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With the departure of long-time franchise figure Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg from Team SoloMid (TSM), the NA LCS powerhouse set its sights on retooling its roster for the 2022 season. Now TSM has finally revealed its starting lineup, with two player signings for the mid and support positions. These new additions hail from China's secondary League of Legends Development League (LDL), while Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei has jumped onboard as head coach.
Chawy began his League of Legends career a decade ago as a mid laner. He has played for various Asian teams, including Taipei Assassins, Ahq Esports, and Hong Kong Attitude (HKA). In late 2018, he made the transition from player to coaching role for HKA and has now flown to the other side of the world to steer upright the TSM ship.
Fans will get to see new faces under the TSM banner, with the squad looking to start afresh having parted ways with iconic players like Bjergsen. Indeed, it seems the new season is a signal for a new era at TSM, one that will rely on Eastern talent. Of course, this isn't the first time that the NA side has taken a chance on imports. Just last season, the org brought in a world-class support in Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, who made his claim to fame on Taiwanese team Flash Wolves.
This time around, TSM has brought onboard Zhu “Keaiduo” Xiong and Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jie as the starting mid laner and support respectively, impressed by their performances during a month's worth of scouting, according to the org. In the announcement video, Chawy pointed out Shenyi's ability to communicate well with teammates and roaming style. The new head coach also praised the mechanics of Keaiduo and highlighted his aggressive playstyle.
Joining Shenyi in the bot lane, Edward “Tactical” Ra also moved to TSM, previously the AD Carry for Team Liquid. Over on the other side of the map, Heo “Huni“ Seung-hoon and Mingyi “Spica” Lu have retained their spots as the top laner and jungler, respectively.
The new-look TSM will definitely be looking to impress from the get-go, given the team's subpar performances in 2021. They will be hoping to challenge for the throne in North America and potentially compete on the international stage.
Meanwhile, the other LCS squads had already announced their rosters earlier on, with the full list available here.
