TSM is still without wins at Worlds 2020 and it may stay that way

LGD Gaming sent Team SoloMid to the bottom of group C after beating them at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship. 

TSM needed a win against LGD after losing its first two games at Worlds. Going down 0-3 in groups is almost impossible to come back from, so TSM had to showcase their absolute best play. Unfortunately for TSM, LGD was not an easy opponent after they beat Fnatic pretty convincingly and almost took down Gen.G in an intense thriller.

Right from the get-go, TSM fell behind in the important bot lane. LGD support Ling “Mark” Xu got a good hook onto TSM’s Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng and it was enough to secure the first blood. The kills accelerated LGD’s early game and forced TSM to play from behind.   

As seen before at Worlds, TSM has a hard time coming back in the game after falling behind. This game was no different from that, as LGD kept snowballing their lead through aggressive plays.

The win creates a three-way tie in group C, where Gen.G, Fnatic, and LGD are all sitting at a 2-1 record. This makes it close to impossible for TSM to advance.   

The third loss for TSM raises the question if the LCS first seed is able to get a single win during the group stage. Even though TSM qualified as the best LCS team, they have been put into a group that might be too hard for them to handle. 

Let’s take a look at TSM’s last three games and what their chances are. 

Fnatic seems to be a better version of TSM at Worlds 2020

TSM will be up against Fnatic next and has to win to stay alive at Worlds. The first meet between the two teams went in Fnatic’s favor but was also the game where TSM got the closest to winning thus far. 

Up until now, Fnatic has seemed like a better version of TSM by having Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek play through both top and bot lane. The individuals on Fnatic have also been performing at a higher level, while their drafts have been on point. 

TSM will have to match Fnatic in the laning phase and most likely get ahead early on. If they don’t, Fnatic will be looking to run over them in team fights where they seem strongest. 

TSM can exploit Gen.G with an aggressive early game 

TSM is not used to the hyper-aggressive playstyle, but they might be forced into it against Gen.G. 

Fnatic managed to exploit Gen.G through the early game and even punish them for their own early game picks. Fnatic put a focus on the Gen.G bot lane, which TSM will also need to stand a chance. Getting Doublelift ahead might just be enough to outperform Gen.G before they hit their comfort zone in the late game. 

It will be a hard task for TSM to take down the Koreans, especially after losing to them convincingly earlier on at the tournament, but Gen.G is at its most vulnerable state thus far at Worlds. 

LGD individually outclass TSM at Worlds 2020

LGD showed today that their individual skill is simply higher than TSM. Even though TSM managed to make some plays and keep the gold even, LGD ran over them in fights with much more confidence and teamwork. 

TSM tried to match LGD by putting Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg on LeBlanc in the mid lane, but he didn’t get a chance to carry. Playing through the mid lane is not a bad idea against LGD though, so TSM should be looking to do the same in the second game. 

If Bjergsen manages to get a solid lead in the mid lane on a comfort pick, TSM might have a chance to win out in the fights but it will be difficult. 

TSM and the rest of group C will return to Summoner’s Rift on October 10.