TSM founder Andy “Reginald” Dinh, his relationship with his previous team, and why he decided to resign from professional League of Legends have all been revealed by Doublelift.
The most decorated player in LCS history, an eight-time NA champion, revealed that his retirement boiled down to Regi. “Honestly, I fucking hate TSM. Mostly because of Andy [Dinh],” Doublelift said on his Twitch stream on November 9th.
Doublelift explained SwordArt, a Worlds 2020 finalist and sought-after support from the LPL, was keen on playing with him in 2021. But after talking it over with Regi and expressing his commitment to the organization and the player, “Andy literally said no.” Doublelift stated; “He’s got too much of an ego. It’s fucking so cringe.”
TSM chose Lawrence “Lost” Hui, a young and relatively inexperienced ADC from New Zealand, despite signing SwordArt on a rumoured two-year contract for $6 million on November 26, 2020. Doublelift remarked; “If I was on TSM last split, there’s no doubt in my mind we would have made Worlds.”
The team finished second to Cloud9 in the season standings, just missing out on a spot in the 2021 World Championship, which was held in Reykjavík, Iceland in October and November. Regi made a statement about Doublelift stating; “It’s extremely discouraging for both staff and players to work with someone who is constantly ambivalent about whether he wants to play or retire.”
Regi then further explained; “Therefore, all of our staff and players collectively decided to commit to Lost. After a long negotiation process, we subsequently were able to secure SwordArt. Peter [Doublelift] also has this misconception that he was replaced both times solely by me, but in reality the decision is made collectively by the players and staff he works with day to day.”
It seems like TSM is now looking to revamp their LCS squad ahead of the 2022 season, which will include cutting connections with SwordArt one year into the Taiwanese support’s two-year deal.