Ex-Suning star, SwordArt: ‘I want to bring some LPL style to TSM’
The deal came with a two-year contract worth US$6 million.
After parting ways with League of Legends Pro League (LPL) team Suning Gaming, Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh has been signed by TSM as their new support player.
The deal came with US$6 million worth of salary for SwordArt, believed to be the highest salary in the LCS according to areportby The Washington Post.
For the next two years, SwordArt will play under the TSM banner where he will receive an annual salary of US$3 million each for seasons 2021 and 2022. TSM founder Andy Dinh considers this as an investment that will bring glory not just to TSM but to the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) as well.
“It just makes sense for TSM to spend these dollars to recruit players,” said Dinh. “I think that the investment we made, and other teams’ [investments in other players], reinforces that our team and our region is really serious.”
SwordArt revealed the reason that he transferred to TSM was to challenge himself and see what he can do in a new region. He believes that he can unlock TSM’s true potential by bringing his experience from past leagues to the members and the organization.
“I want to take my experience from the LPL and LMS to TSM,” said SwordArt. “I want to bring some LPL style to TSM to make TSM play more aggressively.”
The language barrier won’t be a problem for the 23-year old Taiwanese player as he’s fluent in English and claims that he can “communicate a lot.” He also looks forward to facing his former teammates Suning in Worlds 2021.
Six-time regional champion. 2020 Worlds finalist. We’ve faced him on the rift before, but now it’s time for him to lead us to victory.Welcome to TSM, SwordArt ???? (Pending Riot approval)pic.twitter.com/kQn1LcP8Rk
Many would remember SwordArt for his stellarperformanceduring the 2020 League of Legends World Championship (Worlds). The team defied everyone’s expectations and have been deemed by many as the dark horse of the competition. Unfortunately, theylostto Korean favorites DAMWON Gaming in the finals 3 – 1.
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