TSM Vice President of Esports Dominic Kallas has addressed the issues with the team following their failed attempt to qualify for VALORANT Champions Tour Challengers 1 with their new roster.
Update on TSM FTX VALORANT: pic.twitter.com/2gt1Cq34Fe
— Dominic Kallas (@KallasDominic) February 6, 2022
Kallas announced that going forward TSM’s general manager will have full reign over the roster and determine which players will be the best fit for them going forward. Additionally, TSM will be moving their team to Austin, Texas to improve overall performance including practice and worth ethic expectations. Once in Austin, the team will also be competing in every open bracket tournament until the next VCT open qualifier to give the team more practice.
Some members of the VALORANT community questioned why TSM wasn’t playing in Tier 2 tournaments to begin with and why the TSM general manager didn’t have control of the roster in the first place. However, both VALORANT caster Daniel “ddk” Kapadia and Team Liquid streamer Jonas “AverageJonas” Navarsete commended TSM on their transparency and choices.
I love this, transparency on what needs to be done + relocating implies long term commitment which is what this team needs, hoping to see @TSM thrive again 🤝 https://t.co/7A8AN2g5NQ
— AverageJonas 🇳🇴 (@Average_Jonas) February 6, 2022
“I love this, “ said AverageJonas on Twitter. “Transparency on what needs to be done and relocating implies long term commitment which is what this team needs, hoping to see TSM thrive again.”
“Definitely a good step,” Kapadia said. “A good GM can easily make or break the team. The GM should absolutely have full agency and if they know how to use it, that’s powerful.”
TSM VALORANT has a rocky start to 2022
TSM entered 2022 with a new roster for VALORANT after their 2021 was filled with close finishes but overall disappointments. However, after adding former FaZe Clan member Corey “corey” Nigra and Immortals player Daniel “Rossy” Abedrabbo, the team has still not seen any improvements. TSM was one of the multiple Tier 1 organizations that failed to qualify for Challengers 1 alongside Gen.G, FaZe Clan and T1.
This was TSM’s second chance to qualify after they were knocked out of the tournament by Akrew during the first round of qualifiers. All of which came after TSM accused T1’s head coach David Denis of unauthorized communication during their lower bracket match against them. This resulted in an all-out Twitter battle and T1’s coach being suspended from the team for a short time. In the end, neither team will be playing at the Stage 1 Challengers event.
