- The Chinese pro played for TSM for one North American season
- He will stay with the organization a while longer due to the recent rise of COVID-19 cases in China
- TSM has not been performing well this Spring Split, prompting roster changes
TSM officially parted ways with Zhu “Keaiduo” Xiong as part of the organization’s efforts to restructure after a difficult Spring Split.
Keaiduo Leaves the Organization
Team SoloMid (TSM) is making some changes ahead of the 2022 Summer Split, which includes the organization parting ways with Chinese mid laner Zhu “Keaiduo” Xiong. The 20-year-old player spent one season in North America, but he will not be going home soon. Instead, he will stay with TSM for a while longer due to the recent rise of COVID-19 cases in China. Keaiduo will also be receiving pay, training, and accommodation during his stay, the organization added.
“Thanks, TSM for taking care of [me in] this time,” Keaiduo said. “And I hope TSM and all of TSM fans good in the future. See you in the future, Goodbye.”
The player leaves TSM at one of the most difficult times for the organization. TSM had a disappointing 2021, and because of this decided to restructure its team for the LCS by signing two unproven, rookie players from China’s developmental league. Neither of the two players has much experience, with none of them having played in the LPL or any other major league before.
TSM Had a Rough Spring Split
The last few months have not been kind to TSM. The team was getting outplayed by almost every opponent during the spring and had many communication issues. For example, Shenyi was benched following the second week of the 2022 LCS Spring Split. The reason was he displayed “negative and disrespectful” actions toward his coaches after he locked in a champion without discussing it with his teammates.
Later on, the organization experimented with a handful of different roster variants, but the squad was left fumbling for consistency and success on-stage. The greatest blow to TSM was at the Spring Split when the organization ended in last place for the first time since the org debuted in the LCS back in 2013.
With Keaiduo leaving TSM has to find a suitable replacement. One suggestion, according to sources for Upcomer, says this could be Taiwanese pro player Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang. However, the organization has not yet confirmed nor denied anything yet.
All of these changes are part of TSM’s $5 million plan to rebuild over the next three years. But only time will tell if their huge investment will be worth it.
