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 a large event with the logo of the group’s main sponsor, cryptocurrency alternate 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 Series (FNCS) Invitational of their TSM jerseys however with the FTX logo noticeably taped over throughout an interview.
Some followers speculated that the tape over the logo at the FNCS Invitational may very well be to Epic Games’ personal guidelines on cryptocurrency sponsorships, and it’s presently unclear whether or not this was a call made by the gamers, the group, or Epic.
The taped-over logos come only a day after FTX filed for chapter because of a surge of latest withdrawal requests throughout a pending crypto crunch. One of FTX’s main rivals, Binance, was set to amass the corporate, however after some “corporate due diligence,” Binance determined that the “latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations” round FTX weren’t value the fee.
Since signing a 10-year, $210 million naming rights take care of 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 workforce’s FTX sponsorship has been prohibited from broadcasts for League and VALORANT, nevertheless, because of Riot Games’ guidelines.
As for EpikWhale and Reet, they’re competing as a duo at the FNCS Invitational, a 50-team two-day event that includes 12 separate video games and a $1 million prize pool. The event, organized by each Epic and BLAST, is among the first main Fortnite offline occasions for the reason that prestigious World Cup in 2019.
Dot Esports has reached out to TSM for remark concerning the taped-over logo or the standing of its FTX partnership.
