I usually find Riot’s ‘LCSDrive’ series of videos very boring. They talk about players like GBM and Bjergsen, who are still in the prime of their careers and don’t have much of a story to tell. This week’s episode changed that by bringing in Reginald , the owner and creator of TSM. We don’t often get an inside look at the careers of players after they retire; their stories get forgotten, brushed to the back of an outdated internet forum. ‘DRIVE: The Reginald Story’ gives a unique perspective on a career that’s been filled with ups and downs.
Reginald’s impact on eSports is signifcant. . He says in the video that he “created an industry,” and he isn’t wrong. Before Team Solomid, there were very few large organizations and names in eSports, especially in North America. In 2010 Europe dominated the eSports scene, especially League of Legends , with teams like Fnatic and Moscow 5. Reginald created a team that went on to get third place in the first season of the League of Legends World Championship and has dominated the NA scene since.
Jack Etienne, owner of Cloud 9, and Steve Arhancet, owner of Team Liquid, gush over 17-year old Reginald’s marketing skills and drive. Cloud 9 and Team Liquid are TSM’s direct competition, but both owners talk about how they helped this young kid establish himself as a titan of the industry. Arhancet said that Reginald would be “drilling him with questions like how do I start a business, how do I market this, how do I set up a website.”
Even with all of these accomplishments, Reginald’s career still has a few blemishes. In the community he’s known for having a fast temper and getting flustered over tiny things. On an episode of 'Summoning Insight' in 2013, Thooorin, one of the few eSports journalists at the time, made a joke calling Reginald a “monkey.” All of Thooorin’s cast members were banned from working with TSM, and Reginald created a YouTube vlog cataloging his experience.
TSM’s reality show on YouTube showed brief glimpses of Reginald going a bit overboard . In one video, he berates his teammate Xpecial for a mistake to the point where Xpecial breaks down in tears. In another , he blames a loss on another teammate, Wildturtle, who is sitting right beside him.
These were isolated incidents, according to his teammates, and do not reflect on Reginald’s character. They claim that he pays his players well and treats them well, even players that no longer play for TSM. Over the summer , Xpecial was without a team with nowhere to go, so Reginald let him stay at the TSM house rent-free until he made other arrangements.
Etienne says in the video: “you might think he’s a jerk, but he’s actually extremely good to the people that are good to him.” In other words, Reginald has had a long career and made mistakes along the way, which is totally reasonable.
After letting go of their previous coach, KC Wood, Reginald stepped in to coach the team. Right now, TSM is getting ready for the NA LCS Playoffs at the sixth seed, the lowest they have been since Reginald left at the start of Season four. TSM has always been in the semifinals, and Reginald does not want to break his streak now.
At just 17, Reginald started a major franchise and didn’t run it into the ground; how many people can say that?
