The first weekend of LCS action is in the books. The Lock In tournament has been interesting so far, to say the least. Teams many expected to struggle have come out swinging while others that many expected to be good have shown that they are still trying to figure things out. For TSM they probably fall a bit more into the group of teams showing that they are still figuring things out, but they come out of week one with a 2-1 record. This means that they are officially into the Knockout Stage. Here are three takeaways from week one for TSM before heading into a game against TL and then onto best-of-threes.
[Related: TSM 2021 LCS Spring Preview]
1. Spica is the Real Deal
As far as Spica goes is where TSM are going as well. He is their carry and the one to make things happen. This was pretty clear during the first weekend of the Lock In tournament. Between single-handily turning the GG game around and carrying in that game along with the CLG game, Spica is clearly the focus for TSM. This feels good for TSM fans considering the struggle the team has had at this position. He is not infallible and has struggled at points in the early game but that is something the whole team has been bad at, not just him.
Spica is the real deal and he is someone teams will have to continue to plan for. Otherwise, he will take over the game through his fantastic objective control and awareness, while also getting plenty of kills due to his carry style of play. The kid, and do not forget he is just a kid, will only continue to get better as he gets more comfortable in his role and with the team as a whole.
2. The Early Game is a Problem
While the team is 2-1, it is not all good for TSM. Actually, it is mostly bad, especially in the early game. During all three games this past weekend, TSM had nearly a 2k gold deficit by 12 minutes in the game. For a team that is hoping to contend, this is not something that they can continue doing. What seems to be happening is that the team is either picked to all have losing lanes, there are miscommunications or the team is just playing reactively and without much of an early game plan. Then once the skirmishing begins TSM are already behind due to a myriad of different errors.
While this tends to be the case for many teams when they are just coming together, it is a whole other issue for TSM at the moment. Even against teams like GG and CLG who frankly just don’t have the raw talent that TSM has, TSM have looked lost in the early game. Luckily the late game for TSM has been pretty solid and made up for their early struggles. Unfortunately, as was seen against 100 Thieves, if they lose the early game against better opponents, it doesn’t matter how good TSM’s late game is because they won’t be able to get to that point. To fix this hopefully Bjergsen and the staff will try to pick some better early matchups and have a more coherent plan for their early game.
3. It is Not Time to Panic with Huni…Yet
Huni truly is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After game one against Ssumday and 100Thieves, TSM fans were ready to put Hauntzer on the starting roster. This was because Huni had so many unforced errors and was making too many plays without nearly any setup. While many could chalk this up to first-game jitters, he started off game two to GG similarly allowing Niles to get fed. Luckily his late-game plays in the GG game and his game three performance made up for all the rest. He had a great ultimate with Gnar two straight team fights and helped TSM to victory against GG. Then versus CLG he got behind, expectedly, but stayed strong and was a CC machine that helped propel TSM to victory.
The Ornn game was what TSM fans were hoping for with Huni. What was important with game three is that it showed when given tanky champions or just champions that can cover for bad decisions or an early deficit, Huni can really help this team. This is because when he is not horribly behind or on a champion that is useless without a lead, Huni is truly is a solid team fighter and late-game player. Bjergsen will need to remember this game and make sure that more picks like Ornn or other tanky but impactful CC champions along with his signature picks like Rumble or Gangplank are picked more consistently.
Onto Knockouts
With TSM taking down CLG, they have officially made their way to the Knockout Stage. They are currently tied with TL and 100 Thieves. Luckily TSM have an early chance to take on TL and try for the top seed, the only unfortunate part is that TL will finally be at full strength with Santorin apparently making his way to the US in time to be able to play in their game Friday.
For the Knockouts it will be interesting to see who TSM play first. The hope is that it is not C9 or the scorching hot Evil Geniuses. If they can avoid either of those teams in the first round then TSM have a really good chance at making semifinals. If not then they will most certainly have to play better than they did this past weekend or it will be a very quick exit for them.
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