One of the greatest to grace the LCS is finally stepping down.
It's official: Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg has finally decided that it was time to hang up his mouse and keyboard. Known as one of the LCS' all-time greats, Bjergsen was one of the region's best-ever players that just couldn't quite make it to the top. Despite signing a stacked 100 Thieves roster during the off-season, the team couldn't make it work after failing to get past Golden Guardians in the LCS Spring Split playoffs.
And with 100 Thieves out of contention for the Mid-Season Invitational next month, Bjergsen has since decided to call time on his storied career and officially retired over the weekend. Having been around the scene for over a decade (his first retirement doesn't count!), Bjergsen will always be seen as one of the LCS' best and brightest.
Bjergsen started out his career with French gaming org, LDLC OL for a few months before moving on to the Danish-based team, Copenhagen Wolves from 2012 to 2013. From there, he later signed with Ninjas in Pyjamas in the middle of the 2013 season but it didn't prove fruitful.
While he was already part of the competitive League of Legends scene since the very beginning, he didn't truly start to stand out until his move to TSM at the end of 2013. It was during his time with TSM did Bjergsen genuinely start to make a name for himself, helping the team to secure six NA LCS titles. During his seven-year stint with TSM, Bjergsen also claimed three regular-season MVP titles and a finals MVP award.
TSM was seen as one of the LCS' top dogs, constantly placing top two in the region. However, the same can't be said for the team's international performances. Of the five Worlds appearances Bjergsen had with TSM, he only ever made it out of the group stage on one occasion, which was his debut at Worlds 2014 with a quarterfinal exit at the hands of Samsung White.
From 2015 to 2017, despite dominating the LCS, Bjergsen and TSM could never get past the group stage of the world championship. And sadly, it all went downhill from there with TSM missing out on MSI and Worlds back in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. 2020 was the last and final year that Bjergsen and TSM managed to make it to Worlds as well as win their last LCS title. And even then, they still could not get past the group stage curse.
Bjergsen took over as head coach for TSM after going into retirement in 2021. While TSM performed better than many could've anticipated, it still wasn't enough as the org could only mount a top-four finish in both the spring and summer splits. This wasn't enough for TSM or Bjergsen, who after a year, wanted to return to pro play. And with that, he joined Team Liquid, a squad that was on the rise in the LCS, making Worlds four years in a row.
But alas, Bjergsen's return could not bear fruit as Liquid soon succumbed to contending for the top four instead. However, that was mostly down to Liquid's season-long battle with Evil Geniuses, who knocked Liquid out in both the spring and summer split playoffs. And just after one year, Bjergsen left Liquid to sign with the star-studded 100 Thieves roster for the current 2023 season.
Of course, we all know how that turned out in the end. While many didn't consider his first retirement to actually count, this could be the last time we see Bjergsen on the main stage. A formidable mid-lane player that has managed to grow and adapt his game over the years, he will always be seen as one of the best North America has ever produced.
While he could never bring international glory to NA and the LCS, he has done exceptionally well in ensuring he stayed at the top while in his prime. A loyal servant to the TSM banner for seven long years as well as an additional year as the team's head coach, he has done immensely well in putting TSM's name at the top of the LCS for such a consistent period. 11 years is a long time in professional esports, no matter which title it may be, and Bjergsen has definitely earned the right to retire as one of the greatest to grace the game.
