Tweek departs from TSM after four-year tenure

TSM announced Tuesday that it has parted ways with professional Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey. It became the second esports organization to drop a top 10 Ultimate player in the world in the past week, following Leonardo “MkLeo” López Pérez’s departure from T1 last Thursday.

“Thank you to TSM for allowing me to chase my dreams,” Tweek tweeted on Tuesday. “It was a great run and I put in extra effort every day to try to make them proud to have worked with me. I am now a free agent. Once again, I have dreams and I will continue to work and sacrifice for them.”

Today we part ways with @TweekSSB

We can't thank you enough for everything you've done these past 3 years. A champion, a fighter, the embodiment of what it means to don the black-and-white.

You're a TSM legend and we wish you the best in your future. Keep tearing it up, Tweek. pic.twitter.com/tXgAziNtVt

— TSM (@TSM) February 28, 2023

Tweek began his four-year tenure with the organization in January of 2019, shortly after the launch of Smash Ultimate. Prior to that, his only experience on a professional team was a one-year stint with Phoenix1, which ended when the organization exited Smash shortly before its rebrand to Sentinels in mid-2018.

As of now, TSM’s only remaining Smash player is Melee and fighting game pro William “Leffen” Hjelte. The organization previously sponsored Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios prior to his retirement from competitive Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In addition, Charles Thoren worked for TSM as a Smash coach from October of 2019 to September of 2021.

More about Tweek and TSM

Tweek got his start as a competitive gamer entering Melee and Project M tournaments in New Jersey in 2014. He later began to gain notoriety as the best Smash 4 Bowser Jr. main. However, he started to become an international threat following the release of Cloud as a DLC character. With a character line-up consisting of Cloud, Bayonetta and Donkey Kong, Tweek ended up peaking at No. 2 in the world behind MkLeo during the game’s final season.

Once Smash Ultimate came out in December of 2018, Tweek quickly joined TSM and cemented his status as one of the best players in the world. He ranked in the top three for the first two seasons of competitive Ultimate. Prior to quarantine, he won majors like Frostbite 2019, Get On My Level 2019, Low Tier City 7 and Glitch 8.

Since quarantine, Tweek has earned additional tournament wins at Smash Ultimate Summit 3, Port Priority 7 and Let’s Make Big Moves 2023. Over the past year, the most impressive part of Tweek’s resume with TSM has undoubtedly been his flawless 4-0 record against the best player in the world, MkLeo. He currently plays mostly Diddy Kong, although he has previously excelled with a number of characters, including Sephiroth, Wario, Pokémon Trainer and Wolf.

My personal apology form. Sorry. pic.twitter.com/CJGc0WzZqO

— 24K (@24Kssb) November 14, 2022

Outside of competition, Tweek hosts the Tweek Talks podcast alongside Charles Thoren, Matthew “HazMatt” Ian and Marcus “Pink Fresh” Wilson. He has also been the subject of numerous memes within the Smash community, such as the Tweek Apology Form.