Bjergsen and Lustboy lead TSM over LGD in shocking upset

Editor's Note: This interview was conducted with Lustboy just before the Origen vs. KT Rolster game, and his answers do not reflect knowing the results of that game.

The surprises just keep on coming. In a game where one team would end their winless streak, almost no one would have thought that it would be Team SoloMid. And yet here we are.

In addition to TSM mid laner Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, who hard carried the game on Twisted Fate with a 11/0/12 score, support Jang-sik "Lustboy" Ham was instrumental in initiations, zone control, and clutch saves. We sat down with LustCena to ask about TSM's issues in the first two games, what changed versus LGD, and how they'll get out of Groups going forward.

The theme of this Worlds has been communication issues that cause more problems, and TSM is no different. "We thought we were going to take [the first two] games more easily," said Lustboy, "But a lot of us were nervous, and we had some communication issues [that caused us] to lose those games. Coming into the third game, we weren't as confident, but we thought that our communication was our problem, we tried to work on it, and that's how we were able to take the game."

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In contrast to their game against KT, where the team tried to snowball Bjergsen's lead, and the second game where lack of proper teamfight preparation resulted in turned fights, TSM had solved their communication and prioritization problems that caused both.

Instrumental in their comeback was the somewhat unique Twisted Fate pick by Bjergsen, that had been banned against him in the two previous games. "Twisted Fate is actually one of our strongest picks," explained Lustboy. "I'm not sure how that information was leaked to other teams [from scrims], but apparently they know about it and are banning it." When asked about other Double TP compositions, Lustboy had this to say, "We have four days to practice, which is more than enough. If double TP is strong, then we'll get ready to play one, and you might see it."

This game also saw the second Mordekaiser win, which many may credit with TSM's success, but that's not how Lustboy sees it. In his mind, Jason "WildTurtle" Tran just needs to bring out his form on the Worlds stage. "In scrims, WildTurtle performs really well -- sometimes even better than Bjergsen -- and even if not, he's still usually the second best performer in our games. But it seems like on stage he doesn't perform as well."

He speaks to the 3/2/20 game that WildTurtle had, and it was more about TSM handling their issues as a team. "This time our communication was much better, so he was able to perform a lot better -- it's not just because he picked Morde. Our overall team performance was a lot better."

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For LGD Gaming, this means a drop to 0-3, and likely elimination from the tournament. But the fall of LGD isn't something that surprises Lustboy. "I'm friends with a lot of players in China, and I've heard that LGD isn't as good as what most people think of them," Lustboy said. "So it wasn't really a surprise that the team started to underperform. I'm not surprised that they didn't show up."

Going into Week 2, TSM will need to beat all three other teams for a great shot at the Quarterfinals, but Lustboy believes they can do it. "I think Origen is quite a tough opponent, but I think KT is the strongest opponent in our group. Since it was only their first time in Worlds, I think they were quite nervous in their first match against us, but after that game, I think they overcame that nervousness and are performing at their highest level.

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"It's going to be a really challenging test for sure, but I don't think my team is behind the other teams in any specific dimensions. We need to work on a few things, communication for example, and if we are able to level up those things, I think we have a pretty decent chance to get out of Groups."

TSM will have their shot at revenge next week October 10 when they take on the 3-0 Origen.