Major Roster Changes For TSM

The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) franchise, TSM, are making huge changes ahead of the 2022 season.

With Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg confirmed to leave the organization and two other players rumored to be at the exit doors, TSM won’t look the same next year.

Bjergsen Leaves TSM

In what is one of the biggest announcements of the 2021 LoL offseasons, TSM’s iconic player, former player, and coach, Bjergsen, is leaving the team. The Dane’s departure was announced on Thursday, October 28, when TSM unveiled that Bjergsen will not be with the North American LoL esports organization next season.

This marks the end of Bjergsen’s seven-year stay with TSM, with who he has spent the last eight seasons. Bjergsen joined TSM in 2013 as a young and talented player and was quickly appointed a role in the starting lineup.

The Dane replaced TSM’s co-owner and former player Andy “Reginald” Dinh as TSM’s starting mid laner. Throughout the years, Bjergsen helped TSM win six LCS titles and claimed four MVPs, second to only his former teammate, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng.

Despite TSM’s domestic success, the team hasn’t achieved much internationally, as they consistently underdelivered in LoL World Championship.

Most notably, TSM ended the 2020 LoL Worlds with an abysmal 0-5 record. Following TSM’s poor performance in the 2020 LoL Worlds, Bjergsen announced his retirement from pro play and transitioned to coaching.

To keep Bjergsen in the organization, TSM offered the Dane a role as their LoL esports division head coach. Despite his lack of experience as a coach, Bjergsen enjoyed a solid start to his campaign as a head coach.

He helped TSM to a runner-up finish of LCS 2021 Spring and a third-place finish at the LCS 2021 Mid-Season Showdown. TSM looked solid during the summer season and ended the season first; however, they underdelivered when it mattered.

TSM were unable to show up during the LCS 2021 Championship and finished fourth, behind Cloud9, 100 Thieves, and Team Liquid. Having failed to claim a top-three finish, TSM were denied a spot at the 2021 LoL Worlds.

SwordArt Reportedly Out

Besides parting ways with Bjergsen, TSM are reportedly also looking to cut ties with the Taiwanese LoL esports support player, Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh. SwordArt joined TSM ahead of the 2021 season, when TSM acquired him from the 2022 LoL Worlds finalists, Suning.

TSM signed SwordArt on a record-breaking $6 million deal, which earned the Taiwanese player $3 million per year. However, despite spending big bucks on the player, SwordArt failed to deliver.

Although SwordArt played a key role in TSM’s success early into the season, he was unable to emulate his performances from 2020. As a result, the fans and the community quickly billed him as one of the worst signings TSM have ever made, and according to the recent reports of SwordArt’s departure, the organization seems to agree.

As it stands now, nothing is confirmed just yet, but according to TSM’s announcement of Bjergsen leaving the organization, the team is looking to make huge roster changes ahead of the 2022 season.

Spica’s Future Uncertain

Adding to the list of players who are rumored to leave TSM is also their star jungler and 2021 LCS MVP, Mingyi “Spica” Lu. The recently released rumors suggest Spica is looking for a new home for the 2022 season.

However, as it’s the case with SwordArt, Spica’s departure is yet to be confirmed. And that’s likely going to remain the case for a while longer.

The LoL esports 2021 offseason doesn’t start until Monday, November 15; meaning teams aren’t able to sign players for at least two more weeks.

It’s worth noting, however, that Spica’s departure is still questionable. While Bjergsen has confirmed, he is leaving TSM, and SwordArt is likely getting removed due to his high salary, Spica could remain with TSM.

Losing a player like Spica would put TSM’s roster on its head, as they would need to rebuild from the ground up. As a result, they would need to look for new star players to lead them to success in 2022.