After months of speculation regarding the Team SoloMid roster, the project will now be abandoned before even entering the public eye, according to signed player b1am. While originally b1am and ConnorJ served as the foundation of the roster, with another four members to be selected by TSM management, the organization has decided to discontinue their Overwatch ventures for now.
tsm overwatch update
Read: http://tl.gd/n_1sprlfe
— b1am (@b1amOW) May 5, 2017
In b1am's twitlonger, most of the news is understandable, but a particular line stands out from the rest.
After learning more information about the OWL ($$$), TSM decided that it'd be better for the organization to stay out of the competitive scene, at least for now.
Given Team SoloMid's stature as one of the most successful American esports organizations, the allegation that money is the primary reason keeping the organization out of the Overwatch League is somewhat worrying. Of course, TSM does not have any sports investment at the current time, so teams like Cloud9, NRG, Immortals, and Fnatic might be in more reasonable positions given their already-received investments.
The uncertainty caused by Overwatch League's looming presence brings more and more casualties with each coming day, but many should find solace in that organizations are certainly in talks with Blizzard at this point in time. Immortals' owner Noah Whinston reinforced this notion in a recent AMA:
[. . .] there's plenty of stuff going on that I can't quite share yet, but rest assured that when it's ready for the public view, it'll be out there.
As of now, TSM remains without a roster, and will likely discontinue Overwatch activity altogether.