TSM leaves PUBG after five years – a bad sign for the game and another blow for the org cover image

TSM leaves PUBG after five years – a bad sign for the game and another blow for the org

Despite a highly successful 2021, TSM has left PUBG Esports. It’s the latest in a string of bad news for both the game and the organization.

TSM has announced that, after being a mainstay of the game for nearly five years, they're dropping their PUBG roster and leaving the scene.

Turmoil has surrounded both PUBG and TSM for a while, and this is another step in a lot of recent bad news.

TSM leave the game despite a successful 2021

TSM have been in PUBG ever since 2017. They fielded a European team up until this past year, when they picked up one of the most successful North American teams, Shoot To Kill. Under the TSM banner, Shoot To Kill continued their legacy of consistency that had gotten them picked up in the first place.

TSM placed in the top five of nearly every North American tournament they entered in 2021, culminating in a fourth-place finish at the PUBG Global Championship 2021, making them the best North American team at the event.

Throughout their time in PUBG, TSM took home approximately $669,000 in winnings, according to Esports Earnings. That puts them at third all-time among organizations who fielded a North American roster, and fourth among orgs who fielded European rosters. Their top placements over the years were:

  • 3rd - PUBG Europe League 2019 Phase 3
  • 7th - PUBG Global Championship 2019
  • 1st - PUBG Continental Series 1: Europe
  • 3rd - PCS2 Europe
  • 4th - PGC 2021

While the now ex- TSM roster should still be a force to be reckoned with in North America this year, it's unfortunate to have such an important organization to the scene leaving the game.

The future for PUBG - and TSM

Aside from the Korean scene, recent news has been bleak for PUBG. The entire Chinese playerbase is still in limbo. Teams are dropping out of the North American scene like flies. TSM is just the latest, with teams like Spacestation Gaming and Oath having left earlier.

While there have been reasons to be hopeful, there's no doubt that PUBG has been on a decline for some time. Hopefully, these struggles won't be the end of the game's esports scene.

PUBG notwithstanding, though, TSM have had troubles of their own lately. An early-season roster swap in League of Legends has snowballed into a scandal.

Important figures in the organization, including Leena Xu and Parth Naidu, have left. Both the game and the organization are in troubled waters right now, and digging holes they'll need to get out of.


Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest PUBG news and updates.