Team Liquid and Team SoloMid are meeting on January 22 for their first battle of the year. The teams are currently tied in the 2021 LCS Lock In tournament, and a victory here could mean first place in the group.
Team Liquid and TSM have developed a rivalry in the LCS. TSM used to be top team in the region until Team Liquid rolled in and claimed four consecutive titles. Split after split, Team Liquid keeps getting better. When it comes to TSM’s roster, it’s still hit or miss for the organization.
Team Liquid started its LCS Lock In run on a positive note. Despite using a substitute jungler, the team looked strong and cohesive. It was almost as though adding two new players didn’t affect the team’s synergy. It feels like Team Liquid is up for a great competitive year.
TSM’s run has been the exact opposite. The team is going for questionable drafts and its performance has been very underwhelming. Both of TSM’s victories came because the opponent made costly mistakes, not because TSM did anything to earn the wins.
Going into this match, it’s clear who the favorite is. Unfortunately for TSM, Liquid is not a team that often makes mistakes. On the contrary, Liquid plays a clean style with little room for error. On Friday, TSM won’t just be handed a victory, so if the team wants this win, it will have to work for it. It all starts in the draft, as TSM needs to put together a composition that makes sense for its players.
Top lane – Barney “Alphari” Morris
Jungle – Lucas “Santorin” Larsen / Jonathan “Armao” Armao
Mid lane – Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen
Bot lane – Edward “Tactical” Ra
Support – Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in
Top lane – Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon
Jungle – Mingyi “Spica” Lu
Mid lane – Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage
Bot lane – Lawrence “Lost” Hui
Support – Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh
Team Liquid is highly favored to take the win with 1.49 over TSM’s 2.44. For the most part, TSM just waits for the opponent to throw the game, but that won’t happen against Team Liquid. TSM needs to stay proactive in the early game to create advantages if the team wants to stay competitive.
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