TSM Sign Ineligible VALORANT Academy, Weeks After They Knock The Roster Out Of VCT Challengers

TSMFTX have doubled down on their bad luck in VALORANT after Riot Games handed them another major setback. 

Just months after leaving the organisation bamboozled through a naming rights deal and sponsorship saga, the developers have now blocked their newly-formed academy project from competing in the VALORANT Champions Tour.

Recently, Riot partnered with crypto-currency exchange titans FTX, in a deal that saw them become official partners in League of Legends esports. The move came just weeks after the developers blocked TSM from using the same sponsorship in Riot's competitions when they made esports history with a ground-breaking deal.

Riot claimed that the cryptocurrency exchange's name was not allowed to appear in broadcasts in certain regions, which would be the case on TSM's official merchandise and jerseys, but could be disabled in Riot's broadcasts.

Now, the developers have deemed their newly-acquired VALORANT roster as ineligible for VCT qualification, as the developers insist that organisations may not field two teams into the event unless they are teams of different genders.

TSM Sign Former Noble Roster To Academy Project

After a vanquished effort to qualify for the VCT Stage 3 Masters in Berlin, the TSM acquired the 'next generation of VALORANT talent' by signing the ex-Noble roster. 

The signing came just weeks after Noble stunned TSM in the Challengers 1 Open Qualifiers, dumping them from the competition before finally falling to 100 Thieves at the final hurdle. However, if you can't beat them, buy them. 

Both rosters failed to qualify for the Masters, although TSM's chances of making worlds have not been completely diminished. The side could still qualify through the last chance qualifier, if any of the North American sides win the Masters. 

Riot Deem TSM Academy Ineligible for VCT

According to reports from Upcomer, Riot Games has stated that "teams may not own two teams at once in VCT, unless one of those two teams is a women’s team," which means that TSM Academy will not be allowed to compete in the VCT Tour under the TSM banner. 

Fortunately, the season has concluded for Noble, with only the international Masters, Last Chance Qualifier, and the World Championships left to play. 

TSM Academy is set to compete in a string of Nerd Street Gamers events, alongside other non-VCT tournaments, throughout the offseason.

As to whether TSM will continue to keep their academy project for the next VCT season is yet to be known, although the roster will likely be aiming to play after narrowly missing out on the regional playoffs.