TSM's First LCS Championship (Spring 2013)

Lore & Background

Spring 2013 wasn't just a season; it was a trial by fire. TSM entered as a team held together by duct tape and raw talent—Reginald's iron will, TheOddOne's unshakable calm, and a rookie ADC named WildTurtle who had joined the team about a month before the playoffs, replacing the beloved Chaox. The roster was a Frankenstein of veterans and unknowns, and the community doubted whether they could hang with the methodical control of Good Game University. The grand finals became a war of attrition: GGU choked TSM's early aggression with calculated rotations, forcing a 2-1 deficit. But then WildTurtle ignited, his Caitlyn and Ezreal turning every teamfight into a highlight reel. Xpecial's Thresh hooks found impossible angles, and Reginald's Orianna Shockwaves silenced the doubters. When the Nexus fell in Game 5, it wasn't just a win—it was a declaration that TSM would never be the underdog again. The victory didn't just earn a trophy; it forged a culture of 'never say die' that would define the organization for a decade.

In Their Own Story

The roar of the crowd hit like a wave, but for a split second, the stage went silent. TheOddOne pounded his desk so hard the monitor wobbled, then slumped back, eyes fixed on the 'Victory' screen. Dyrus pulled off his headset and just stared—no smile, no fist pump, just the quiet realization that the kid who used to stream from his bedroom had just won the LCS. WildTurtle, barely old enough to buy a beer, was already being bear-hugged by Xpecial. Reginald, the man who had built this team from forum posts and stubborn dreams, stood and let out a guttural yell that cut through the noise. For a moment, the five of them were just five kids who had done the impossible. Then the confetti fell, and TSM was no longer a team—it was a legend.

Reader's Guide

**The Era: Spring 2013**

This was the LCS's awkward teenage phase—low production budgets, shaky streams, and a meta that revolved around tanky top laners and hyper-carries. TSM bulldozed through it with a style that was part street brawler, part chess match. Their secret? Reginald's relentless shotcalling forced opponents to either match their aggression or crumble. **What Defined It** The roster was a high-wire act: TheOddOne's unorthodox jungle pathing (he practically invented the 'spirit of the elder lizard' meta), WildTurtle's reckless-but-lethal positioning, and Xpecial's ability to turn a 2v2 lane into a massacre. The finals against GGU were a masterclass in adaptation—TSM lost the early game twice, then flipped a switch, drafting hyper-aggressive comps that suffocated GGU's slow siege. Game 5 ended in 28 minutes, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it demolition. **Why It Matters** This wasn't just a championship; it was the blueprint. Every TSM roster that followed—from Bjergsen's mechanical godhood to Doublelift's veteran leadership—was chasing the ghost of Spring 2013. For the fans, it was the moment the 'TSM' chant stopped being a meme and became a war cry. The victory didn't just win a title; it created a family that would survive roster apocalypses, heartbreak, and seven years of expectation. This is where the dynasty began.

Did You Know?

• WildTurtle joined TSM on March 14, 2013, about a month before the Spring 2013 playoffs began on April 12, replacing Chaox, and immediately became a key factor in their championship run.

From a College Blog to the LCS Stage

Long before TSM ever lifted an LCS trophy, the organization existed as nothing more than a college-era website. In September 2009, brothers Andy "Reginald" Dinh and Dan Dinh launched SoloMid.net, a blog dedicated to writing strategy guides for the then-emerging game League of Legends. The two had been active members of a player clan called All or Nothing during the game's beta testing phase, and that community eventually rebranded itself as SoloMid. A small group of dedicated players who represented the SoloMid.net community formed the nucleus of what would become a professional roster: SaintVicious, Chaox, TheOddOne, Locodoco, and Reginald himself. Team SoloMid was officially established in January 2011, just as Riot Games was preparing to launch the first season of the League Championship Series. By the time that inaugural professional split arrived, the original five had already begun to shift, setting the stage for a roster that would carry the organization through its early competitive years and ultimately to a championship in the Spring of 2013.

The Roster and the Manager

Between the team's official founding in January 2011 and the launch of the first LCS season later that year, TSM's lineup underwent a significant reshuffle. Two of the original five players—SaintVicious and Locodoco—departed from the roster. In their place, TheRainMan and Xpecial stepped in to complete what would become TSM's first professional League of Legends squad. Alongside the remaining original members Chaox, TheOddOne, and Reginald, this five-man lineup entered the inaugural competitive season. Off the field, Jack Etienne took on the role of general manager, providing the organizational structure that a group of former blog-community players needed to compete at a professional level. This roster, forged from the remnants of the All or Nothing clan and the SoloMid.net community, would go on to represent the United States-based organization through its early LCS campaigns. By the Spring of 2013, when TSM captured its first LCS title, the foundation laid by this original group of players and their manager had proven durable enough to sustain a championship run.

Reginald's 2013 Pivot

The Spring 2013 LCS championship arrived at a pivotal moment for the organization's co-founder. Andy "Reginald" Dinh, who had been one of the original five players representing the SoloMid.net community back when the team was first assembled, made the decision in 2013 to step away from the player roster entirely. His new role was to dedicate himself fully to running the TSM business, shifting his focus from in-game competition to the broader management and growth of the United States-based esports organization. This was not a sudden departure; it represented the natural evolution of a man who had co-founded the company alongside his brother Dan in September 2009, starting with a blog and a clan. By the time TSM's League of Legends team claimed its first LCS title that Spring, Reginald was already transitioning into the executive seat he would hold for years to come. The 2013 season thus marked a dual achievement: a competitive triumph for the roster and a structural milestone for the organization, as its founding player became its full-time business leader.

The Seeds of a Seven-Time Champion

Winning the Spring 2013 LCS title was not merely a single-season achievement; it was the opening chapter of what would become one of the most decorated runs in North American League of Legends history. The organization's League of Legends roster would ultimately collect seven of the sixteen total LCS splits, a record that cemented TSM's place as a perennial powerhouse in the United States-based competitive scene. The momentum from that first championship also fueled broader ambitions beyond a single title. In 2014, the organization broadened its competitive footprint into Hearthstone, bringing in MaSSan, Trump, and Kripparrian. The following year brought even greater diversification: TSM brought in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster previously belonging to Team Dignitas, alongside Leffen as its first Super Smash Bros. competitor. That 2015 season saw TSM's League of Legends roster take home the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship title for the first time, while their CS:GO division collected multiple international tournament victories. Though TSM ultimately dropped its CS:GO team by the end of that year, the Spring 2013 title had proven that the organization could compete at the highest level and build a multi-title identity around that success.