North American esports organisation TSM has announced it will leave the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), NA’s top League of Legends competition.
Rather than taking a step back from League of Legends, the organisation has unveiled plans to move to another tier-one region.
According to an announcement made on May 20th, TSM CEO Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh said the switch to another region aligns with the organisation’s goal to do “whatever it takes” to win a World Championship.
The decision to move regions follows a report by Sports Business Journal claiming TSM is preparing to pull out of ‘several’ titles it fields rosters in. In addition to League of Legends, the organisation competes in a range of titles including Apex Legends, Dota 2 and VALORANT.
Dinh did not specify which region TSM would move to, but some, like esports journalist Jacob Wolf, believe the organisation may intend to move to China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL). Esports Insider has contacted TSM for comment.
Domestically, TSM often competed towards the top of the table and was in regular contention for tournament victories, but on the international stage it struggled to achieve success against other regions.
Despite reports of TSM reducing its esports presence, the organisation continues to secure partners. In recent months, the organisation has partnered with sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s and blockchain platform Avalanche.
Dinh spoke on TSM’s decision to leave the LCS: “Since the beginning, TSM has always been about competing at the highest level.
“We have made a tough decision to start the process of transitioning to another tier-one region. This may feel sudden but, to be honest, we’ve been actively working toward this for the last three years.”
