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Following Team SoloMid’s failure to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship for the second year in a row, rumours arose suggesting Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg could leave the organization after nine years and join 100 Thieves or possibly return to Europe.
Instead, Bjergsen has extended his contract with TSM for two more years while also becoming a partial owner of the organization.
TSM are recognised as one of the strongest LoL esports teams in North America, but they have failed to live up to that name in the last two seasons.
The last time Team SoloMid sat on the throne in the LoL Championship Series was in the summer of 2017, when they crushed Immortals (3-1) to claim their sixth LCS title. Since then, however, TSM have failed to find the same success.
TSM finished fifth-sixth in 2018 spring split, third in 2018 summer split, second in 2019 spring split and finished their 2019 season with a fifth-sixth place finish in 2019 summer playoffs.
TSM’s failure to come through the 2018 NA regional finals, where they lost to C9 in the grand finals (0-3) meant TSM failed to earn a ticket for Worlds for the first time in their history.
And while the NA powerhouse hoped that was a one-time occurrence, they suffered the same fate in 2019, when they got outclassed by Clutch Gaming in the 2019 regional finals (2-3), meaning TSM missed out on competing on the big stage for the second year in a row.
The poor results put up by the North American giants started rumours of their star player Bjergsen looking for a way out of the team in search of new challenges and most importantly more success in another team.
There were already speculations about possible replacements for one of the most iconic mid-laners in LoL scene, however, all those speculations and rumours turned to dust this Monday, October 14, when TSM released an announcement they have reached an agreement with the Danish superstar and are re-signing Bjergsen for two more years.
In the announcement video posted by TSM on Twitter, Bjergsen revealed the biggest factor that made him decide to extend his contract with TSM was the team owner Andy “Reginald” Dinh, with whom Bjergsen developed a good and healthy relationship.
Bjergsen went on to explain he trusts Reginald with his vision and the direction he wishes to take TSM in the upcoming season, which helped inspired confidence in Bjergsen who decided he wishes to continue his career under the TSM banner.
After two less than impressive seasons, it looks like the North American organization could be on the verge of a strong revival, which they hope will return them back on the top of North American professional LoL scene. And it’s safe to say that the resigning of the Danish superstar is one huge step in the right direction.
On top of the announcements of the re-signing of Bjergsen, it was also revealed the 23-year old has become a part-owner of TSM, meaning he is following the footsteps of Reginald, who was as well a midlaner at TSM before he retired and took over the role of team owner.
This move now makes Bjergsen one of the few player-owners in the esports world and shows his dedication to stick with the organization through thick and thin, indicating that Bjergsen could be transitioning to an alternative role in the company once he decides to retire as a player.
