
After over a decade in the North American League of Legends community, Team SoloMid (TSM) recently announced its decision to leave the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). The announcement came from the esports organization’s CEO, Andy Dinh, over the weekend.

Dinh said that TSM would be ‘transitioning to another tier one region,’ and that the organization had been, ‘actively working towards this for the last three years.’ It’s widely expected that TSM will start up again in either the LEC, LPL or LCK competitions.
TSM had been one of the cornerstones of the LCS for over a decade, but the brand had been going through a period of turmoil. Recently there have been the exits of many senior figures such as the head coach, Wong ‘Chawy’ Xing Lei, the general manager, Glen Yang and the team manager, Kristing Huang.
Such actions have taken place against a backdrop of financial difficulties that have afflicted TSM. Rumors first emerged of these problems in March and it was expected that the esports organization would freeze its esports divisions as it aims to overcome these issues.
As such, it’s widely expected that TSM will sell its coveted LCS slot to another franchise, and there is a good chance that the pro gaming franchise will move to the LPL in China over the coming months.
It comes after some disappointing results that saw TSM finishing in the lower reaches of the LCS division in the 2022 and 2023 splits. TSM is still planning to take part in the 2023 LCS Summer Split, and hopes are high that this could see pro gaming legends such as Kim ‘Fenix’ Jae-hun and Lee ‘Ruby’ Sol-min playing in what could be a swansong for this much-loved esports franchise.