The team “SoloMid” was over the years the pride of League of Legends in the USA, one of the biggest and most valuable LoL teams in the world. With great pride, it was announced in June 2021 that a huge deal worth $210 million had been closed with a cryptocurrency exchange, but the exchange turned out to be a massive flop. Now TSM is facing serious problems. They missed the playoffs, have to cut costs wherever possible, and are firing key employees.
What was it with the crypto exchange? In June 2021, TSM released an euphoric video:
- Its own boss, Reginald, had befriended a billionaire in his private jet and decided on a partnership over their shared love for LoL.
- The deal spanned 10 years, with a total of $210 million flowing from the cryptocurrency exchange FTX to TSM, who would also change their name.
- But by the end of 2022 came the rude awakening: The FTX exchange went bankrupt, and the “cool billionaire” ran into serious problems. The beautiful money was gone. The video was quickly taken off the internet.
Despite the money, it was tough for TSM – And now the money is gone
How has it been for TSM since then? The sad thing is: Even with all the money from the exchange, TSM performed quite poorly in 2021 and 2022. They lost all stars like Bjergsen and Doublelift, bought expensive import players like Huni, who flopped. They then wanted to rely on a youth program from China, but that also failed.
Moreover, the team was shaken by scandals surrounding Reginald himself and a coach: He is said to have embezzled $200,000. Key names left TSM, not wanting to have anything to do with the organization under Reginald’s leadership.
There were investigations against Reginald, disputes with former stars, TSM seemed to be falling apart, but Reginald somehow managed to cope with everything and find peace again.
“Lowest budget in the league” – TSM misses playoffs
This is how it goes right now: 2023 has been particularly poor for TSM in the Spring Split. With an 8-10 record, they missed the playoffs. For such a renowned organization as TSM, this is an embarrassment.
What about the money? Bad. TSM’s head coach said after they missed the playoffs (via dotesports):
“We didn’t have a large budget. I think we had the lowest budget. So we tried to make the best of it. Of course, we wanted to be among the top six, but other teams had much more money and we had to make the best out of what we had.”
This is now the consequence: After the unsuccessful season, TSM fired two executives: General Manager Yang “Glen” Po-jen and team manager Chien-yu “Kristine” Huang both had to go.
The boss Reginald explained that these changes were necessary. They had “hired too many people too quickly and had grown too fast.”
“With the economic downturn, we had to make necessary changes to stay stable: Our current team is stronger and more performant.”
He says he will now take the helm again (via reddit). TSM is “not heading in the right direction,” he will now install the right decision-makers, and be successful in the long run. He needs about 4 to 5 months for a reorganization of things.
The fact that he orchestrated the crypto deal that is now blowing up in his face does not seem to be a big topic for Reginald. But that seems to be precisely what is meant by “economic downturn.”
There has been ongoing contention around Reginald lately:
LoL: Boss of TSM allowed to stay, but must serve detention – His intimate enemy spews venom
