Grading TSM’s rebooted roster

Mid

No changes to the mid lane for TSM, as Bjergsen continues his reign. True, Ablazeolive is still technically there in the academy system, but it would take an act of God to unseat the Bjerger King.

Many might point out that Bjergsen had one of his weakest splits statistically last season. His 4.95 KDA, 407 GPM, and 70.7% Kill Participation were among the lowest of his career. That still ranked him 2nd in KDA, 4th in GPM, and 3rd in KP among NA mids.

Grade: C (but really, were they supposed to get rid of Bjergsen?)

Bot

As far as the ADC role goes, it’s unsurprising that Zven would be brought back. He was regarded as the second-best player on the team behind Bjergsen, posting a top three GPM among AD Carries during the summer split.

However, his other stats were decidedly average, and he was largely seen as a down-grade over his predecessor, Doublelift. Yes, a lot of people might put that on Mithy’s drastic downturn, but there is no denying that Zven was not nearly as effective as he was before he moved across the pond.

Was it a bad move sticking with him? Certainly not. But sticking with him is certainly not the slam-dunk that keeping Bjergsen is.

Grade: C-

Support

Out: Mithy

In: Andy “Smoothie” Ta

Losing Mithy was almost inevitable, although losing him and not his partner Zven was quite a surprise. Last season, Mithy had the second-lowest Kill Participation, Gold Share, and third-lowest KDA of supports playing over 10 games.

When you’re supposed to be part of “Best in the West” bot lane and you’re ranked around supports like BIG, JayJ, and Hakuho, that’s a problem. Worse yet, the shot-calling prowess that Mithy was supposed to have been brought in to help was almost nonexistent as TSM’s macro deteriorated to a strategy of “stall for late game and try to out-teamfight.”

By adding Smoothie, TSM is getting another player who has shown himself to be among the best at his position. Smoothie was a solid contributor on C9 in the spring, posting stats that put him in the conversation for NA LCS MVP.

However, prior to the summer split Smoothie was benched and relegated to the C9 Academy team due to reported practice issues. Coach Reapered felt that the team’s approach to practice was lacking, and benched almost every player on the starting roster in favor of untested rookies. While controversial at the time, most of those starters managed to earn their way back onto the main roster. Except for Smoothie.

Instead, he watched as Zeyzal rose to become a finalist for rookie of the split, ultimately supplanting him on the roster. Dissatisfied with being relegated, Smoothie was eventually traded to Echo Fox, where he played out the remainder of the split.

In adding him, TSM is probably getting a very hungry, talented, domestic support which is certain to be an improvement over Mithy’s performance last season. Smoothie definitely has problems, and he has a reputation as being extremely opinionated. It remains to be seen whether he and Zven will gel together, as this is the first time Zven is playing separately from Mithy.

Grade: B+