The top two North American teams Team SoloMid and Cloud9 faced off in an aggressive Best of Five series. TSM pushed its way to C9’s Nexus for three games, as C9 tried to keep the momentum going. Unfortunately for the “War Machine,” it looks like their nonstop earlier this year couldn’t save them from losing to their long-time rivals. As such, TSM secured a spot in 2020 Worlds.
WE'RE GOING TO WORLDS 2020. pic.twitter.com/3xdMS2f1Zx
— TSM FTX (@TSM) August 29, 2020
An unbelievable twist to Cloud9’s hopes and dreams
The 1-3 game between C9 and TSM left the LCS casters in shock, as TSM proved themselves as the better team. The first game was a telltale sign that TSM had a leg up, as they finished with eleven towers, thirteen kills, and a huge gold lead. Meanwhile, C9 only had one tower and eight kills. TSM top-laner Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik carried the game as Lucian with six kills and the most damage. Overall, this 35-minute game seemed to go by quick, as TSM stomped C9 to the ground.
Unfortunately, the celebration ended there as C9 made a huge come back for the second game. The team had a difference of 13 kills and 7 towers compared to TSM. C9’s bot laner Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen as Senna ended up taking the lead and dealing the most damage out of everyone. Although TSM won three Infernal drakes, C9 captured Baron, which gave them a boost to finish the game.
The last two games were almost a blur, as TSM demolished C9 in the third game. TSM showed great communication and consistency as TSM mid lane veteran Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg led the team through objectives and team fights. TSM’s support Vincent “Biofrost” Wang also worked well under pressure, keeping everyone alive with his Rakan.
Your back workout must be a thing of legend. Insane performances
— Clayton Raines (@CaptainFlowers) August 29, 2020
Heading to Worlds
TSM will be heading to Shanghai for this year’s Worlds, along with NA team FlyQuest. The last time they attended the championship was in 2017, missing both 2018 and 2019. Coincidentally, this was during the time they had replaced Doublelift with Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen. Although they brought Doublelift back to the team, their entire season was a bit shaky. In the end, it all pulled together and they made it through the worst of it all. TSM’s next challenge is to make it out of Groups, something they haven’t achieved since 2014. Unfortunately for C9, this is the first time ever they won’t be heading to Worlds.
This is not how we wanted this season to end. Missing Worlds hurts for me, my teammates and the entire C9 org. Knowing how well we played earlier this season, missing out on an MSI and now being the first C9 team to miss worlds is crushing.
— Licorice (@Licorice) August 29, 2020
The next TSM game will take place on September 5, where they will face off against the winner of the FlyQuest vs Team Liquid match.
