The second week of the 2021 LCS Spring Split is currently underway, so we’re back with more predictions — this time around we’ll focus on a clash of two perennial North American giants: Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid!
Now, on paper, a clash between TL and TSM probably sounds like a heck of a good time. After all, it is a fight between the four-time LCS champions and a team that is pretty much synonymous with North American League of Legends. In actuality, however, this is anything but a competitive affair. For all intents and purposes, we’re talking about a clash between the frontrunners to win the whole split, and a team that might not even reach the playoffs.
The gap between them, therefore, is about as big as possible. But it’s still TL and TSM we’re talking about, so there’s definitely a reason to tune in — as always. Just don’t expect anything overly competitive or nerve-wracking as the writing’s on the wall: this is a one-sided beatdown in the making.
Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid Predictions
If there’s one word that would best summarize Team SoloMid’s run thus far, it’d have to be “underwhelming.” And, frankly, we’re being polite here — TSM has been both dreadful and abysmal in equal measure ever since 2021 began. This might not be an overly nice way of phrasing it, but it is by no means incorrect. Simply put, they’re a bottom-tier dweller right now, and that’s evident with each and every game they play. Now, being bad at League of Legends at the very start of the season isn’t the be-all and end-all by default. On the contrary!
And right now, they’re barely scraping by. Both of their wins were pure happenstance — they were just fighting against teams that didn’t have nearly as much experience and who fumbled when it mattered most: the late game. And TSM doesn’t get any credit for that — they don’t get an honorable mention or a commendation for being slightly less abysmal than their opponents.
.@TSM (2-2) defeat @GoldenGuardians (1-3) to grab their second win of the 2021 #LCS Spring Split! #TSMWIN pic.twitter.com/QlXZ9cBmzI
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) February 13, 2021
This is Team SoloMid we’re talking about, so they’re not getting a pass for beating Counter Logic Gaming (who didn’t have their intended starting line-up) and the Golden Guardians (the only team in the LCS with two collegiate players).
Heck, you could combine both line-ups and they’d still cost less than what Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh is making. That just illustrates the vasp disparity between Team SoloMid and almost everyone else, especially when it comes to their overall philosophy and approach. TSM tried to pull off what Team Liquid did with Edward “Tactical” Ra, but, in true TSM fashion, they made numerous egregious mistakes along the way.
And sure, it’s still a bit too early to label their 2021 as a failed experiment, but make no mistake: we’re at the halfway point of the split. There are only four weeks of play left before the playoffs come around. Let that one sink in. That’s nowhere near enough time for TSM to fix anything and actually compete on even footing with the likes of Team Liquid, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, and Evil Geniuses. Heck, they’d probably lose to the many mid-tier gatekeepers as well. They’re completely out of sync, they’re dreadful on an individual level but also as a five-man unit, their drafts are weird (to say the least), there’s no coordination whatsoever, and at no point throughout the last however many weeks was their mechanical prowess on display.
Those jokes about Team SoloMid being a talent repression machine might not be jokes after all…
Will they improve over the coming weeks and months? Almost certainly. Will they ever be good enough to challenge for a spot at the top? No chance. And, if you’ll excuse the informal phrasing, that sucks. A fiercer fight at the top would benefit everyone. That’s what’s best for the region as a whole, and the fact that TSM won’t be good enough to compete is depressing, to say the least.
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To make matters even worse for TSM and their many roaring (and often toxic) fans, the road ahead won’t get any easier or less treacherous. This time around they’re scheduled to face the four-time LCS champions Team Liquid and if their clash ends up as anything other than a one-sided beatdown we’ll definitely be surprised. Simply put, this version of TL is the most stacked and capable line-up ever assembled on North American soil.
.@TeamLiquidLoL take full control of the game after a @Tactical triple kill leads to the @budlight ACE! #LCS pic.twitter.com/JAKapcH9To
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) February 13, 2021
Well, it’s mostly comprised of imports, but the point stands nonetheless. This is a team made with one goal and one goal only: domination. And that holds true for both regional and international play. How well they’ll fare on the biggest of stages still remains to be seen, but North American fans definitely have a reason for optimism.
So, as expected, we’re going with TL on this one. It’s really the only logical option. Whether TSM will put up a fight or not is less important at this point — they’ll lose no matter what they bring to the table. They lack the power and potential to rub shoulders with a team of Liquid’s caliber, and that won’t change any time soon.
