TSM Launches Amateur League of Legends Roster

Following in the footsteps of many other LCS organizations, TSM has announced the launch of its own amateur League of Legends team. Having announced earlier in the year that they would be looking for players for an amateur-level scouting program, the official lineup is now known.

Speaking on the news, TSM stated that: “Over the past few months, players from various competitive tiers have been invited to in-houses run by our academy staff. Our goal was to provide a platform for a small group of amateur and solo queue players to get a slice of the competitive experience by coordinating scrims and providing feedback over a period of time.”

Who Will Make Up TSM Ameteur?

The team will be made up by five up and coming talents, each of whom are currently listed as Challenger players on the North American solo queue rankings. Alexander “Gorica” Gorica is perhaps the best known member of the roster, with the bot laner being the only player on the team with professional experience. The 20-year-old Canadian previously played for the Golden Guardians Academy in 2020.

The rest of the team will be made up by top laner Yujie “Eclipse” Wu, jungler Ferdous “Infectrix” Hassan, mid laner William “Doxa” Lee and support Braydon “Donbray” Phan. Andre “Gunaso” Ferreira will act as head coach for the team. News of the lineup comes just a matter of weeks following criticism from Andy “Reginald” Dinh, the owner of TSM, surrounding the infrastructure of the North American League of Legends league.

Why the News Will Come as a Surprise to Some Fans

Reginald was critical of the treatment of NA players, in comparison to pros from other regions, as well as making his feelings regarding import restrictions for the LCS clear, making his further investment in the scene something of a surprise.TSM follow Cloud9, who launched an amateur team ahead of the 2021 season, as well as 100 Thieves, who made a similar move over the winter.