Crypto involvement is not over for esports org TSM. While the powerhouse esports player was in the middle of the FTX outage late last year, TSM is still looking strong thanks to a new partnership announced Tuesday.
The organization has teamed up with blockchain Avalanche for a new deal where the organization will build their own Avalanche-based subnet and more. Let’s take a look at TSM’s aftermath of the FTX deal and the early details that have become available in this new pairing with Avalanche.
TSM’s new deal and why it’s different than before
Tuesday’s announcement from Avalanche details a competitive gaming partnership lens that spans esports organization Team SoloMid (TSM) and their gaming platform subsidiary, Blitz. TSM is one of the most legacy organizations in the game, with a dozen years of experience in a relatively young landscape. TSM currently competes in mainstays such as League of Legends, Apex Legends, Dota 2, R6S, Valorant and more.
The new deal will make Avalanche the exclusive Blockchain partner for both properties, and the move will see Blitz build out their own designated Avalanche subnet.
It’s not TSM’s first dance with a crypto-endemic partner. The esports organization previously had a much more centralized partner in what was now-defunct FTX, a deal that came about in mid-2021 amid the bull market frenzy and was the first of its kind. Despite FTX’s demise and the fallout that comes with it, it’s encouraging to see the esports organization willing to keep playing in the space.
Avalanche (AVAX) will be the blockchain of choice for esports org TSM and their in-house gaming platform. | Source: AVAX:USD on TradingView.com
What’s next in gaming and e-sports
After FTX, there has been a broad reset in partnerships and sponsorships within sports and entertainment deals. FTX’s lavish spending has left respected centralized exchanges feeling the heat (for reasons beyond sports deals), and made brands and talent more cautious in their crypto approach – and rightly so. The result is relatively quiet
Looking ahead, there is certainly an argument that the greatest opportunity for partnership deals in sports and entertainment lies with the creators and overseers of blockchains themselves, where transparency is generally much more abundant and bad actors tend to be easier to spot.
GameFi has been an interesting topic of conversation so far in 2023 in what were otherwise mediocre market prices, combined with some unique storylines. Major gaming, entertainment and arts chains have been trying to establish their territory, with chains like Avalanche, Polygon, Solana, Cardano and many more all working their jobs in creative spaces centered around sports and entertainment.