Photo: C9
Cloud9 and TSM are two historic structures in the North American League of Legends scene. For many years, their rivalry animated the competition and we found the two teams at the rendezvous of the finals and international competitions. But since then, water has flowed under the bridge. Team Liquid, 100 Thieves or even Evil Geniuses have bared their fangs. TSM has completely plunged into the hierarchy, C9 a little less, but it’s still below its old standards. The transfer window led by the two structures is symptomatic of their state and looks a lot like an admission of weakness. They had started the 2022 season with a clear but daring strategy. A few months later, we see to the fastest coaster in history.
Obviously, the situation of the two teams is different. But even if the stakes are not the same, we can still raise a common point : it pedals in semolina and it scares the fans.
Cloud9: the descent into hell since the departure of LS
The fans of Cloud9 had a lot of hope at the beginning of the year. The structure had pulled out all the stops by carrying out a very ambitious recruitment, in addition to being exotic. The streamer LS had agreed to move to leave his heart Korea and take the reins of the team. In his luggage, however, he had brought various Korean players who bore his signature: Summit (top), Berserker (ADC) and Winsome (Add). But the coach, against a background of internal division, did not stay long. The team continued somehow to maintain itself, but it seemed obvious that without him, some players seemed out of step with the project. The Korean top laner was still MVP of the regular season, but he fell during the playoffs.
Not surprisingly, Cloud9 decided to clean up during this transfer window. Corean people Summit and Winsome were released, as was the Australian Islands. As many departures in mid-season, this is never good news but it is above all very revealing. LS had built this roster and without it, it has no real reason to exist. The Korean9 project was abandoned and to recover, the team would have to recall two of its exes (Zven and Jensen). The leaders at least know what to expect, but we have the impression of having lost 5 months in addition to having wasted a roster which could have worked miracles.
TSM: casting errors
TSM often had a lot of ideas during the transfer window, but in the application, it didn’t always pay off! Lately it was not famous. SwordArt apart from example required a very large check. He stayed barely a year and didn’t really leave a good memory with the fans, with very average results. PowerOfEvil wasn’t particularly brilliant either, and we even let the German go free. This year the structure has decided to do in the original. If Cloud9 bet on Koreans, TSM bet on Chinese! Shenyi (del) and Keai duo (mid) arrived with lots of great promise for the future. Young and talented, the leaders had announced that they wanted to bet on the long term. 4 months later, the team missed the LCS playoffs for the first time in its history. The newcomers above all showed limited adaptability and their level was not really convincing. The midlaner is already gone and the support seems completely blocked. He should spend the end of the season in the academic league where on the bench … The second was also pinned for unprofessional behavior towards the technical staff. It’s hard to make more glaring casting mistakes.
What is even more embarrassing at TSM is that the leaders seem to panic and the communication really leaves something to be desired. We had explained that the roster was there to last and progress. But in the end it will only have been 4 months and it has already exploded in all directions. According to the latest rumors, TSM was to recruit two new imports: the Taiwanese Maple and the Korean Mia. We therefore decided once again to turn to Asia, while the last examples were inconclusive… Did anyone warn TSM that the team had the right to recruit in NA?