The New TSM – Championship Or Bust?
After finishing the summer LCS playoffs in first place, regaining the title of North America’s best team, fans will still have high expectations going into the 2021 season. However, can the revamped roster live up to the demands of the TSM faithful?
The end of the old guard
Since being the LCS first team mid laner for summer 2020, fans were expecting long-reigning superstar Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, who has been an ever-present in the TSM lineup since November 2013, to once again be the driving force in leading the team to another LCS title. However, after a dismal 0-6 performance in the groups at the 2020 League of Legends (LoL) Worlds Championships, the worst showing for any number one seeded team from a major region, the entire LoL community was shocked to hear that Bjergsen was stepping down from the active roster to become the team’s head coach.
Many people saw this as a surprise given Bjergsen is still top of LCS calibre play, and thought he might give it at least one more shot to find international and domestic success, although he clearly didn’t feel the same way. The Danish star retires as arguably the best player to ever play in the LCS and will leave huge shoes to fill for his replacement.
Following the retirement of Bjergsen, long time partner in crime Yilliang “Doublelift” Peng followed suit by deciding to hang up the mouse and retire from competitive League of Legends. The eight-time LCS title winner, one time LCS split MVP, and five-time LCS all-pro first team retires with more team and individual accolades than many regular professional LoL players could ever dream of, and the thought of having to replace a player with the skill and experience that Doublelift brings to the table would’ve been a daunting task for the TSM management.
Click to enlargeThe six million dollar man
The huge addition to TSM this offseason was the acquisition of former Suning support player Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh. After reaching the world championship finals in 2020 as part of the LPL team, the market for him had never been higher, having shown he has what it takes to be the veteran presence on a Worlds contending team. SwordArt was rewarded for his performance with a reported six million dollar contract over the course of two years, in which is apparently the biggest contract in LCS history.
As part of the Flash Wolves roster which competed in the LMS, SwordArt achieved an MVP award and was named to the LMS All-Pro first team three times. For many in the community, this was seen as the biggest upgrade that TSM could’ve made, replacing Vincent “Biofrost” Wang, who many saw as the player who underperformed the most at the recent world championships.
The rest of the roster
Whist SwordArt would be undoubtedly seen as an upgrade over biofrost; there are many people in the scene who question the other roster moves that TSM have made. Whilst it was inevitably going to be hard to replace the veteran presence of Bjergsen in the mid lane, TSM managed to acquire former FlyQuest mid-laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage. Last season PowerOfEvil led his team to the world championship group stage, where they surprised many teams, outperforming TSM in groups, although still falling at the first hurdle. The general consensus surrounding the pick up of PowerOfEvil is that TSM still have a top three LCS mid laner, who will be able to compete against the best the league has to offer.
Click to enlargeHowever, a big question mark that people have regarding the roster is in the top lane. For the past two years, the top lane has been occupied by Sergen “Broken Blade” Celik, who will be playing for FC Schalke 04 in the LEC for the upcoming season. Replacing Broken Blade will be Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon, who played for Dignitas last year. However, unlike PowerOfEvil, the general community reaction to this move was that TSM had downgraded the position massively, with Huni now been seen as a past his prime player, compared to Broken Blade who many saw as an improving player.
Without a doubt, the most questionable move TSM have made was replacing veteran ADC Doublelift with former academy ADC Lawrence “Lost” Sze Yuy Hui. Replacing a fan-favourite player with an inexperienced rookie player can be a risky move for any team, nevermind the most winningest team in LCS history. Fans will have to be patient with the rookie player, and hopefully with the leadership of SwordArt helping him in the bot lane, Lost can develop into a player that can eventually fill the shoes of Doublelift.
Click to enlargeThe only remaining piece of the 2020 TSM roster is jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu. Last season was a breakout year for the young jungler, with many people accrediting his unique picks as one of the main reasons TSM were able to win the 2020 Summer playoffs. As well as this, a lot of people in the community saw Spica as the best performing player for TSM at worlds, an impressive showing for the least experienced player on the team.
Overall, it is impossible to predict how the roster will perform for the upcoming season, with the addition of four new players to the roster and a mix of experienced international players and rookie talents. Fans will have to wait and see will this team add to the legacy of TSM and win more LCS championships or will it be a bust?
Images via TSM | Riot Games