Confirmed: Earlier this year, TSM announced their intention to leave the North American LCS, putting their league slot up for sale. Now, an organization that is completely new to professional League of Legends agreed on the deal: Shopify Rebellion.
TSM announced that they would be leaving the North American League of Legends circuit, putting their league slot up for sale. On September 20, 2023 it was announced that they found a buyer: Shopify Rebellion will take over TSM's place and roster in the 2024 LCS season.
According to insider sources, TSM and Shopify Rebellion agreed on a price of around $10 million for the spot in the highest tier of professional League of Legends in North America. This is the second sale of an LCS spot in 2023, after Counter Logic Gaming closed their esports operations earlier this year, with NRG taking over.
LoL Esports: Shopify Rebellion Announces LCS Entry in 2024
We'll see you at the #LCS Arena in 2024. pic.twitter.com/9ZZAUmMEBA
— Shopify Rebellion (@ShopifyRebels) September 20, 2023
On September 20, 2023, multiple sources, including League of Legends reporter Travis Gafford, announced that a deal was made between TSM and Shopify Rebellion. Shortly after, it was confirmed by the organization itself, outlining the path towards the successful deal in a post on Twitter.
It's game on in League of Legends! Yet another title to add to our roster that already boasts VALORANT, StarCraft, Dota 2, Halo and Rocket League.
Even though Shopify Rebellion are completely new in professional League of Legends, they won't start from scratch, apparently. The team announced that the TSM roster would be competing under their new name in the upcoming LCS season.
This aligns with Travis Gafford's assumptions about Shopify's strategy regarding their takeover from TSM. He thinks that the organization will "try to do something within the existing TSM infrastructure", which could mean that Shopify will not only take over TSM's roster, but also use some of their facilities.
You can definitely call this takeover a milestone in LCS history. After CLG's collapse after the 2023 LCS Spring Split, this marks the definite end of a second, incredibly storied North American esports franchise in less than a year.
Nonetheless, we're eager and excited to see what Shopify Rebellion can bring to the table in 2024. They have teams in multiple different games and leagues, a strong sponsor, and hopefully the will to compete at the top in the North American LCS.