TSM is one of the best known franchises in the North American League of Legends stage. They’ve been known for their stacked rosters, loaded highlight reels, and their talented players. However, one thing separates them from the rest of the teams.
Team SoloMid currently has a perfect record when it comes to making the World Championships. They haven’t missed a single World Championship since the start of the franchise and it’s been nearly ten years now.
This year could be their downfall. They struggled to have a strong Regular Season and in the playoffs, they fell to Cloud9 in the semifinals in a close five-setter. Now, their only shot at making it to Worlds yet again is by winning the Regionals bracket and that’s something that is near impossible as a low seed.
The question is being begged to be asked. Can TSM make it to the World Championship this year? Can they continue the perfect record or will they finally fall as they’ve been expected to so many times before?
Team SoloMid has many things wrong with them right now and it can’t be explained in one simple sentence. They haven’t been playing to the degree which they have normally been known to play at and this has made them a shaky opponent to play.
Currently, they have several pieces that they can fix and if they can get them fixed, then they can go back to playing the way they used to. One of the biggest pieces is the fact that they no longer have the carry potential they once had.
Bjergsen used to be the main carry player on Team SoloMid, taking them to new heights. He was what truly created Team SoloMid into the biggest powerhouse of the 2014-2016 seasons. However, to this date, they still have yet to find a new carry player because Bjergsen has put his taken his foot off the gas and this has proven to be devastating for them.
Last year, in the 2016-2017 season, they had Doublelift who proved to be an extremely versatile component to the team but after his departure, they found it hard to truly synergize and look for someone to depend on.
Sure, they might’ve brought in the fiery duo of Zven and Mithy who helped bring G2 Esports to the World Championships in 2016 and 2017 as well as a Mid-Season Invitational final appearance in between those matches.
But they haven’t been playing at the level that they were in the EU LCS. Maybe that’s because they don’t have the same environment as they did with G2 Esports or they’ve just been underperforming but either way, it hasn’t been able to suffice for the hole that Doublelift left when he transferred to Team Liquid and that leads us to our next point.
Doublelift may have been on Team SoloMid for only a short period of time but during his time on TSM, he quickly became the heart and soul of the team, carrying them from the depths of a shaky Spring Split finish to helping them completely dominate the Summer Split.
His playstyle perfectly suited every single player on TSM at the time and in team fights, you could depend on him to hold the team together. He was playing exceptionally well versus Cloud9 in the NA LCS playoffs where he clutched a team fight that, if lost, would’ve lost TSM the match.
Doublelift literally put the entire team on his back and carried them to the World Championship and the rest of TSM became accustomed to it. But when Doublelift left, Team SoloMid no longer had anyone to rely on.
They were already too complacent and this caused them to have the wrong mindset and playstyles going into the match. We saw that in the opening matches of the Spring and Summer Split of the 2018 season and it’s still happening to this day.
In the 2016 and 2017 season, TSM had one of the most stacked rosters to every exist. They had Hauntzer, a near MVP candidate during his rookie years in the NA LCS; Svenskeren, a significant top three jungler in the EU LCS; Bjergsen, an iconic mid laner who had already made a name for himself; Doublelift, the AD Carry who needs no introduction and Biofrost, one of the best players at the time.
Their team seemed unstoppable and they were. No one could match the power and precision that they held. At their best, TSM only lost one Regular Season game throughout the entire season and in the playoffs, they completely dominated the scene.
However, this was at the time whenever the NA LCS was composed of both veteran and rookie teams. There were teams that had players coming from straight out of the solo queue ladder and then there were teams who had played for almost five years. That being said, the competition was little to none and the only real competition came from teams that had the experience and players to hold their ground. But now, the competition has changed entirely and this hasn’t fared well for TSM.
No longer are their relegations, meaning that the lesser teams will get eliminated. Now, there are ten extremely strong teams and that’s not the end of it. Some of these newer teams are being backed by major corporations such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and OpTic gaming.
That means that these rookie teams not only have the funds to make moves that would aide them in getting better but they also have the means of hiring better players, coaches, and staff to help them in their journey.
This puts every single team at the same level as TSM right now and we’ve seen some veteran teams struggle to stay up wit the pace right now. For example, Counter-Logic Gaming had one of the worst records in the 2018 Summer Split and this is because they can’t keep up with the current speed of the competitive scene.
Now, take into account the fact that TSM doesn’t have the carry players that they used to have and Team SoloMid is in one of the biggest pickles they’ve ever been in. You have teams like 100 Thieves who has five world-star players. You also have Cloud9 who’s been playing at a competitive pace since the start of the Split. Then there is Echo Fox who has proven to be a strong contender every single year thanks to names like Huni and Dardoch.
One of the biggest and strongest teams on the Split right now, though, is Team Liquid and they proven more than once that they are the biggest super-team in the Western world right now. Not only do they have Impact, the top laner for South Korea Telecom during their Season 3 World Championship run, they also have Xmithie, Pobelter, and former TSM member, Doublelift, three players who have made the World Championships.
All of these teams have been formidable foes and Team SoloMid has struggled against them countless times. No longer is TSM the only super-team on the Rift and right now, they aren’t taking this well and the results are showing.
Team SoloMid has a lot of things they can work on and like their problems, it can’t be simply stated in one sentence. That being said, TSM has some stuff which needs to be checked out. For example, TSM doesn’t have the carry potential they once had so to make sure they can have any shot at making the World Championships this year, Team SoloMid is going to have to find someone they can depend on.
Before Doublelift came onto the scene for TSM, it was Bjergsen pulling all the weight but after Doublelift took over, Bjergsen became complacent and he began to play lazier. This meant that other mid laners who came in, such as Ryu and Jensen, quickly began to match him in skill and game knowledge.
Now, they’re going to need Bjergsen more than ever. Mid lane has become a fundamental carry role in the current meta and if Bjergsen wants any shot whatsoever at becoming any significant threat again, he’s going to have to show the Bjergsen that showed up to Team SoloMid ready to fight.
He’s going to have to utilize pocket picks such as Syndra and Leblanc to let the mid laners know that he isn’t messing around. When Bjergsen is playing to his highest caliber, he’s playing a playstyle that almost no one can deal with. At his highest level, Bjergsen can punish anyone for one misstep while staying safe himself. If he can keep himself in the game, then names such as 100 Thieves and Echo Fox are going to have an extremely hard time taking them down in the Regionals tournament.
However, it doesn’t have to be just Bjergsen carrying the load. Former G2 Esports’ player, Zven, has proven more than once that he can be a significant threat on the battlefield. In the EU LCS, the only AD Carry that could beat him was Rekkles and even at times, Rekkles couldn’t match Zven’s play.
Now, Zven has been playing shaky League of Legends and it hasn’t faired well for TSM. If Zven can find his groove back, then Zven can turn Team SoloMid into the powerhouse that G2 Esports was when he and Mithy ruled it.
Like Bjergsen, he has several pocket picks like Kai’sa and Tristana which he has proven to be extremely big threats on. Now, if he can utilize these champions and play them like he did on G2 Esports, TSM will be in good hands.
Currently, Team SoloMid has been playing way too conservative for any success on their part. If they want any chance at making a strong appearance in the Regional tournament, they’re going to have to change things up.
Right now, they play a game that revolves around the jungler looking to gank the big lanes like mid lane and bot lane but leaving top lane to itself. It’s the generic solo queue strategy but they don’t focus down on skirmishes and invades which was what made TSM prosper during the 2016-2017 season.
No longer are they looking to pile up for a fight which they know they can win. They’re playing back and trying to help their players snowball and that hasn’t been working as effectively as one would think. If they can change their play to more aggressive rotations and objectives, then TSM is going to find themselves winning the matches they thought they couldn’t win.
They’re going to be taking down the teams they thought they couldn’t take down. The reason TSM’s original strategy was so strong was because no one expected it. No one expected a full on five versus five ten minutes into the game at mid lane but it happened and it forced the enemy team to keep up and left them out of breath.
With Regionals coming up and all the teams on their feet, most teams are going to be looking to establishing strong steady playstyles that can keep them in the game but nothing that will require too much risk.
If TSM resorts to a playstyle that is risky but rewarding, most teams won’t know what to do and will underperform under the pressure. After all, Team SoloMid has the experience needed to make sure that they can make it to the World Championship, they just need to apply it.
Will TSM make Worlds? That’s the question right now and my answer is yes. They’ve proven time and time again that they can make it to the World Championships and even though this year there have been countless changes, TSM has found ways to adapt.
Furthermore, they’ve already proven more than once that they can clutch out the important matches. Before Team Liquid and TSM played, Doublelift slashed through Team SoloMid, calling them trash and bad players. If TSM lost, it would just prove Doublelift’s point but if they won, it would shut him up. Team SoloMid then played one of the cleanest matches they had ever played that season and showed that they were still a team in the NA LCS and they still had a shot at winning it all.
Even though they lost in the playoffs, they didn’t lose by much. It was a best of five match that went to five close games and it was against long time foe Cloud9 who has been known to beat them in their matchups.
Regionals is a time of high pressure and high stakes and only the best teams will make it out. There have been several instances where TSM have an extremely shaky season but they still come through and win the tournament.
That’s not even considering the fact that they have stars such as Hauntzer, Bjergsen, and Zven who have proven their worth on the competitive level time and time again. Don’t underestimate TSM because if you do, you might just be on the losing side.
Team SoloMid has been a franchise of the NA LCS for a very long time, so long that they’ve been there since the very start. However, it’s their legacy that has made them one of the biggest pieces of League of Legends and that legacy is making Worlds.
They’ve been one of the only major teams to make the World Championships since the very start of their franchise and breaking that legacy could mean horror on the TSM world and even the NA LCS world itself.
No one wants that but it’s definitely a possibility out there. They haven’t been playing to the level that they should in order to win matches and it’s been reflecting. They didn’t make the finals of the playoffs like they usually do and they didn’t even finish top three in the Regular Season standings.
So, TSM has a lot to work on before they enter the regional tournament. They need to bring back the carry potential they once had and they also need to make sure that they’re playing the playstyle that helped them win in the first place.
If they can do this, then without a doubt they can take down names such as 100 Thieves and Echo Fox who are standing in their way. These two teams have been known to beat TSM in the past but come time for the regional tournament, if TSM can switch up everything they’ve been doing wrong, it might be 100 Thieves and Echo Fox going home, not TSM.
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