My Thoughts on Recent TSM Criticism

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Hi all,

I’ve noticed a lot of criticism recently surrounding TSM from fans, journalists, and even peers, and it is valid. So I wanted to take the time to address some of these points, and also provide a short update.

Dardoch Situation:

I want to personally apologize to our community for how we’ve managed the communication of Dardoch’s transfer. My goal has always been about setting a good example for other esports organizations on how to treat players where we balance business interests while at the same time being fair to players. In this case, we did not live up to those standards. We will reflect on our mistakes and make the necessary changes to prevent this from happening again.

I’ve reached out to Josh to apologize personally, and TSM will be taking action to make sure he feels good about this situation and lands on his feet.

Dardoch and I discussed the unfortunate situation, and we both feel better about how things will proceed in the future.

Doublelift and Leena:

Going into the off-season, we had no plans of signing Doublelift and I was not aware that he would be a free agent. As soon as Steve Arhancet brought to my attention that Doublelift was available, I made the decision to sign him, knowing full well that he was in a relationship with Leena Xu, our President of Esports.

My reasoning behind that decision was simple. I thought that Doublelift was the best candidate for his position. TSM had the most success with Doublelift on our roster and our players and coaches and analysts unanimously approached me to sign Doublelift.

TSM has not lived up our expectations over the last two years. I owe it to our fans and Bjergsen to build the best possible roster.


Possible Conflict of interest with Doublelift and Leena:


To be clear, most of Leena’s day-to-day responsibility is the TSM’s expansion into various games titles (Fortnite, Smash, PuBG, Apex, WoW, Hearthstone, etc.). She has no decision-making power over our LCS roster, players, or salaries. She works on business operations and content with the League. All roster decisions and budgeting are made by our General Manager Parth Naidu and myself. .

Each and every business has different policies surrounding these matters. For me at that time, I thought that there was enough -- and there still is enough -- distance surrounding their working relationship that I am comfortable with their roles as the majority shareholder of Swift. Both Leena and Peter are also the very best candidates for their positions. In my opinion as the leader of this organization, there is no financial benefit or working benefit from their relationship.

Is Doublelift Privy to Confidential Information?
Dardoch’s position change is not privileged information within our company. Every LCS player and esports manager at TSM knows of this change. The roster change decision was made by Parth, our coaching staff, and the players of our last season’s LCS roster.

Does Leena Decide on Players On Our LCS Roster?
No. Parth and I decided on the roster with feedback from players, analysts, and coaches.

Leena As An Executive:

I noticed several hateful comments towards her. I agree her management of Josh’s situation was very disappointing, and I believe the critical feedback specific to this situation was warranted and I shared this with her as the CEO of this team. Despite that, it is very sad for me to see the community discredit her hard work as a female in esports. She was not given this position because of her former relationship with me. I can absolutely assure the community that Leena is deserving of her position.

Leena has a long history with our organization. She originally volunteered to run TSM’s social media channels and content production while she was going to school. She helped build out that entire infrastructure with zero pay. She interviewed and made some of the first key hires on the content team that launched TSM:Legends and practically every show on our YouTube channel..
Leena was one of the first five employees that joined TSM, and has helped grow our esports teams from five players to 40, and a content team from nothing to 15.

She has suggested many acquisitions that have allowed us to be profitable and helped us grow to where TSM is today.

My Past Behavior:

Finally, an eight-year-old video of me sprung up a few days ago that I am not proud of. In it, I used derogatory language. I have no excuse, and I am very disappointed in myself.

As I've grown up, I’ve started to become more aware, and recognize how hurtful words can be. Moving forward, I want you to feel assured that this will not happen again, and I will be a better role model for esports and the community.


Overall, I value and appreciate the feedback, and even the criticism, from the community. I will continue to work on myself and TSM.

Thanks for reading,

Andy

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