Roster mania takes over as the World Championship nears its end

With the Worlds semifinals coming up this weekend, the four remaining teams are busy preparing for the final push towards the Summoner’s Cup. But for many teams, the offseason already started a few months ago with the end of the regular season and playoffs.

The free agency period officially starts on November 15, which means teams and players can’t negotiate or sign agreements before it as it would be considered poaching. But that doesn’t prevent teams from discussing their future internally and making announcements.

TSM roster changes

One of these was released yesterday by the TSM FTX official Twitter account in a video in which owner TSM Reginald and general manager TSM Parth announce that after eight years Bjergsen will not be a part of the team.

This came as a shock to a lot of fans who were expecting Bjergsen to return to the mid-lane after a year of being the head coach for the main team. Considering that a few weeks ago it was reported that their current mid-laner PowerOfEvil, was permitted to talk to other teams, it seems TSM is in the market for a new mid. In his playing career for TSM, Bjergsen became the most decorated player in the LCS, winning four MVP awards and six LCS Championships. In the video, they state that they offered Bjergsen a new contract on October 1, but the Danish mid-laner refused the offer and decided to test the market as a free agent. But before he can do that, TSM and Bjergsen need to settle on an agreement for the sale of Bjergsen’s shares as a part-owner, which he received in 2019 with his latest contract extension. In the video, they also mention that moving forward the team is looking to rejuvenate the roster with younger players, which probably confirms the rumor that support player SwordArt is also leaving. SwordArt signed a six million two-year deal in the last offseason following his Worlds finals appearance as a member of Suning, but reports say he’s ready to terminate the rest of his contract to return to the LPL.

Exodus from the LCS

A lot of rumors and reports are also surfacing that Cloud9 mid-laner Perkz is also looking to go back to Europe, mostly due to family reasons. He also signed a new contract last offseason, which means his new team must be prepared to pay a buyout fee to Cloud9 to acquire his rights.

Rumors suggest that Perkz has a strong desire to play with fellow European Alphari, who is the top laner for Team Liquid in the LCS. One possible destination that has been mentioned is Vitality, where they would team up to form a super team, which has been an idea that Vitality’s management has discussed for the past three years. Meanwhile, Team Liquid is internally discussing the possibility of role swapping mid-laner Jensen to ADC if Bjergsen decides to join their roster.

Uncertainty in Europe

Meanwhile, in Europe, a lot of people are waiting on the outcome of the Perkz and Alphari situation to calculate their next move. Fnatic’s jungler Bwipo, MAD Lions ADC Carrzy, Misfits jungler Razork, Vitality ADC Crownshot and top laner BrokenBlade are all free agents who will have a lot of suitors. Razork seems to be the most likely candidate to replace Bwipo if he decides to leave Fnatic.

As previously reported, G2 is looking to sell top laner Wunder, and bot laners Rekkles and Mikyx to a team willing to pay their buyout fees. But reports say that they’re not the only team looking to move contracted players. Rumors are flying rampant around the contract status of MAD Lions top laner Armut, Rogue’s jungler Inspired, and ADC Hans Sama. Both these teams underperformed at Worlds for the second year in a row, and a lot of teams are interested in the services of Hans Sama. Separate reports suggest that at least one of Europe’s junglers from the Bwipo, Inspired, and Razork trio is coming to the LCS next year. Reports also suggest that a large number of LCS teams are interested in acquiring young talent from regional European leagues. Most notably, there is a rumor that the MVP of the French regional league, the LFL, Toucouille, will be the starting mid laner next year for Flyquest in the LCS. 

 

(Header image via RIOT Games)