Before the second week of the 2023 LCS Spring Split ended, League of Legends fans were treated to a long-awaited match between 100 Thieves and TSM.
It was an exciting game that would finally pit superstar AD carry Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng against his former organization, but before the match began, the broadcast honed in on the drama that led to his departure in what many believed to be an “unprofessional” and “tone-deaf” segment.
The segment began when popular LCS caster and host Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen broke down Doublelift’s history through the league, and how he became the North American legend that he is now known as. Her monologue was going relatively smoothly until the script brought up the allegations against TSM’s co-founder and CEO, Andy “Reginald” Dinh.
Fans thought that the segment was handled in a rather nonchalant and joking manner, even though the topic revolved around the alleged abuse of various TSM players and staff members. For others, using the situation in order to hype up this match was not appropriate at all, and was disrespectful to those who worked with TSM and experienced the situation first-hand.
“Anyone that knows me can tell you I’m a big advocate for our players across all games,” TSM’s senior team manager Austin “SmaK” Haggett said on the team’s subreddit. “I was one once myself. This is the primary reason I was shocked and saddened by this segment. We have a team of great players who put their heart into their work and just want to play the game. They did nothing to deserve to be disrespected like this right before one of their most important matches.”
TSM’s social media manager Duncan “Dunc” Cox also confirmed to fans that management was in contact with the league, and that a conversation was being had around the situation. The league hasn’t released a statement on the matter yet.
