It took them three years and much soul-searching, but TSM are finally headed back to the League of Legends World Championship stage after taking down Cloud9 in the 2020 LCS Summer Playoffs a couple of weeks ago.
This loss also means that C9 will not be defending their LCS championship crown this season, even after dominating the league through the Spring Split and halfway through the summer. More importantly, however, C9 will not be going to the World Championship for the first time in the team’s history.
Throughout this game, C9 struggled to find the same consistency and playstyle that helped them succeed all year long. The synergy between Blaber and Nisqy hasn’t seemed to be as strong as it was at the beginning of the split, and it showed in a few misplays and uncoordinated skirmishes.
On the other side of the Rift, TSM looked a lot more confident in their play as a single unit. Whether it was playing around top lane with Broken Blade’s Jayce or Bjergsen finding great picks with Twisted Fate, this roster has come together at the perfect time to lock in a Worlds spot alongisde FlyQuest and Team Liquid.
Doublelift and Biofrost—who haven’t been playing too well lately—also held their own on multiple Senna-centered bottom lane compositions. This victory should help this team immensely with their confidence as they first look to capture yet another LCS title.
Team Solo Mid came under fire recently for a tweet saying they’ll choose the better player as a support starter. Biofrost started the 2020 Summer Split with TSM’s main team but played to mixed results. Although the first four weeks of the season looked decent enough, a 0-2 weekend against Cloud9 and Immortals prompted the coaching staff to make some changes.
The 23-year-old finished his 10-game stint in the regular season with four kills, 78 assists, and 30 deaths. He also had a low kill participation percentage, taking part in only 65 percent of his team’s overall takedowns.
Treatz made his LCS debut in week six and has looked decent since then as well. In eight games, he racked up 65 assists and only six deaths. He also had a sky-high kill participation percentage of 79.5 percent but had slightly worse warding numbers than Biofrost.
In a recent interview, Doublelift explained he and Treatz were having some synergy issues due to their differences in playstyle. The veteran marksman is usually a lot more aggressive in lane, while the rookie support plays a bit more reserved.