TSM's VP of Esports Confirms CS:GO Return Unrelated to VCT Franchise Rejection

Earlier this month, TSM had revealed its plans of returning to CS:GO once again after a gap of more than five years, having last competed with a North American lineup in 2017.

This time its focus would lie in the European region where TSM plans on developing a CS:GO team and providing it with all the necessary infrastructure, working hand in hand with a dedicated local General Manager.

The announcement was followed by speculations that TSM's decision of returning to CS:GO was a direct response to it not getting a Valorant franchise slot for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023.

In an interview with Dexerto, Dominic Kallas - Vice President of Esports for TSM, cleared the air by assuring everyone that plans of re-entering CS:GO had been set in motion at the start of 2022 shortly after he had joined the organization.

TSM's VP of Esports clarifies that the CS:GO return decision was not related to VCT 2023 franchise slot rejection

Kallas brushed aside all the speculations by stating that "Internally, we (TSM) started talking about it in January. I was already communicating in May that we were going to be looking at a European CS:GO team. Regardless of whether or not we got accepted into the partnership program, we would field a CS:GO team in 2023."

He further explained that the news was announced early to get the message out to the fans and kickstart the process of building an organic fanbase in Europe.

For now, TSM plans on focusing on Europe for its 2023 return, similar to how it had originally stepped into the scene back in 2015 with the Danish roster of Team Dignitas.

However, there lies a difference in its approach as last time TSM was involved in a bidding war for the Danish team but this time instead of taking the boujee route the organization plans on scouting a mix of promising rookies and talented players while also setting up the right infrastructure for them.

Kallas goes on to state that for now there is no set timeline for when TSM would be entering CS:GO but fans should expect more updates in the next three months. He also mentioned that there is a chance that TSM may be able to assemble a lineup in time for the qualifiers of BLAST Paris Major 2023, but there are no guarantees.