Was TSM trying to steal an RMR slot by poaching players?

TSM is accused of planning to “steal” an RMR slot by poaching players. These accusations were made by the CEO of ITB Esports and once again put TSM’s practices in the spotlight.

In the world of esports, TSM’s entry into Counter-Strike after a six-year hiatus has been causing quite a stir. The organization announced its European team on August 26 this year and participated in a series of tournaments paving the way for the year 2024. Despite initial difficulties within the team, including tensions between players and now-retired head coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam, the team now looks much more settled. XTQZZZ decided to return to Team Vitality in October.

Meanwhile, another controversy heats up: an organization owner accuses TSM of trying to poach players from his team in order to secure a coveted RMR spot. This accusation shines a light behind the scenes, where efforts to acquire talent and tournament participation sometimes end in conflict.

TSM accused of trying to poach CS2 players

On December 1, Sam Macedonio, the founder and CEO of ITB Esports, made allegations on social media that the esports team TSM had attempted to snatch two of his Counter-Strike 2 players. Specifically, it was about the two professional players Karol “rallen” Rodowicz and Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel.

Macedonio wrote: “FYI TSM tried (and failed) to poach both Karol “rallen” Rodowicz and Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel to steal our RMR spot. What’s TSM’s solution after a string of mediocre results from their overpaid staff and players? Take a few steps back, focus on sustainability, rebuild the fan base and infrastructure, and put together a team that wins tournaments worthy of their pedigree? No.” He has also claimed that TSM’s goal was to claim RMR points from the ITB team, which are relevant for qualifying for major tournaments. However, ITB announced that both players have renewed their contracts with the organization.

TSM recently brought Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier from ITB to the team and would have also taken over ITB’s RMR points by successfully poaching rallen and CRUC1AL. The Regional Major Rankings (RMR) are a system used by Valve to track team performance over a season and distribute invitations to qualifying tournaments for Majors.

A statement from TSM on these allegations is still pending at the time of publication of this article. TSM has repeatedly been in the headlines due to other scandals and has often managed to cast itself in a rather negative light.