Reginald (Andy Dinh) as Mid Laner and Owner

Lore & Background

Andy 'Reginald' Dinh founded Team SoloMid in early 2011, initially as a website and streaming hub for his own solo queue replays. His aggressive, playmaking style as a mid laner—champions like LeBlanc and Karthus—defined TSM's early identity. He led the team to multiple North American championships and was the driving force behind the organization's rise during the early seasons of League of Legends esports. After stepping down as a player in 2014, Reginald remained the public face and owner of TSM. He oversaw the club's expansion into multiple esports titles and its transformation into one of the most valuable esports organizations in the world. His legacy is intertwined with TSM's brand: fierce, ambitious, and unapologetically competitive. Behind the scenes, his hands-on management—from negotiating contracts to reviewing scrim footage—cemented his reputation as a micromanager who refused to settle for anything less than dominance.

In Their Own Story

The monitor glowed blue in the dim bedroom. Andy leaned forward, fingers hovering over QWER. The stream chat scrolled in a blur—'TSM TSM TSM'—as he dove onto the enemy carry, LeBlanc's chain snapping true. This wasn't just a solo queue game; it was the seed of a dynasty. He didn't know it yet, but the name on the screen—Reginald—would become synonymous with North American esports. For now, he just wanted to win.

Reader's Guide

**The Reginald Era (2011–2014)**

This is the founding chapter of TSM's history. Reginald was not just a player; he was the architect. As mid laner, he brought an aggressive, unpredictable style that forced opponents to respect TSM's solo lanes. His leadership in-game—shot-calling and drafting—set the standard for how the team approached competition. As owner, Reginald's decisions shaped TSM's culture: a relentless pursuit of victory, a willingness to invest in infrastructure, and a deep connection to the fanbase built through streaming. This era defined TSM's identity as a North American powerhouse, winning multiple LCS titles and establishing the club's legacy. Without Reginald's vision and drive, TSM as we know it would not exist.

Did You Know?

• Reginald originally created TSM as a website to host his own stream and solo queue replays.
• He was known for his signature LeBlanc play, often solo-killing opponents in the early game.
• Reginald stepped down as a player after the 2014 Spring Split to focus on running the organization.
• He is the brother of Dan Dinh, who also played for TSM briefly.

Origins in the Closed Beta

Playing alongside his brother Dan, he rapidly rose to prominence within the game's nascent player base. In September 2009, the two brothers assembled one of the earliest organized competitive rosters, team All or Nothing, still during the beta period. Around the same time, Andy launched the SoloMid website, which served both as a content hub for League of Legends—one of the first dedicated sites for the title—and as a promotional platform for his team. However, disagreements between the brothers led to All or Nothing's dissolution in early 2011. Rather than walk away from the scene, Andy channeled that energy into building something new: he founded Team SoloMid, stepping into the role of both mid laner and team captain, and carried the SoloMid brand forward into a full-fledged esports organization.

Tournament Runs and Roster Evolution

TSM's early competitive output was impressive. At the inaugural Season 1 World Championship in 2011, the squad claimed third place and a ten-thousand-dollar purse. They also posted strong results at independent events, including a runner-up finish at Intel Extreme Masters Season VI and a victory at Major League Gaming's Providence tournament. The Season 2 cycle, however, brought turbulence. Defeats to Russian outfit Moscow 5 at IEM Hanover and IEM Kyiv triggered a roster shakeup: founding member Christian "The Rain Man" Kahmann departed over cited differences in interests, and Marcus "Dyrus" Hill—already residing in the TSM house—slid into the open slot. With the new lineup, Dinh and his teammates captured multiple North American titles through the spring and summer splits. A first-place showing at the regional qualifiers earned TSM a berth at the Season 2 World Championships in Los Angeles, where they fell two-to-zero to Azubu Frost and finished in the fifth-through-eighth bracket, collecting seventy-five thousand dollars. Two months later, a ninth-through-twelfth placement at IGN Pro League Season 5 added a modest fifteen hundred dollars to the tally.

From Player to Owner

Reginald's identity in esports extends far beyond his time at the keyboard. As the founder, owner, and CEO of Team SoloMid, he transformed a closed-beta website and a brotherly duo into one of the most recognizable organizations in the League Championship Series. His dual role as the team's original mid laner and its captain gave TSM a distinctive founder-led culture from day one. After stepping away from active competition at the close of 2013, his primary identity shifted to that of a business leader and organizational steward. The one notable exception came during Week 7 of the 2014 NA LCS Spring Split, when he briefly stepped back into the mid lane to cover for Bjergsen, who had returned to Denmark to renew his U.S. visa. That short cameo underscored how his legacy remained intertwined with the roster he had built, even as his day-to-day work moved into the boardroom. As an American entrepreneur, his story reflects the broader arc of early League players who evolved into the executives shaping the industry's infrastructure.

Accountability and the 2021 Investigations

Reginald's tenure as TSM's leader was not without serious controversy. Multiple current and former employees and players brought forward allegations of workplace bullying, including verbal abuse, directed at Dinh. While the formal investigations by both Riot Games and TSM were launched in late 2021, the underlying accusations had been surfacing since as early as 2011. The dual investigation process ultimately concluded that Dinh was guilty of disparaging and bullying behavior. The consequences were significant: TSM was assessed a seventy-five-thousand-dollar fine, and Dinh was ordered to complete sensitivity training and executive development coursework. This episode stands as one of the more prominent accountability cases in North American esports, highlighting how organizational leaders in the industry face scrutiny not only for on-field performance but also for the culture they cultivate behind the scenes. The fact that both the league operator and the organization itself conducted parallel probes underscores the gravity with which the industry treated the allegations.