AFK Weekly: TSM has a Roller Coaster Week

Hello everyone! This week we saw TSM have one of the most topsy-turvy weeks in esports history. First we saw Riot Games finally conclude its investigation against Andy Dinh, CEO and co-founder of TSM that began in November after numerous allegations of harassment, discrimination, bullying, and inappropriate conduct were made public by current and former employees. Riot handed down a two-year probation to Dinh and even set up a tip line at the TSM office for employees to anonymously report instances of abusive conduct by Dinh.

The investigation found that Dinh's misconduct spanned several years, which lead to Riot also fining TSM $75K USD, triple the maximum fine for misconduct by a League Championship Series team member. However, these punishments haven’t stopped the organization from continuing to expand its presence.

Just two days after Dinh was punished, TSM revealed that it had signed a “major” new partnership with GMC, marking the first time the automotive giant has partnered with an esports org. The deal will entail GMC a prime spot in TSM’s jerseys, and will also include, “unique content creation, in-person and digital events and activations, custom branded merch, social content and more,” according to a release.

TSM's deal with GMC Motors was likely in place well before Riot's investigation was published–which means that there  could be potential pushback from brands due to Dinh’s activities behind-the-scenes. Over the next few months, we will learn if TSM will continue to grow and maintain its status as the most valuable esports company in the world or if there are going to be significant roadblocks to its growth.

— Vignesh Raghuram, Supervising Editor, AFK Gaming