A brief history of TSM

Since the dawn of competitive League of Legends only one team can lay claim to playing in all five World Championship events.

They’re one of the oldest and most storied teams in the history of competitive play, being a dominant force in North America since its conception back in 2011. You’ve no doubt heard the crowd chanting their name even when they’re not playing, and whispers of ‘Baylife’ make you feel like you’re out of the loop on some grand joke.

We are, in fact, talking about Team SoloMid (TSM! TSM! TSM!). But who are they? Where did they come from? Where are my pants? We want to answer all these questions and more with our brief history of Team SoloMid, the first installment in our League Of History series. If you’re talking about TSM, it’s impossible to talk about them without first talking about this man...

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Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh is the founder and former manager, coach and mid lane star for TSM. His face is plastered on the NA LCS studio and for good reason -- TSM was his brainchild. It was born in the fires of a falling out between Regi and his team All Or Nothing due to ideological differences. Not willing to hang up the keyboard and mouse, Regi endeavoured to start his own team branded after his and his brother Dan Dinh's website -- Solomid.net -- one of the first websites dedicated to League of Legends and a forum for people to post champion guides.

It was these humble beginnings that would eventually evolve into the powerhouse of esports that TSM is today. Much of the early personality of the team came from Regi himself. Sometimes brash. Sometimes quick to temper. Not afraid to trash talk (or back it up) and always striving to be as competitive as possible. Originally they struggled to hold down a roster until they settled on The Rain Man, TheOddOne, Chaox, Xpecial and Reginald in the coveted mid lane position.

This lineup would see moderate success back in the day when a League of Legends World Championship looked like this.

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They would end the inaugural World Championship in 3rd place behind European teams against All authority and Fnatic. At the start of Season 2 they hit their stride when they signed a man who would go on to become legend.

The Glory Days

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Signing Dyrus is arguably one of the more pivotal moments in the organization’s history. He was a dominant force in the top lane for Epik Gamer and replaced a player (The Rain Man) who many people thought was past his prime. Dyrus would become synonymous with the TSM brand. Whether it was turning up on stage with his fabled "Dyrus Pillow" or calling everyone else in the competition trash (especially Counter Logic Gaming), his YOLO attitude seemed to go hand-in-hand with the fans of TSM.

Dyrus was one of the most popular streamers of the time and no doubt introduced countless people to the joys of Singed. His skill, personality and accessibility to the fans made him one of the most likeable figures in in the world of League of Legends. He was a journeyman who was never the best player on the team -- but sometimes, for the briefest moments, he could be, making his story all the more compelling. He’d solo kill a Ryze top with Mundo and then in the next game go and die to the wolves…

Domestically Season 2 was an insane year for TSM. With Dyrus as their new top lane they would go on to win just about every domestic tournament. IPL4, IPL Faceoff, MLGs -- if there was a North American tournament then odds are TSM won it. Throughout 2012, TSM won six marquee professional North American events, and finished 2nd in place many others. League fans thought they were the best and TSM knew they were the best. No matter which other domestic team stepped up to challenge them, TSM would always find their way back to the top.

It was this attitude that would see them crowned Season 2 NA Regional Champions and they went into Season 2 Worlds as the favorite North American team. Their domestic success failed to translate internationally, however, and despite a ton of hype and a wave of momentum behind them they still only managed to place 7th. The results were crushing. Not only to they fail to meet all expectations, but Dyrus also leaked Team Dignitas strats to CLG.EU, something which he apologized profusely for later and would refer to as “the worst moment of his life.” Nevertheless, it reflected poorly on both him and TSM as a whole.

The strat leaks were just the start of the turmoil for the team heading into Season 3. TSM were playing well, but beneath the surface the team was struggling. As a result of these struggles ADC Chaox was benched for negative behavior. TSM called up their substitute ADC, WildTurtle, to replace him for their upcoming LCS weekend. WildTurtle came up huge against compLexity Gaming and not only walked away from the match with a Pentakill, but a starting spot on the TSM roster.

The organization parted ways with Chaox and with WildTurtle they would go on to finish 1st place and win the Spring Split. This high wouldn’t last long however, as a sleeping dragon was about to take the NA LCS by storm.

Clouds On The Horizon

During the Season 3 Summer Split, Cloud9 burst onto the scene and dethroned TSM from the top dog position. A team from the Challenger Series, they would finish the Season 25-3 (a record that stood until 2015 Summer) while TSM crept into third place with 14-14. This, coupled with a poor performance at the Season 3 Worlds, prompted a soul-searching journey from TSM that would eventually lead them to here...

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Regi made the decision to step down from the starting roster of TSM to devote himself to coaching/managerial responsibilities. Finding a replacement was going to be no small task. Regi was an outstanding player. He had a unique, aggressive style of play that saw him roaming all over the map. None of the North American mid laners seemed like a good fit, so Regi looked abroad to fill his big shoes, eventually settling on Bjergsen. A young, mid lane prodigy who was playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas (formerly Copenhagen Wolves). At the time he was only the second player to move from Europe to North America. Now he is one of the biggest stars in the NA LCS and arguably one of the best players in the world.

With the arrival of Bjergsen the ideology behind SoloMid took on a whole new level of meaning. Here was a rare talent that you could legitimately construct a team around. A mechanical God with a great macro understanding of the game and a Faker-esq champion pool. His talents would shape much of TSM’s strategy over the course of the next two seasons.

But even with the arrival of Bjergsen for the 2014 Spring Split, TSM still couldn’t shake the ever-growing powerhouse that was Cloud9. They ended the Split with a record of 22-6, their best yet, though still came 2nd in both the Split and the Playoffs to Cloud9, who were looking more and more like a final boss battle every single day.

Redemption

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As the Summer Split rolled around TSM fell into a slump. Xpecial was benched for his negative attitude and TheOddOne retired. They turned to Gleeb of Cloud9 Tempest and Amazing of Copenhagen Wolves as replacements. Amazing, a mechanical jungler known for his Lee Sin, fit in with the playstyle and standards of the team. Gleeb, however, didn’t reach the level that TSM were hoping for. To give themselves the best shot at Playoffs and Worlds TSM signed CJ Entus Blaze standout Lustboy to take over support duties. With this addition their luck started to turn around. They pulled themselves out of 5th place and managed to finish the Summer Split in 3rd, earning themselves a Playoffs berth.

They would go on to beat both Team Dignitas and LMQ to meet Cloud9 in the Finals. It was a road they had been down so many times before but always managed to stumble at the last hurdle. It was easy to be suffocated by the weight of everything that had brought them there. The roster changes and inner strife. The history of losing to Cloud9. It all culminated in a hard fought, 3-2 series. TSM prevailed, giving Cloud9 their first ever Playoffs loss.

Going into Worlds, again there were high expectations of TSM. Their Group Stage showed glimmers of this as they beat out SK Gaming and Taipei Assassins to come in 2nd behind Star Horn Royal Club, one of the best teams in China. Alas, in the Quarterfinals, they would come face to face with the powerhouse that was Samsung White. Although they managed to win one game, they would still lose the series 3-1.

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In the off-season TSM would lose jungler Amazing back to Europe. It was on good terms as Amazing just wanted to move back to EU. TSM acquired an up-and-coming Challenger player in Santorin as a replacement. It was with this roster that they would continue their run of excellent form and win their first ever international tournament at IEM Katowice, sweeping Team WE in the Finals 3-0. They would go on to win both the Spring Split and Playoffs, beating out Cloud9 in both instances. TSM was on a hot streak, until MSI stopped them dead in their tracks. They were coming into the tournament as favorites but only managed to win one game in the group stages, bowing out of the competition early.  

The hit of MSI would carry on into the Summer Split. A lack of both confidence and coordination would see them finish the Summer Split in 5th place, the lowest position in the history of the organization. Even so, they still managed to use their superior Playoffs experience to win their way to a championship showdown with Counter Logic Gaming. They were swept 3-0 and gave CLG their first ever Regional Championship.

While the loss to CLG was devastating, TSM had their eyes firmly set on Worlds 2015. They bootcamped in Korea and had an overwhelming positive outlook at their prospects even after being given an unfavorable draw. Unfortunately, this positivity evaporated after the bootcamp and they finished bottom of their group.

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During the offseason TSM underwent some of the most radical changes seen by any top-tier team in the LCS. A string of retirements and benchings saw them almost lose their entire starting roster, including Dyrus. After his tearful announcement at Worlds 2015 he became the 2nd highest trending topic on Twitter.

When the dust settled the only player that was left was Bjergsen, essentially leaving them to rebuild their team almost from scratch. The result being one of the most stacked rosters in NA LCS history, including Doublelift, arguably the best ADC in North America, and Yellowstar, the 2015 EU LCS Summer Split MVP.

In Week 1 of 2016, they went 1-1 in the NA LCS, losing to CLG and picking up a come-from-behind victory against Liquid. Neither game looked particularly convincing. Though in the mess of rust and misplays there were glimmers of brilliance. Shiny little beacons of hope telling us what this team could become. Obviously, it’s going to be a long walk to get there. Teams traditionally take some time to gel together, but if this team manages to become a cohesive unit it could potentially be the best iteration of TSM to date.

This weekend in Week 2 of 2016, they’ll take on their former ADC WildTurtle and the rest of the Immortals, a team coming off the back of the fastest win in NA LCS history. It will be a huge test for TSM -- one that could define the rest of their season. And should they manage to take away a win against the up and coming Immortals, they’ll cement themselves as contenders for the Split.

Share your favorite memories of TSM and be sure to check out the match on lolesports.com this Saturday.