TSM is expected to proceed with a sixth player ahead of their 2023 LCS Summer Split run, according to a League of Legends official global contract database update on May 26.
Academy mid laner David “Insanity” Challe has been added to the lineup as a substitute, according to a competitive League GCD update. He and Lee “Ruby” Sol-min will be the newest members of the team, although veteran mid laner Kim “Fenix” Jae-hun was also rumored to be joining as well, due to his name also appearing in the database under the TSM brand.
With only a week left until the 2023 LCS Summer Split begins, North American League teams are preparing their rosters for the climb to the playoffs, and potentially onwards to Worlds in South Korea later in October.
But for TSM, this past offseason has been filled with speculation after news broke out around the organization’s plans to leave the league and join another tier-one region. Fans are also getting rather confused with the mid lane situation with the team, with another player supposedly joining the squad for the summer.
TSM global head of socials Duncan Cox confirmed on the team’s subreddit Fenix was actually not joining the roster after all, and that Insanity was the sixth man for the team behind Ruby as they make their run through the new season. As a result, some fans believe that he was signed to become TSM’s Challenger League mid laner before the organization’s departure from the tier-two scene.
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If Insanity takes the stage with TSM, he will be the team’s first North American-born mid laner since 2014, back when current CEO Andy “Reginald” Dinh was still a professional player. According to the database, his contract will expire “upon TSM Summer LCS elimination,” which means that he will only be employed as long as the team is playing on-stage.
The LCS will return for the 2023 Summer Split on June 1, with TSM kicking off their final split in North America against Team Liquid and FlyQuest.
