Earlier this year, they finished behind the representatives from the four other major regions at the Mid-Season Invitational with a 4-6 Record in the MSI Group Stage. That led to them not getting a Pool 1 seed and meant that they would get stuck in the same group as a champion from one of the stronger regions.
It looked like TSM had lucked out when the groups were first announced. They were placed into the group with the weakest champion in LMS champion Flash Wolves and European newcomers Misfits. However, that group got turned on its head when Team World Elite was drawn into the group and now TSM are once again staring down the barrel of an early exit at Worlds.
Opening Betting Odds to Win 2017 League of Legends World Championship
Team SoloMid +1300
Top Lane
Hauntzer has been around for quite some time and is one of the more steady top laners in North America. He has been a crucial reason for why TSM has maintained its supremacy over the rest of the region by consistently outplaying the top laners of Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, and Immortals.
He generally plays a tank, but is able to carry when going against a weaker top laner. Hauntzer has used a diverse champion pool this year, but now that Maokai is back in the meta, that will be a favored champion of his. He is one of the few top laners still playing Jarvan IV and is comfortable on Gnar, Renekton, and Cho’Gath too.
This will be a chance for Hauntzer to prove himself. He did not perform well at this year’s MSI and was bullied by the top laner of every other team save GIGABYTE Marines.
Jungle
Svenskeren is the weak link on TSM. His inconsistent play has really hurt this team at times this season and led to them having to play catch up. The team wasn’t punished for it often in domestic play, but his performance was a big part of why TSM finished in second-to-last at MSI.
There, Svenskeren was terrible. He finished with a 1.9 KDA and was constantly getting outplayed by the junglers from Asian teams. Those playmaking junglers left him on the back foot and put TSM in the hole.
He played better at Rift Rivals, but it’s important to note that the one jungler that was worse than him at MSI in terms of KDA was G2’s Trick.
Mid Lane
Bjergsen has taken his game to another level this season and is the main reason why TSM continues to be the best team in North America. He is as versatile as they come and is able to play both team-based champions and support selections with relative ease.
Few mid laners have a champion pool as diverse as Bjergsen. You can’t use target bans against him to limit his efficacy like you can with other mid laners. He is comfortable no matter what he plays.
No other member of TSM looked nearly as good as Bjergsen did at MSI. He was the reason that they were able to at least stay competitive against the best teams in the world and the only one who looked like he belonged there.
AD Carry
After the disappointment at MSI, TSM decided it needed a change. The team parted ways with the maligned WildTurtle and replaced him with Doublelift.
Doublelift is the best AD Carry in North America and will tell you that too. He is a bit on the arrogant side, but is very skilled and able to make plays that other players in the region can’t make. He is the second-best AD Carry in this group and will need to play like it for TSM to advance.
Support
It’s often said that good supports are very undervalued. That’s definitely the case for Biofrost. He has been the most consistent support in North America for two years, but doesn’t have the personality of Aphromoo or the aggressiveness of Olleh.
There was a learning curve at the start of summer where he and Doublelift had to learn how to play together, but now there is fluidity in their movements. He isn’t as good as initiating as he is in the more traditional support role and that can be a disadvantage against other teams.
Prediction
The only reason why TSM is such a short favorite is because they are the most followed team in North America and have a ton of fans. This team is well behind World Elite and not as good as Flash Wolves either. Look for another early exit as Svenskeren is overwhelmed by the playmaking junglers from Flash Wolves and World Elite.
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