TSM re-enters Overwatch esports after seven-year absence from the scene
The North American esports organisation Team SoloMid (TSM) has entered Overwatch esports, signing most of the team previously playing for Timeless in the OWCS. The signing marks a return to the game after seven years away from the title.
Signing Timeless
Almost on the dot seven years ago, TSM let their Overwatch esports team go, possibly realising that it would not partake in the franchise system that the now-deceased Overwatch League became. With no 20 million dollars pay-to-play cost attached to the top tier competition of the esport, TSM has re-entered the scene.
Since at least Stage 1 of OWCS, TSM had been in talks with teams across the scene, eventually landing on the team that had previously played for Timeless in the Overwatch Championship Series in North America and had also been invited to the North American portion of Master tier of the North American portion of FACEIT League.
The seven-player-strong lineup consists of:
- John "iCy" Kazura (Tank)
- Julian "Raikker" Bevien-Guevarra (Tank)
- Joshua "Chopper" Song (DPS)
- Julian "Rokit" Pizana (DPS)
- Park "SeonJun" Seon-jun (DPS)
- Christopher "Cjay" Smith (Support)
- James "MagicM8Ball" Macpherson (Support)
Notably, Timeless former Support player An "OPENER" Gi-beom, with whom the team had played through Stage 1 and 2 of the OWCS, did not make the jump to TSM.
Failing to make Dreamhack Dallas
Already before the announcement of the team's signing, the runner-up of Stage 1 failed to make it out of their Group after a loss against Citrus Nation. Unfortunately for TSM, this meant that the team was out of the running for the first OWCS Major at Dreamhack Dallas - failing to acquire enough Circuit Points to qualify after their loss against Citrus Nation in Group B.
While OWCS is one way to qualify for the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, TSM is at least still in the running for participation in the event. TSM is one of the teams directly invited into the Master tier for the FACEIT League, an event that also offers qualifying slots for EWC.
In an interview with GGRecon, former ENCE head coach Jordan "Gunba" Graham criticised the OWCS Group seeding, arguing in favour of TSM, which had been placed in one of the stronger groups.
"They're not going to Dallas because they lost two matches in a row because the Swiss stage f#!ked up their seating, and they had to play a really hard group," the now-retired coach stated.
The team is currently on a solid track in FACEIT League NA, sitting at a 2-0 score after victories against Avidity and a win by forfeit against Smart Fellas. The first real challenges for the team are likely to only happen at the end of the month, with matches against Luminosity, Toronto Defiant, Students of the Game, M80, and Citrus Nation being scheduled at the end of their regular season split.
The North American esports organisation had been in a slumber after multiple rounds of layoffs, which led the company to operate with only eight remaining employees to operate its remaining esports teams. In May last year, TSM announced its exit from the LoL franchise league LCS, ending an era as one of the scene's most popular and domestically successful brands.
