Change is a necessity that has eluded North America for some time. This is particularly true for Team SoloMid (TSM), a team that has dominated the region since the birth of competitive League of Legends. Despite their international struggles, the organisation boasts one of the most dominant domestic records in the world. However, TSM have not been without criticism. There’s an argument to be made that the organisation could have moved on from certain players over a year ago, but elected not to. It displayed a worrying trend in both the team and the region whereby players who were not the optimal choice for a position were being retained. Some critics believed that North American teams only cared about local competition, branding and marketing.

For the past few years, fans would routinely beg organisations to consolidate the wide array of talented Westerners under one banner -- preferably, that of their favourite team. Sure, big players move around. It happens all the time. But if you stop and think: has an all-Western super team ever actually existed before? The answer is ‘no’. While Korea and China play host to phenomenal teams with condensed talent, the strongest team the West has ever fielded utilised the talents of two Koreans. I am, of course, speaking of the Fnatic roster we witnessed dominate the past year.

However, in this offseason, that has changed. TSM has flexed their might, bringing in some of the richest talent available in Western League of Legends to rebuild around Bjergsen after the departure of everyone else on the roster -- but this isn’t just an ordinary team. This is a super team in every sense of the word, dripping with star power to a degree that’s hard to fathom. Six months ago, such a team existing in North America would be dismissed as ludicrous.  Yet, with just a week remaining until the beginning of the new season, the powerful squad is training tirelessly in preparation.

And so, what does all that talent look like when you put it together and make a team out of it? How does it function? There are certainly some independent personalities that will need to be reeled in, but team chemistry is a funny thing. With what we already know of the players, we can theorise as to how they’ll integrate into this iteration of TSM, and the resulting effect on the overall team.

Hauntzer

With the retirement of Dyrus, the story of a historic player ended. Consequently, an opportunity in one of the most prestigious organisations in Western esports arose. After a difficult yet fruitful season with Gravity where he proved himself as one of the best top laners in North America, Hauntzer will look to grab that opportunity with both hands in his new team.

If you think about Hauntzer’s year, you realise the fact that in Gravity, a team with predominantly two main threats, the top laner was tasked with great burden in his first season. Despite this, he handled it extremely well and showed tremendous talent, as well as a rare ability to be successful both with carry-orientated roles as well as reserved, supporting roles where he would peel for his marksman.

Overall, Hauntzer is definitely a top tier acquisition, as well as more than likely the best American prospect due to his age, ability to play multiple styles and experience playing with a gold-dominant marksman in Altec, with the last observation theoretically enabling him an easier transition to his new team where Doublelift, a marksman notorious for being gold-dominant and carry-orientated, lies in wait. Top laners in the West with the mix of age, talent and versatility that Hauntzer possess are few and far between.

Svenskeren

Controlled and calculated, Svenskeren is a breath of fresh air to a team that, in retrospect, has lacked presence in the jungle. With three different junglers in three seasons, people claim that the position is cursed. Indeed, towards the end of last year the team was often left without jungle presence at all, though that was not entirely Santorin’s fault. The only viable lane to work with was Bjergsen’s, which was rather obvious and was easily shut down by quality opposition.

Given the acquisitions the organisation has made, the options for a proactive jungler like Svenskeren are a dream come true. Not only is he more influential over the map compared to his predecessor, the roster as a whole is substantially more complete. In the context of North America, there isn’t another genuine team that has the potential to realistically run a triple-threat roster, with rotating gold distribution from game-to-game. Even Svenskeren himself has been known to carry games from time to time, which will give any opposition much to consider.

“Svenskeren will help Bjergsen who will benefit a lot from dependability but also Doublelift who badly needs consistent performances around him to excel.” - Reece “Sabrewolf” Dos-Santos

The new addition to the roster will do well to utilise the talents of the phenomenal players he has alongside him, and for once in the recent history of TSM, they actually have a jungler and roster capable of functioning as a team. Svenskeren is a methodical jungler that will benefit from TSM’s strong lanes and will push his advantages very well if he gains any semblance of control early. Unlike Santorin, Svenskeren is hardly passive, and though he doesn’t sport the relentless aggression of someone like Rush, he also doesn’t carry the same inconsistencies. As a player he will rarely fail of his own accord, but like most junglers he can lose presence if the lanes are overwhelmed. Everything considered, the team has given Svenskeren the tools required to help guide TSM to victory.

Bjergsen

Since moving to North America in late 2013, Bjergsen has dominated proceedings. In two seasons, he has evolved to become the single most popular player in the region as well as, arguably, the player with the most expectations on his shoulders. Despite the pressure he faces, there is little argument surrounding Bjergsen, who is viewed by consensus to be the best player on the continent. This is a particularly impressive accolade when you also consider that he acts as the team’s primary shot caller.

The offseason is likely to have helped the Dane, who has been managing wrist injuries for roughly the past year. In addition to the time off, help comes in the form of the experienced and highly successful former Fnatic support YellOwStaR. His presence is likely to relieve some of the emphasis on Bjergsen’s shot calling, allowing him to focus on his dominant early game performances that he’s so well known for.

As far as playstyle goes, while we’ve seen Bjergsen display impressive support-orientated play on Lulu in the Summer Playoffs, it’s not something he’s overly known for. Instead, he prefers a playstyle that gravitates to either control mages or assassins. This doesn’t mean he’s unable to take a supporting role, as we saw in the aforementioned tournament, but rather that he prefers to carry weight and impact in his champion pool. Though this could be explained by the alternative carries in the previous iterations of TSM simply being less efficient options than the 19-year-old.

Given that this new TSM was built around Bjergsen, one would assume that he’ll be able to perform up to standard at the very least. This is supported by the multiple shifts in roster we’ve seen around him throughout the past two years - the result was always the same. Bjergsen would play at a respectable individual level, regardless of surrounding factors. In the past year, considering the level of play we witnessed from Santorin and a dishevelled Lustboy, putting names like Svenskeren and YellOwStaR next to Bjergsen suddenly makes his support team rather intimidating.

Bjergsen has already proven that he can function efficiently with this new roster, just as he has done prior in the multiple iterations of the team. The only question regarding Bjergsen is one of gold management with the new players alongside him, and that question will be answered on January 16th.

Doublelift

Viewed as one of the best marksmen ever to be produced in the West, Doublelift carried impressive form throughout season five, which culminated in him winning his first League Championship Series (LCS). The news that the acclaimed marksman had joined TSM, a fierce rival to his previous team, sent the competitive community into a frenzy.

Consolidation of talent is a relatively difficult process when you have multiple options to choose from. For the most part, TSM managed to acquire the optimal players in every position with only one uncertainty -- the marksman. Doublelift just finished a phenomenal season where he reached a new plateau, but with his tremendous resume also comes the negative elements surrounding him.

Historically speaking, Doublelift is not overly known for playing a clean-up orientated role, instead demanding resources to act as the primary threat. This may hinder the team considering the potential carry options the roster exhibits. Regardless, when Doublelift is on form he’s the best marksman in the West, but there are times where he has been very average indeed. In essence, attitude, versatility and consistency are all potential issues that will need to be maintained in order to produce his high standards while not limiting the team to a linear playstyle. Frankly, TSM has such an impressive roster that being forced to babysit Doublelift every game would be a crime -- he cannot become a liability. This is his time to prove that he can genuinely be a team player.

All this impacts how we can visualise Doublelift slotting into the new roster. Most of his negatives will be negligible because of YellOwStaR and the coaching staff, though the uncertainty of a Doublelift playing clean-up still lingers. There’s no doubt that as a carry-orientated player, he’s fantastic. As long as he’s kept in check, Doublelift will prove to be a most valuable asset to the team.

YellOwStaR

A legend of the game, YellOwStaR has an incredible amount of accolades including five European LCS titles to his name. Considering the success he’s had as well as the longevity of his career, there’s little wonder why he’s commonly known as the greatest Western player ever. Doublelift’s transfer was one of the most dramatic events in the offseason, but YellOwStaR’s was the most important.

Throughout his time at Fnatic YellOwStaR helped bring an excellent working mentality, tremendous maturity and both in-game and out of game leadership to the team. There are some interesting personalities alongside him, and some of them have a history of being difficult to manage. If there is any single player in the West that can guide these players, who commands respect and has the resume to do so, it’s YellOwStaR.

Indeed, he will need to be the pillar of strength, the backbone for a team that will potentially exhibit mental vulnerabilities. It is through his leadership that he may control the strong and eccentric personalities on the team, aiding the coaching staff to develop them into a working unit. Not to mention his unmatched knowledge of the game and excellent strategic shot calling will, as mentioned earlier, enable Bjergsen to focus on his own play.

As for YellOwStaR’s in-game prowess, he can be described as a consistent force. Someone who is less likely to take over a game based on pure mechanics, but still effective enough that he’ll look quite comfortable next to Doublelift. This signing is a huge testament to how influential TSM has become, but it should also highlight how intelligently this roster was built. As previously stated, there was only one English-speaking person in the world that could bring this roster together and maintain whilst in-game, and the management acquired him.

Aspirations for the World

Though we’ve only seen the full roster on paper, this truly is a remarkable team that obviously carries a lot of potential. Because of the player acquisitions the organisation has made, the weaknesses in the roster are minimal and manageable, while the potential skill ceiling of this team is unheard of for an all-Western line-up.

While the team can potentially play with alternating carries using flexible gold distribution, the fact that Doublelift is unproven as a clean-up marksman could potentially limit the team’s strategic versatility. In everything we’ve considered, this stands out as the biggest in-game hurdle that new coaches woodbuck and Jarge will have to solve to become a true multi-threat team a la SKT last season.

There are high expectations for TSM to finish first in the North American LCS, but domestic success isn’t so much of a question as relevant international success - something that has eluded TSM for a very long time. It’s highly likely that the team will qualify for international events, and indeed based on the roster they look to be the most likely North American team to perform well on the world stage. However, it should be noted that competition overall is going to be much tougher this year as North America is not the only region that has condensed its talent.  

The stars seem to be aligning for TSM after a particularly difficult year. With a new all-star roster that boasts some of the most famous names in the game along with promising new coaching staff, only time will tell if this new and improved version of the famous American team will bring the international success that owner Reginald has so desperately longed for.

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Images courtesy of ESL, Lolesports