TSM may sell LCS spot as it downsizes esports investments and experiences staff exodus

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, TSM may be seeking to sell its participation in the League of Legends Championship Series and is discontinuing some of its other esports investments. The business has been reducing its operations, so TSM has recently experienced a staff exodus. The organization’s VP of Esports Operations, Dominic Kallas, and COO Walter Wang left first. League of Legends General Manager Yang ‘Glen’ Po-Jen and squad manager Chien-Yu ‘Kristine’ Huang did.

After the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, the organization’s $210 million naming rights agreement with FTX fell through. TSM CEO Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh recently stated in a Reddit thread that the company needed to lay off employees in order for it to be “sustainable” because TSM had “expanded too quickly.” He added that he would provide a report on the state of the business in the following four to five months.

TSM is ending some esports initiatives and may sell its LCS slot

But the group will experience much deeper cuts, according to a Sports Business Journal report. According to the publication, TSM may decide to place its LCS spot up for sale and halt some of its other esports endeavors. Recently, TSM posted a job opportunity for a CS:GO General Manager, but they still need to determine whether their anticipated expansion to CS:GO in 2023 is feasible.

In Valorant, League of Legends, Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Super Smash Bros., TSM presently fields teams or players. Teamfight Tactics, Dota 2, and Melee. Under the brand of the company, a sizable number of content producers work. Despite having a successful track record in the game and winning five trophies, including a world championship, in the three years they participated in Rainbow Six esports, TSM suddenly left the scene in February.

While Swift Media Entertainment, which also runs the gaming app Blitz and the talent firm ICON, is the company that owns TSM, the company is best known for its esports division. It has been revealed that TSM had contemplated selling its LCS spot and purchasing the LEC berth that Misfits ultimately sold to Team Heretics in July 2022 while the agreement with FTX was still in effect. TSM and CLG are the only teams to have participated in every LCS season since the league’s inception in 2013. Although it has been more than three years since they last won the North American society, they have claimed seven LCS championships.