Recently, TSM has considered the possibility of selling their LCS slot.

tsm, a dominant team in the north american region of league of legends, has recently investigated the possibility of selling its lcs franchise.

A number of factors, according to sources familiar with TSM's business dealings, drove the discussions. These causes included lowering the expenses of TSM's esports ventures, the level of competition in the North American region, and the overall drop in popularity of North American League of Legends.

The possibility of acquiring the recently-sold Misfits franchise berth in Riot's European League of Legends Championship (LEC) was another significant factor that drove many of the discussions. Before Heretics finalized the deal for an amount rumored to be between $45 and $50 million, TSM reportedly conducted preliminary inquiries about the price. This information was gathered from a source familiar with the agreement.

A second source, speaking under the condition of anonymity, wished to clarify that TSM were not necessarily planning to leave League of Legends, but that it made financial sense for TSM to investigate the possibility of joining the European league if possible. This source clarified that TSM did not necessarily intend to leave League of Legends. The Taiwanese support player Hu 'SwordArT' Shuo-record-breaking Chieh's transfer to TSM was the most notable example of TSM's expensive foreign signings. TSM have also been in the news for other costly overseas acquisitions.

It has also been widely acknowledged for some time that the LCS viewership has been declining, especially in comparison to the LEC, its European counterpart. This has been the case for an extended period of time. During the Spring Split, the number of viewers for the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) reached a record high of 387,000, while the number of viewers for the League of Legends Esports Championship (LEC) reached 723,000. The average audience makes for even more gloomy reading, as the LCS only receives 123,411 viewers compared to the LEC's 270,776 viewers.

Nevertheless, it is possible that there is more to this than meets the eye. One of the individuals who corroborated the discussions stated that there was worry among TSM management that the esports program needed to be scaled back as costs continued to spiral out of hand. According to the information provided by the source, 'TSM are now lowering expenses everywhere in esports.' In the not-too-distant future, it is highly probable that they will sell off additional esports-related assets.

A third source, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, clarified that while these discussions had indeed taken place, they were part of a number of 'ideas' that the organization was exploring in order to remain at the top of their field, but that no formal steps had been taken in this direction. This information was qualified by the fact that, while these discussions had certainly occurred, they were merely one of several 'ideas' that the organization was considering.