The Real Reason TSM's CEO Is Under Investigation

Team SoloMid (a.k.a. TSM) is one of the most notable esports orgs in the business. Best known for the team's success in the "League of Legends" competitive scene, TSM has won a staggering seven championships since its first entry into the League Championship Series back in 2011. This success has also translated into very lucrative deals from other companies — TSM made esports history by signing a sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX back in June 2021, a deal that will net the team $210 million over the course of 10 years. Despite TSM recent success, not everything behind the scenes is as prosperous as one might think. One of the organization's most crucial figures is now under the microscope for alleged misconduct.

According to a report from Wired, TSM CEO Andy "Reginald" Dinh is being investigated in response to accusations of bullying and abuse. TSM and Riot Games have both launched separate investigations into the matter. In an email to Wired, Riot Games said that the organization was aware of the allegations against Dinh and had engaged a third-party investigation firm to "conduct an independent investigation into claims of misconduct made against the leader of this team, in accordance with standard league process." As for the allegations themselves, the stories that have come from members of TSM paint an unflattering picture.

A number of current and former TSM employees and team members — many of whom remained anonymous — spoke to Wired about Dinh's behavior. Two sources said that Dinh has often called colleagues and employees "stupid" and "worthless" in the past, sometimes even calling them in the late hours of the night to scream at them. 

Meanwhile, former TSM team member Yilang "Peter" Peng — better known to many fans as Doublelift — said during a livestream in November that Dihn is a bully who gets away with his behavior solely because of the amount of power and influence he has over both the team and the industry. Peng said, "I'm sick of someone who's basically just a bully getting away with it because it's in everyone's best interest to not get in his way."

In response to the allegations, Dinh told Wired that he holds himself and his TSM coworkers to the same standards. "I have zero tolerance for underperformance," Dinh explained. "I am intense, passionate, driven, and relentless in the pursuit of winning – it's my nature. I set an extremely high bar, and when I feel that someone is not delivering, I directly and bluntly share that feedback." The investigations from Riot Games and TSM are ongoing.