North American esports organisation TSM has sold its League of Legends LCS franchise slot to Shopify Rebellion, ending its over decade-long tenure in North America’s top-tier.
TSM’s League of Legends roster will compete under the Shopify Rebellion banner for the 2024 season. Details such as potential roster changes and the price of the franchise slot were not disclosed.
Shopify Rebellion is the North American esports brand of ecommerce platform Shopify and has competed in a wide array of games since its launch in 2021. This includes VALORANT, StarCraft, Dota 2, Halo, Street Fighter 6 and Rocket League.
Its Dota 2 division is set to compete at this year’s The International. Meanwhile, on the same day as its LCS purchase, the organisation secured a joint-venture VALORANT partnership with Moist Esports.
It has been publicly known throughout the year that TSM, one of the LCS’ inaugural organisations, was looking to sell its franchise spot. The organisation even confirmed its LCS departure in May this year, highlighting its intention to join another league in 2024. This is rumoured to be China’s LPL.
Dario ’TLO’ Wünsch, Shopify’s Esports Program Development Lead, commented on its new LCS venture: “Entering League of Legends – one of the largest esports titles, with a rich competitive history – felt like an obvious next step for us as we continue to grow our presence in esports.
“We’re excited to work with the former TSM roster and for them to compete in the LCS under the Shopify Rebellion banner.”
North America’s tier-one League of Legends competition has undergone a tumultuous period in 2023, with declining viewership and the LCS at one point being postponed due to a player walk-out vote. In terms of viewership, the competition’s recent LCS Summer Split was the least popular split in the league’s modern history.
This year’s LCS saw a new franchise enter the competition, with CLG being acquired by North American organisation NRG in April. Interestingly, NRG later went on to win the 2023 LCS Summer Split.
