Team SoloMid, once one of the most famous “League of Legends” teams in the world, has experienced a dramatic decline. From an estimated value of over 500 million dollars in 2022, the organization has now shrunk to only eight employees, raising questions about its future and the reasons for its downfall.
This is TSM: Team SoloMid (short: TSM) was once one of the most renowned professional “League of Legends” teams worldwide and has a remarkable history.
This history ranges from participating in the first seven World Championships of the game to being rated as the most valuable esports organization in the world in 2022 by Forbes. However, today the organization is facing a drastic decline and consists of only eight employees.
Employees dismissed without notice on their fifth anniversary
What was the recent development at TSM? Recently, there was an unexpected dismissal at TSM when long-time employee Dunc had to leave the esports organization exactly on his fifth anniversary as an employee.
Dunc then expressed on X his disbelief that he would not receive any compensation from TSM, given that he had worked for the company as a freelancer for the past five years.
Here you see Dunc’s post on X.com:
There have also been increasing layoffs at TSM in the past, and the organization was even investigated and penalized by Riot Games in 2022 for poor treatment of its employees.
Last year, TSM also closed almost all of its esports departments, including Valorant and League of Legends, and additionally sold its slot in the LCS. Nonetheless, TSM continues to participate in some games like Rocket League and Apex Legends, albeit with a smaller audience.
Deal led to financial problems
How did it all go downhill for TSM? The current situation of TSM is a result of a 210 million dollar deal with the FTX exchange that TSM entered into in 2021, but was not executed due to the arrest and conviction of the website’s founder. This led to significant financial problems for the organization.
In 2022, there was also a scandal involving LoL coach Peter Zhang, who allegedly redirected about $250,000 in salary payments from two former TSM players to himself and others, and subsequently had to leave TSM.
Furthermore, the poor sporting performance of the organization between 2018 and 2022, during which they could only qualify for the World Championship once, as well as the general crisis of Western esports last year, contributed to the difficulties.
What’s next for TSM? The future of Team SoloMid remains uncertain as the brand has significantly lost value due to a series of unpredictable decisions.
Although the founders’ goal in the past was to make the LCS a stronger league again, it currently even seems unlikely that they can secure a spot in major competitions in games like Rocket League. In LoL, they have already sold their spot and are no longer competing in Valorant championships.
Not only at TSM are employees struggling with layoffs; LoL developer Riot Games recently announced that it is letting go of 530 employees: LoL developer Riot is laying off 530 employees, aiming to focus on the 4 largest games – These are the implications.
