TSM supposedly had the lowest budget when building its LCS team for the 2023 season, according to the team’s head coach.
Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei explained the League of Legends team-building process in a recent interview with Esports Illustrated and claimed TSM had the lowest budget among all LCS participants ahead of the 2023 season.
“We didn’t have big budget. I think we had the lowest budget,” Chawy said. “So we actually just tried to do our best… Of course, the first one [goal] is [to] try to get top six, but obviously, other teams spend much more, and then we just have to make do with what we have. So for us, it’s always just taking one step at a time.”
Throughout TSM’s history, the team have been one of the main title contenders in the LCS, so missing out on the 2023 LCS Spring Split playoffs is disappointing. But for a team supposedly built on the back of the lowest budget in the competition, going 8-10 and finishing in seventh place is understandable. They were just one game away from reaching the same record as sixth-placed Golden Guardians.
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Chawy’s words are believable when you look at TSM’s roster. The team stuck to Solo, Maple, and Chime for the 2023 LCS Spring Split, while bringing in Bugi and Neo. The latter was replaced midway through the season with team legend WildTurtle.
Since they missed the playoffs, TSM will return to action in the 2023 LCS Summer Split. A date for the split has yet to be confirmed by Riot Games.
