TSM is going through a rough patch at the moment.
Team SoloMid, also known as TSM, has always been one of the biggest esports organisations in North America. Its Dota 2 roster has been relatively successful given its short lifespan; the Apex Legends squad are arguably the team to beat at the moment; even its Rainbow Six Siege team were recently crowned world champions. Sadly, the same can't be said for its League of Legends division. In this season's LCS Spring Split, TSM has only won two of its 11 matches, which sees them sitting at the bottom of the standings with only three weeks' worth of games left.
Suffice to say, the team has not been at its been since 2020. While they did finish in third and fourth respectively in both splits last year, they missed out on attending both MSI and Worlds, which is a big blow for a team of their stature. Even after making significant changes to their roster and retaining only Seung "Huni" Hoon Heo and Mingyi "Spica" Lu, TSM made even more changes just a few days ago, moving their recently acquired mid-laner, Xiong "Keaiduo" Zhu to TSM Academy along with Wang "Yursan" Sheng-Yu. Taking their places in the LCS roster will be Hyeun "Takeover" Min Ji in the mid-lane while Zi-Jie "Shenyi" Wei will be on the support role.
A change of personnel was needed as TSM were out of their depth, slumping to two four-game losing streaks. And even after swapping out two players, the team went on to add one more to that losing streak, extending it to five before finally ending it with a win over Golden Guardians.
How did they get here?
It has been a turbulent season for TSM, who for the first time in their history, sit as a bottom two team. Keaiduo came into the LCS with plenty to prove after the team's month-long scouting combine in South Korea. The young Chinese talent showed plenty of promise to go along with an aggressive playstyle. Unfortunately, there is still plenty for him to work on. However, he is making the change to the Academy team to get him up to scratch with the team and their playstyle while also giving him time to grow and develop as a player.
But the team's performances as a whole has not been great as well. After committing to two unproven youngsters who were seen as the future of the organisation, they are now left scrambling with only seven matches left to decide their fate in the spring split. It doesn't help that the team's two most experienced players in Huni and Spica have also been underperforming of late.
Even Edward "Tactical" Ra, formerly of Team Liquid, has not been up to scratch. After helping to bring Liquid to Worlds with a second-place finish at last year's summer split, he was seen as the AD carry to bring TSM to new heights. Sadly, it has not worked out that way just yet.
What next for TSM?
The sixth week will be crucial for TSM as they will need to ride their newfound momentum heading into their matches against Evil Geniuses and Dignitas, both of whom have had relatively mixed performances so far. Having already lost to both teams in the opening week of the LCS Spring Split, TSM will be going into the contest looking for revenge. After that, they will face off against one of the LCS' high-flying teams at the moment, Cloud9 before their other match against Immortals, who have also been struggling of late.
In the last and final super week of the LCS Spring Split group stage, TSM will be going up against the likes of 100 Thieves, Counter Logic Gaming, and Team Liquid. Depending on their performances over the next two weeks, it could very well be a make or break for the team. We could very well see TSM take some key victories over EG, Dignitas, and Immortals, which will put them in good stead. However, their biggest game to look forward to will be with C9, who has been a major thorn in their side in recent matches.
As only the top six teams will make it through to the playoffs, it's hard to see TSM managing to claw their way back into contention. However, what TSM does have going for them is that four of their last seven matches are against the bottom half teams, which will give them confidence knowing a win against the likes of EG, CLG, Immortals, and Dignitas could put them in a good spot to qualify for the playoffs. While it's still a big call to ask for, anything is possible when it comes to League of Legends.
