TSM say they’re fine despite losing $210 million FTX deal

Games Writer

Publish Date: November 15, 2022

Team SoloMid (TSM) released a statement on Twitter after their naming rights sponsor FTX filed for bankruptcy. The cryptocurrency exchange has been in the public eye since its spectacular collapse that prompted the move, leaving the crypto community in shock.

TSM have said that they remain “stable and profitable”, and that they are built on a “solid foundation”. They continue to “forecast profitability” in the long term future. They have received no further updates on the situation apart from what has been publicly reported, and are taking legal counsel to determine the next best course of action.

In August 2021, TSM signed a $210 million deal with FTX which was referred to at the time as the biggest publicly disclosed deal in the history of esports. TSM became TSM FTX across all the different esports in which the org competes, and FTX agreed to pay TSM $21 million every year for the next decade.

What will happen to TSM’s expansion plans?

While TSM is confident of remaining “stable”, it looks like their plans of global expansion will have to be put on hold. Dexerto reported last month that the organization planned to put down roots in Europe by making a return to CS:GO in 2023. TSM hasn’t confirmed or denied whether expansion is still on the cards, but at this point, it doesn’t seem very likely.

While TSM was certainly FTX’s biggest esports commitment, they weren’t the only ones. The crypto exchange signed a seven-year deal with the League Championship Series (LCS), North America’s biggest League of Legends league. They also had a one-year agreement with Brazilian esports org FURIA, but their co-founder Andre Akkari announced its termination a couple of days ago.

Binance, a rival crypto exchange did briefly consider an acquisition to provide liquidity to some of FTX’s customers, but have since backed out citing “corporate due diligence” after reports of manhandled customer funds. FTX’s future looks even bleaker after Binance’s withdrawal, who said FTX’s issues are “beyond our control or ability to help.”