Team SoloMid 2021 Roster Spotlight
With TSM’s new roster fully unveiled for next year, some fans have been left scratching their heads as to whether the 2020 LCS Summer champions can repeat success with so many new pieces. TSM returned to the LoL Worlds competition after nearly three years away from the biggest international stage.
Meet the Lineup
In his prime, PoE was known as Bjergsen’s kryptonite for routinely putting him out of competition. Most notably at Worlds 2017 and IEM San Jose 2015. Since his introduction to the LCS two years ago, he has steadily increased his stock and work rate within the region, whereas other EU pros have faltered over time.
PowerOfEvil is an excellent mage player with a deep enough champion pool to avoid being banned out. Pairing him up with Spica in the jungle will be another blossoming duo where an aggressive Jungler can bank on his stable midlaner to bail him out of trouble when needed.
The best thing about PowerOfEvil as a member of TSM is the lack of resources he needs in order to get ahead. As Spica looks towards top to snowball Huni, or bot to takeover the map with SwordArt, PoE’s constant pressure in the mid lane will be an ever-dependable commodity they can work with.
TSM Huni is a name that received a lot of hate from fans of the organization who are jaded by the topsy turvy performances he’s turned in for North America. However, there’s no doubt Huni knows how to perform for elite organizations. His time on Fnatic and SKT are remembered fondly as he played a pivotal role on both teams success.
As he returns to prominence at a storied organization like TSM, there’s a feeling in the air that Huni might return some of that luster. Huni has been known to go on a run after a bad string of splits. Starting out the season on a strong note will be crucial to success, but having two winning solo lanes en route to victory will be even more essential to survival.
To supplement some of that carry damage, SwordArt and Lost have been incorporated to the roster to round out 2021’s main team. SwordArt will have a lot of responsibility on this roster as one of the oldest leaders of the team. At a hefty salary (rumored to be around 3 Million per year) the onus to succeed will be on him as he looks to take a green AD Carry with him to the promised land.
The Bjergsen Experiment
No matter what, the biggest storyline heading into 2021 is the emergence of Head Coach Bjergsen. For years, TSM have had issues with their coaching staff. Routinely switching out staff with weeks to go before playoffs and resorting to strategic coach Parth oftentimes to supplement their tactics.
With Bjergsen now in a fully administrative role, the leadership qualities he took with him on the rift will need to be transferred over to his behind the scenes role if TSM truly want to hit the next level. Luckily, as a former elite player himself, Bjergsen will have no trouble commanding respect from his troops. But if results start to slip, there may be a lot more issues to come undone at TSM that could throw this season into disaster territory.
All in all, this roster’s potential upside is greater than the TSM 2020 champions that recently won the league, but adding in ⅘ completely new players will take time to synergize. Don’t expect TSM to come out of the gate early with impressive results and dominant games, but rather a slow build that starts to take shape once all players get settled into their new environment.
