The poaching controversy between the two best esports organizations in India is moving to lawsuits and courts. Last night, TSM took to their social media and said they have decided to sue Godlike Esports, citing Integrity of Esports in India.
TSM is one of the largest esports organizations with rosters operating in various esports disciplines around the world. TSM became the most profitable organization according to the Forbes list of the most valuable esports companies in 2022, followed by 100 thieves. Godlike also collaborated with the international organization Nova Esports, but later they parted ways.
The recent controversy started after Shadow abruptly left TSM and joined Godlike Esports. According to TSM, Shadow was still under contract when he joined Godlike, and they claimed that Godl poached the BGMI player Shadow without their permission.
BGMI TSM Team Releases Lawsuit Statement Against Godlike
Image via Godlike Instagram Handle
Controversy has flared up as both organizations have now decided to take legal action, citing their concerns about the charges leveled against each other. Godlike have stated that they are ready to take legal action after a TSM official leaked Shadow’s private chats with the organization and slandered their organization. Hours after their statement, TSM announced that they were taking legal action over the matter.
Left – Shadow’s post
Right – Armin’s post (TSM)
By publicly naming individuals, the incident turned into chaos on social media. With so much going on, it’s important to get the right information before jumping to conclusions about a problem. Now that both sides have announced they are legit, it’s sad to say things are getting worse.
TSM FTX global officials reacted to Godlike setting fire to Arjun “Shadow”Mandhalkar while he was still under contract with TSM. Prior to signing, the team registered Shadow as part of the Godl Roster for the upcoming Nodwin LAN tournament. This shocked TSM India officials and made them contact Godlike as well as Krafton to resolve the issue. Neither side responded to TSM.
I’ve been inundated by messages since this tweet. I ofc didn’t mean to generalize all of India. The region has some incredible orgs and players and i’m really happy to see the Indian esports scene growing.
We’ll be taking action and hope this never happens again 🤍🇮🇳 https://t.co/xAutApKgrk
TSM Armin stated that there was no response from Godlike and stated that player poaching is a major issue in Indian esports. On the other hand, Shadow shared an Instagram post in which he claimed he was harassed and exploited, which TSM denied. Shadow allegedly wrote a “letter of termination”to TSM stating that they would part ways in mid-June, and he stated that this was mutually agreed upon.
On the other hand, TSM mentioned that Godlike never contacted them and thus the transfer is illegal. Shadow and Godlike reported that their signing was done after contacting a lawyer, and therefore it is valid. The authoritative GodLike Twitter account reported on the alleged online harassment and hostility they face, mentioning, “We don’t take threats lightly.”
We don’t take threats lightly. #WeAreGodLike #DilSeGodLike pic.twitter.com/FSPdxlYcOa
Following this announcement, TSM director Jeff Chau took to Twitter and announced his legal action against the organization in question. He states that he did everything to stop it, but in the end, it came to this.
Did everything to avoid this
Wish those who have the power and authority did the right thing for the player’s career and professionalism of competitive esports in India
Simple (free) loan agreement was too much to ask for and too expensive I guess…🤷♂️ https http://t.co/RLCRU16LXj
To India Gaming Community:
June 6: TSM & Shadow 🤝, ok to post looking for team, Shadow even says: “if any offers come I will let you guys know then?”
Shadow then connects w/ a certain org and pushes to be released for free…😞
Offered FREE loan agreement so Shadow can play 👇 pic.twitter.com/JHwuqGyQ67
However, Shadow will be playing under the Godlike Roster in the upcoming Masters Series 2022 while TSM have announced their new Wanted signing to their BGMI roster. The only good part is that there will be less toxicity among the organizations in public until a court decision is made.