League of Legends: Who is the greatest NA squad of all time?
#2 – Season 6 Summer – Season 7 Spring TSM
Following two Finals losses to rivals CLG in 2015 Summer and 2016 Spring, TSM hit an incredible resurgence. During their 2016 Summer Split, TSM looked like the strongest squad NA had seen in years.
It’s important to note that this reign of dominance came during the “best of 3” years in NA, which technically featured the most games of any season. During this time, TSM went a staggering 34-6 in their games, only losing a best-of-three to Phoenix1 in a massive upset.
They swept through Playoffs, skipping the first round and taking a swift 3-0 over CLG before dropping a single game to C9 in the Finals. As the break between Playoffs and Worlds began, NA held a renewed hope for its region, and most analysts ranked this new TSM squad among the elite from all around the world.
However, NA’s pathetic international record would prove too much of a hurdle even for this star squad, and the team failed to make it out of their group, which was composed incredibly potent threats from both Korea and China. The early exit from worlds marked the one black spot on this team’s 2016 season.
The team stayed the same for the next season, besides seeing Doublelife temporarily retire from pro play, to be replaced by the ex-TSM ADC WildTurtle. After some initial shakiness, WildTurtle left for Flyquest and Doubelift returned, breathing a new life back into the squad. They would go on to win the playoffs once more, albeit after a much rougher regular season and in a close 5-game series with Cloud9.
Locking down first allowed the team to compete in MSI 2017, where they performed poorly, losing their fourth place match to the Flash Wolves.
Achievements:
- 34-6 2016 Summer Regular Season record
- 1st Place, 2016 Summer Playoffs
- 1st Place, 2017 Spring Playoffs