The crypto trader continues to make waves in North American League of Legends.
Earlier in the Summer Split, TSM announced one of the largest deals in esports history with FTX. The ground-breaking sponsorship was worth $200 million and saw TSM rebrand to TSM FTX. Notably, the Riot Games blocked TSM from advertising their new sponsor in both the LCS and VALORANT. This decision came off of Riot’s pre-existing rules prohibiting advertising of gambling and crypto sponsors.
Now, the entirety of the LCS will see FTX as their sponsor. Sources have reported this will involve the FTX logo being display on screen with several specifically branded segments of the broadcast. What this means regarding Riot’s previous rules against crypto sponsors remains to be seen, and if FTX will remain the only exception. There are also now questions around competitive integrity, as TSM is the only individual team to also have FTX as a sponsor.
The 7-year deal comes in light of recent, massive growth in the crypto trading company. Just last month, FTX reportedly raised over $900 million from 60 different investors and was valued at over $18 billion. The amount given to the LCS in this deal has not yet been revealed, but we can only assume that it is a substantially amount considering the potentially wider scope. FTX has been investing across multiple sport and esports scenes, now encompassing the NBA, MLB, and the LCS.
There has already been a wild backlash to this deal, as fans have raised concerns over the potential competitive integrity conflicts, ethical issues in advertising cryptos to younger audiences, and the environmental damage of the crypto currency industry. Though this deal is perhaps a massively big step for the LCS, there will likely be continuous debates.
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