With the way forward for one of many largest naming rights offers in esports historical past already in query, a few of TSM’s gamers are competing on stream at an enormous match with the emblem of the group’s major sponsor, cryptocurrency trade FTX, obscured by a chunk of black tape.
TSM’s skilled Fortnite duo Shane “EpikWhale” Cotton and Nathan “Reet” Amundson each appeared on the official broadcast of the 2022 Fortnite Champion Sequence (FNCS) Invitational of their TSM jerseys however with the FTX emblem noticeably taped over throughout an interview.
Some followers speculated that the tape over the emblem on the FNCS Invitational may very well be to Epic Video games’ personal guidelines on cryptocurrency sponsorships, and it’s at present unclear whether or not this was a choice made by the gamers, the group, or Epic.
The taped-over logos come only a day after FTX filed for bankruptcy as a consequence of a surge of current withdrawal requests throughout a pending crypto crunch. One among FTX’s major opponents, Binance, was set to amass the corporate, however after some “company due diligence,” Binance determined that the “newest information reviews relating to mishandled buyer funds and alleged US company investigations” round FTX weren’t worth the cost.
Since signing a 10-year, $210 million naming rights deal with FTX again in June 2021, TSM has marketed itself as TSM FTX throughout its main social platforms and has continued to function as TSM FTX in different esports titles like Siege and Apex Legends. The group’s FTX sponsorship has been prohibited from broadcasts for League and VALORANT, nevertheless, as a consequence of Riot Video games’ guidelines.
As for EpikWhale and Reet, they’re competing as a duo on the FNCS Invitational, a 50-team two-day occasion that includes 12 separate video games and a $1 million prize pool. The occasion, organized by each Epic and BLAST, is without doubt one of the first main Fortnite offline occasions because the prestigious World Cup in 2019.
Dot Esports has reached out to TSM for remark relating to the taped-over emblem or the standing of its FTX partnership.
