitter that TSM was committed to esports, though did not deny the reported claims and argued the organisation’s pending entry into CS:GO was more important than its departures.
“We’re planning to enter CS:GO sometime later this year which is a larger investment than all of the games we’ve left combined,” Dinh said in the tweet. “TSM is always evaluating what esports ecosystems are best to invest in and will continue to enter & exit games.”
TSM — which in 2022 Forbes ranked as the most valuable esports organisation at $540m (~£437m) — has been going through a turbulent period after several high-profile departures in recent months, including its COO Walter Wang. Dinh said in a recent Reddit thread that TSM had “overhired and expanded too quickly” and was “in the process of figuring multiple things out.”
It comes after TSM was forced to cancel its iconic $210m (~£148) naming rights partnership with crypto exchange FTX following the exchange’s high profile collapse in November 2022.
TSM said at the time it’d use the money from that sponsorship to expand its presence in mobile esports, and widen its reach via new offices in Asia, Europe, and South America.
TSM put out a statement insisting it was “strong, profitable and stable” following the cancellation. Sources told Sports Business Journal in its report that the cancellation of the FTX deal was a big financial hit.
The esports organisation currently competes in League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota2, Apex Legends and Fortnite, amongst others.
A potential move into CS:GO for TSM would come just as Valve’s anticipated Counter-Strike 2 update reignites conversation around the popularity of the game. Meanwhile, the LCS has suffered from declining viewership in recent years.
