North American esports organization TSM is changing its name to TSM FTX following a deal worth $210 million with crypto exchange FTX, according to a Friday report by the New York Times. All TSM rosters will be changed to TSM FTX, including Riot Games’ LCS franchise in North America.
The organization hailed the deal as “one of the biggest deals in esports history,” in the announcement video, published earlier today. “This historic partnership unites 2 industry leaders that will help shape and evolve the future of gaming, crypto, and esports,” the organization said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEwgnOnEkgM
TSM signs branding deal with FTX
This deal with FTX is the latest in a line of prominent sponsorships for TSM. The organization is also partnered with Logitech for gaming peripherals and with Lenovo as its PC partner. General Motors, Twitch and GEICO also sponsor the North American team.
FTX will likely become one of the biggest investors in esports with this deal. Red Bull has invested around $578 million into esports, according to StoryTell, historically sponsoring several esports organizations such as T1, G2 and Cloud9. Other companies, such as Intel, sponsor some of the largest events in CS:GO, like their partnership with tournament organizer ESL.
The FTX crypto exchange allows users to buy and sell a wide range of cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin, Bitcoin and Ethereum are among the many cryptocurrencies available on the exchange.
Team’s LCS team to remain “TSM”
While TSM is rebranding to TSM FTX on an organizational level, this deal will not affect the team’s branding in League of Legends or other Riot Games titles.
“The TSM and FTX sponsorship deal does not break any LCS sponsorship rules, but crypto exchanges fall under a category of sponsorship that carries activation restrictions,” Riot Games said in a statement to Upcomer. “As a result, TSM’s new naming convention and FTX brand placement on TSM jerseys will not apply to the LCS or other Riot Games esports in North America.”
While TSM fields multiple teams across several esports, it is perhaps best known for its League of Legends LCS squad. The team’s 2021 summer split season officially kicks off today with a match against Team Liquid at 6 p.m. ET.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include more information regarding the TSM FTX name in the LCS and VALORANT leagues respectively.
