TSM fans have had it rough during the 2022 LCS Spring Split, with the team going 1-8 in the first round robin. People in the League of Legends community have raised many concerns about decisions made behind the scenes, but the team’s CEO, Andy “Reginald” Dinh, has broken down the thought process behind the organization’s moves as the new year approaches.
Discussions on the TSM subreddit centered on former TSM president Leena Xu and her comments on the possible rosters that the team could have fielded in 2022. According to the 28-year-old, she and former TSM general manager Parth Naidu both wanted to sign a combination of Jensen, Doublelift, and current Evil Geniuses support Vulcan. However, she claims they were told that it was “not worth the cost,” and she eventually left after the offseason was over.
In response, Reginald stated that the decisions were never based on one-to-one costs. He confirmed that TSM spent around $5 million on its League of Legends team for 2022, with more than $1 million of that going toward buyouts for new supports Shenyi and Keaiduo. He also stated that the lineup of Jensen, Doublelift, and Vulcan would have cost roughly the same as what the organization paid for this younger roster.
“We also knew the above roster would result in a more consistent performance, but we didn’t think it had the potential to dominate the league or go far at Worlds,” Reginald explained. “We wanted to build over a three-year period, not just one.” Parth, by the way, advised against this option, and I still agree. We don’t want to bet on being in the top four in NA for a year and then rebuild with veterans.”
Furthermore, Reginald stated that this roster was assembled through multiple scouting grounds in North America, Korea, and China, as well as by flying in 20 players for tryouts. Finally, the organization took a big risk on unproven talent this year, and it hasn’t worked out the way TSM probably expected.
The 21-year-old stated that “no player was involved in deciding [Shenyi’s] benching” and that they were never against his shotcalling style, which directly contradicts the current narrative surrounding the team.
TSM will need a miracle with four weeks left in the 2022 Spring Split if they want to compete for the LCS championship this season. Looking further ahead, the organization’s management will need to figure out what direction this roster is taking if TSM wants to compete for a Worlds spot later this year.