TSM exec denies CS:GO return is because of VCT snub

TSM has announced plans to return to CS:GO in 2023 earlier this month after more than five years away from Valve’s FPS.

The announcement was made less than two weeks after TSM failed to secure a spot in the 2023 VALORANT Americas league despite having invested in Riot Games’ FPS since the beginning. The timing of the CS:GO announcement left many fans wondering whether it was a direct result of the VCT snub, but TSM’s vice president of esports Dominic Kallas said it was just a coincidence.

“Internally, we started talking about it in January,” Kallas said in an interview with Dexerto. “I was already communicating in May that we were going to be looking at a European CS:GO team. Regardless of whether we got accepted into the partnership program, we would field a CS:GO team in 2023. This is more of getting the news out there early so that we can start the process. It’s to get our fans excited and start building an organic fanbase in Europe.”

The team will be European rather than investing in North American CS because of a number of reasons, but most notably, because TSM wants to expand its brand across the globe. Kallas himself will be in charge of structuring the return.

The VP of esports at TSM will travel to Europe and hire a general manager that will help him in assembling the team. The exec also wants to hire a coach, a team manager, and “likely” an analyst crew.

Unlike what many fans were expecting at the time of the CS:GO announcement, TSM is approaching its return carefully. The NA org will not simply acquire a tier-one team like Cloud9 has done with the former Gambit roster earlier this year, and will instead try to build a squad from scratch by poaching a few players from other organizations and offering a chance to young talent.

“I think we will be looking at HLTV’s top 30 talent,” Kallas said. “It’s not like we’re going to pick up a bunch of rookies. I think it could be a mix of rookies and players that are on other teams.”

It’s unclear whether Kallas will have finished his work and assembled TSM’s CS:GO team by the time of the next Major cycle in 2023. He said the organization is aiming to have a top-15 or top-10 team at the end of 2023, and a top-five CS:GO team in the world by 2024.