The esports team Team SoloMid has signed a huge deal worth $210 million with a crypto exchange. However, after Riot Games (LoL, Valorant) already raised objections, Ubisoft is now also causing some stress for the team in the shooter Rainbow Six Siege : The players of TSM had to change their name in the middle of the match.
This is the situation:
- Team SoloMid receives $210 million from the crypto exchange FTX. In return, they are rebranding themselves to “TSM FTX” among other things. However, the “new name” is already not allowed to be shown in LoL and Valorant – now Ubisoft is causing trouble in Rainbow Six Siege.
- After about 5 minutes in the first match as “TSM FTX”, there was a pause for “technical reasons”, after which the players who started with “TSM FTX” only had TSM in their name.
- Ubisoft is now reviewing the complex situation, as while the rules cover many “difficult things”, the crypto exchange presents a rule gap.
Team must change names in the middle of the match
This is how the conflict affected reality: Just a few days ago, “TSMFTX” played against Disrupt Gaming. The members of TSM started with the tag “.TSMFTX” in their names. After one round and only a few minutes, there was a “technical problem”.
For about 5 minutes, a “Technical Timeout” was displayed, then the series resumed and the players only had “TSM” as their tag in their names.
Rules against gambling, alcohol, and firearms – but not against cryptocurrency
Which rule is being violated? That’s complicated. In Ubisoft’s official rules for Rainbow Siege, there is a large section 8.6. (via cdn.faceit) detailing what is prohibited regarding “sponsoring”. However, there is no explicit exclusion of cryptocurrency.
Among other things, the following are prohibited:
- Alcoholic products, especially spirits and beer, or substances that are prohibited by law (like cannabis)
- Tobacco, cigarette, or even e-cigarettes
- Firearms
- Gambling
- Pornography
- Prescription medications
- Political campaigns
- ESports or video game tournaments, leagues, or events
And in principle, anything that Ubisoft might have a problem with: Something that “goes against the interests or reputation of Ubisoft”, including but not limited to key sellers, hackers, botters, or sellers of in-game currency.
This is what TSM says: They say they are currently working with Ubisoft on a solution regarding whether they can use the names in official streams. The decision has not yet been made.
The contract between TSM and the crypto exchange explicitly covered the games of Riot Games, Valorant, and League of Legends. It was clear that TSM would not play as TSM FTX in official streams. With Rainbow Six Siege and Ubisoft, they apparently hoped it would work out.
The head of TSM had already stated that it was okay not to show the name in the official streams for LoL and Valorant. However, they wanted to appear as TSM FTX on the players’ and team’s “social media” channels. This way, they still have a higher reach than the official channels.
Cryptocurrency and gaming seem to be coming together more frequently in recent months:
Twitch streamer loses $8 million, screams at viewers advising him against gambling
