Was TSM's Botlane The Problem?

   

 Was TSM’s botlane the problem? It’s hard to say. Swapping the best North American botlane for the best European botlane might sound nice, but is it the change the team needs? The 2016 Summer Split iteration of TSM looked like the most dominant North American team since Cloud 9 first came onto the scene. They were hardly challenged domestically until they headed to the world championship where they failed to make it out of groups.

   This version of TSM were at their best when they were proactive in the early game. This seemed to be a product of the dual decisive shotcalling from Bjergsen and Doublelift. TSM failed to adapt to a different playstyle when taken off their comfort picks. The TSM of 2017 were looking to mend those errors by adopting different styles and playing unique champions.

   This led to a more methodical version of TSM who looked to stall out the game rather than dictate the pace. One aspect of TSM that has remained more questionable than the botlane is the jungle. There have been numerous occasions throughout 2017 where Svenskeren was more of a liability than a contributor to the win conditions of the team.

   During worlds 2017 enemy teams looked to focus TSM’s botlane by target banning Doublelift. They would frequently invest their resources into destroying the botlane. Ideally you would expect this to enable the other half of the map to do something proactive, but this just wasn’t the case this year. Whether it was guidance from the coaching staff or lack of in game communication, it is difficult to tell if the blame should be on the bot duo.

   It is possible that the acquisition of Zven and Mithy can improve the overall playstyle of TSM but that remains to be seen. In Europe G2 E-Sports were essentially the TSM of the EULCS. They played a very calculated methodical slow pace in order to find their successes. It can be argued that they have had more international success and experience than Doublelift and Biofrost. Whether it was their Semi-Final appearance at Worlds 2015 or their Finals appearance in MSI 2017.

Just as TSM has failed to make it out of groups the past 2 years so has G2. There is no doubt that Zven and Mithy are arguably the best botlane in the West. It is to be noted that they will take up the two import slots TSM has available. With rumors of Mike Young, a North American resident, being added to the roster and the addition of coach SSONG, it will be interesting to see how the team performs.