Esports titan TSM has plummeted to last place in the 2022 LCS Spring Split, but just what happened to the organization to see them fall from grace and can TSM recover?
TSM is the most successful League of Legends team in the history of the LCS, taking home seven split championships over the course of the LCS’ existence. The team’s 2022 spring split has been one of its worst performances on record, bottoming out at 10th place. How can TSM recover from this sudden drop?
Many members of TSM’s legacy staff, both on-air talent and behind-the-scenes organizers, left the organization ahead of the 2022 LCS Spring Split. Two of the most notable names to depart were Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, and Parth “Parthenaan” Naidu, the team’s franchise mid laner and its longtime coach, respecitvely. This led to TSM rebuilding around jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu and top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon.
The team filled new openings with two scouted imports that weren’t yet well-known names, mid laner Zhu “Keaiduo” Xiong and support Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jei, the latter being a Chinese support player who had played for FunPlusPhoenix’s sister team and only briefly showed up on the LPL stage. The roster was rounded out by marskman Edward “Tactical” Ra. On paper, and the team has incredibly potential. Tactical made his name replacing Peng “Doublelift” Yilang on Team Liquid, going from sudden subsitute to near the top of his role in the LCS.
Shenyi was suddenly removed from the team after just two weeks before being substituted back in after a week of absence, while Keaiduo stepped down temporarily. Despite making many roster changes, the team can’t seem to find any more wins. The players find themselves at 2-9, below teams including Counter Logic Gaming and Golden Guardians that many fans have gotten used to seeing in the bottom half.
While the squad still has great potential, it seems difficult for the roster to rally against the strength of competition. Despite its high ceiling, the team’s coordination has been severely lacking and shows no sign of a cohesive identity. It seems that TSM’s developmental split may end up requiring yet another rebuild when the 2022 LCS Summer Split arrives.
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