The ‘burgerking’, Soren Bjerg, also known as Bjergsen, is one of the, if not the most popular, and skilled player in the North American League of Legends esports scene. Bjergsen began his competitive career extremely young, at just sixteen years of age he was signed to and played for the Copenhagen Wolves. With the team, he made his large debut in the DreamHack Winter 2012 tournament, astounding many with his young age yet high mechanical skill and game knowledge. The Wolves came in as a semi-finalist, a decent achievement considering they were created only two to three months before the event.
The EU LCS had an age restriction for competitive play in Riot events, preventing younger players to enter the scene. As the EU LCS Spring Season had started before Bjergsen had turned 17, he was unable to represent the team in the first two weeks. This forced the Copenhagen Wolves to temporarily allocate substitute player ‘Cowtard’ until Bjergsen was fit to play.
The team rapidly dropped down the LCS ladder before Bjergsen finally turned 17 and re-joined the starting roster as the team’s mid laner. This quickly boosted their overall performance before finishing 5th place in the EU LCS Spring Split.
After showing his prowess and carrying the Copenhagen Wolves, the young superstar was snapped up by rival EU LCS team, Ninjas in Pyjamas. While 2013 was by no means a good year for the Copenhagen Wolves, ending the Summer regular season 5th and the Summer playoffs at 6th place, Bjergsen remained a strong force in the team.
The team may have performed poorly, however, the young mid-laner was the driving force, without him, they would have definitely lost even harder.
Backed by his strong individual performance and skill, Bjergsen caught the eye of Team SoloMid’s owner and mid laner at the time, Reginald. As Reginald had wanted to retire and step out of the competitive side of the team, he scouted and trailed Bjergsen as the team’s starting mid laner.
Transitioning into TSM was no small matter, previously playing for one of the lower tier teams in the EU LCS, before moving across half way around the world into North America to play for the region’s biggest and most hyped team. In North America, while Bjersen was still young and nervous, he settled in extremely well with the team, assimilating smoothly and being coached by his experienced teammates Dyrus, Xpecial, WildTurtle and TheOddOne.
As we already said, Bjergsen is one of the most recognised names in competitive League of Legends, not only restricted in the North American scene, instead being known worldwide. While the Bjergsen has yet to achieve a top finish in international events such as Worlds, his individual performance is able to rival some of the best mid laners throughout the other regions like EU, CN and even KR.
As Bjergsen mentioned in his video, he has been with Team SoloMid the majority of his competitive career, joining when he was just seventeen. As an extremely young member that had been recruited to fill the shoes of Reginald, the TSM founder and former mid laner, Bjergsen started he simply desired to earn his “right on TSM”. While TSM fans in the start were sceptical due to his young age and absence in the NA scene (previously playing in EU), Bjergsen quickly earned their respect when he immediately delivered results.
In the early days, Bjergsen was simply a mechanical player, with veterans like Dyrus or Xpecial being left to shot call in games. However, as members departed, Bjergsen became TSM’s pillar as he continued to improve. This transformed Bjergsen to being TSM’s new shot caller, not only responsible for his individual lane, but setting his teammates up for success through correct macro play.
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Bjergsen mentions the domestic success TSM had achieved in the past may have stagnated the growth of the members. This led to same poor habits being unable to be corrected, leading to their downfall in the international stage.
As a result, Bjergsen personally advised to bring certain members to the team, specifically Sven, Mithy and MikeYeung. TSM’s decision to bring these three players on their starting roster demonstrate the trust they have towards Bjergsen, and their desire to focus the roster around Bjergsen.
Now, the names of Bjergsen and TSM are inseparable, with the two having already been together for five years. As Bjergsen continues to play at his current standard as amongst NA’s best mid laners, he will likely stay with Team SoloMid for many years to come as the organisation will undoubtedly throw everything they have to keep their star player.
Bjergsen began his League of Legends career playing for the likes of Cruel Ultimatum, LoLLeague, Western Wolves, and Team LDLC. Still, his first notable showings happened when he joined Copenhagen Wolves (CW) in the 2013 EU LCS Spring Split. Due to his young age, he couldn’t play for the first two weeks of the competition, so he had a hard time catching up to his adversaries. But as the split progressed, he redeemed himself with strong performances against the best mid laners in the league, and it was largely because of him that CW managed to reach the 5th/6th place.
In the off-season, the entire Copenhagen Wolves lineup joined Ninjas in Pyjamas. They had a respectable showing in summer, and Bjergsen was the shining star of this roster. But his teammates weren’t up to the EU LCS standard, and once again, Bjergsen finished the regular season in the 5th/6th place. Even so, his mid lane prowess caught the eye of TSM’s owner—Andy “Reginald” Dinh—who decided to sign Bjergsen for the 2014 NA LCS season.
Bjergsen made a splash in the 2014 NA LCS Spring Split. He was head and shoulders above most North American mid laners, and his play propelled TSM to the top-2 of the regular season. But the real fight began in the playoffs. TSM kicked off their run with a 2-1 victory over CLG, but they hit a wall in the finals against Cloud9. And while Bjergsen played well individually, C9’s macro prowess proved too much for him to handle.
In the 2014 Summer Split, TSM brought in Santorin and Gleeb to their roster. Unfortunately, the support move didn’t pan out, and the team struggled for the first weeks of the regular season. They bounced back by signing Lustboy. A new support reinvigorated the North American lineup, and TSM secured a 16-12 record to qualify for the playoffs.
Their run started with an easy 3-1 win over Team Dignitas. In the semifinals, they were challenged by LMQ, and the series went to 5 games before TSM managed to squeeze out a win. The finals saw TSM clashing with Cloud9. And while TSM lost every time they went against this foe in the past, they turned this narrative on its head by scoring a narrow 3-2 victory. With that, Bjergsen qualified for his first World Championship.
TSM capitalized on this momentum in the 2015 Spring Split. CLG and C9 were breathing down their necks, but TSM persevered and produced a 13-5 record to finish the regular season in first place. In the playoffs, they enjoyed a 3-1 victory over Team Impulse. And while C9 tried to oppose them in the finals, TSM scored another 3-1 win to raise their second consecutive trophy.
At first, it seemed like TSM would keep their streak going in summer. However, they fell off towards the second half of the split and finished the regular season in fifth place. TSM regained their composure for the playoffs where they defeated Gravity and Team Liquid with the same 3-1 scoreline. But as they started the final series against CLG, it became clear TSM were a cut below their opponents. CLG crushed them in a swift 3-0 series, and Bjergsen had to settle for the silver medal. Luckily, this result was good enough to qualify for Worlds.
TSM went through a number of roster changes in the preseason. They entered the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split with the lineup of Hauntzer, Svenskeren, Bjergsen, Doublelift, and YellowStar. But despite this immense talent, TSM had a hard time performing in the regular season. The lack of synergy between Doublelift and YellowStar was especially worrying, and TSM barely managed to finish the regular season in sixth place.
Many thought of them as underdogs coming into the playoffs. But, TSM picked up the slack to the point where they 3-1’d Cloud9 and even 3-0’d the unwavering Immortals. Still, this wasn’t the start of a Cinderella story. TSM ran out of steam in the finals where they suffered a narrow 3-2 loss against CLG.
For the 2016 Summer Split, TSM replaced YellowStar with Biofrost. Surprisingly enough, the move worked. Doublelift and Biofrost became one of the strongest duos in the region, which made it all too easy for Bjergsen to take over the mid lane. TSM breezed through the regular season with a massive 17-1 record. In the playoffs, they exacted their revenge on CLG (3-0) and disassembled Cloud9 (3-1) to secure the gold medal. With that, they also qualified for the 2016 World Championship.
TSM were about to put on a clinic in the 2017 Spring Split. However, Doublelift decided to take a break from competitive play, and the org was forced to bring in WildTurtle as his replacement. This put a ton of pressure on Bjergsen who became the main carry of the team. TSM still enjoyed a lot of success and finished the regular season in first place, but their showings were far from dominant. The playoffs saw them crushing FlyQuest with a 3-0 score before taking on Cloud9 in the finals. This series came down to the wire, but in the end, TSM found a miracle teamfight to steal a 3-2 victory as well as a ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational.
Doublelift finally returned in summer, and viewers expected TSM to blow the competition out of the water. But their run wasn’t that seamless. TSM started experimenting with different tactics like putting Bjergsen on supportive champions, which made them weak in the short term. Still, they went 14-4 in the regular season, which was more than enough to finish in first place. TSM stepped up for the playoffs and scored a confident 3-1 win over Team Dignitas. And even though Immortals attempted to take them down in the finals, TSM scored another 3-1 victory to raise the trophy. With that, Bjergsen aslo got his fourth shot at Worlds.
In 2018, TSM parted ways with Svenskeren, Doublelift, and Biofrost in favor of MikeYeung, Zven, and Mithy. This was supposed to be their strongest roster. And yet, it clearly suffered from synergy issues during the first half of the Spring Split. In the end, TSM managed to regain their composure and finish third in the regular season. They came into the playoffs match against Clutch Gaming as clear favorites. But contrary to all expectations, TSM TSM fell apart and suffered a crushing 3-1 defeat. And while Bjergsen did well, it wasn’t enough to salvage the series.
In 2014, Bjergsen went to his first World Championship. TSM enjoyed ample success in the group stage, and they beat SK Gaming and Taipei Assassins to qualify for the playoffs. This was the end of the line for them, though, as TSM lost 3-1 to the eventual champions, Samsung White.
Then, TSM went to IEM Season 9 San Jose. They were seeded into the Semifinals. However, this didn’t do much for them, and TSM suffered a crushing 2-0 defeat in their first series against Unicorns of Love.
In 2015, Bjergsen went to the IEM Season 9 World Championship. In the group stage, TSM scored back-to-back victories against Team WE and CJ Entus to qualify for the playoffs. There, they defeated Flash Wolves in a close 2-1 semifinal. And while Team WE tried to exact its revenge in the finals, TSM won the series without dropping a single game, and claimed their first international trophy.
The 2015 World Championship was far more challenging. TSM found themselves in the “group of death” together with LGD, KT Rolster, and Origen. And even though TSM managed to pick off a win against LGD, their 1-5 record meant they exited the tournament in last place.
TSM kicked off 2016 with a visit to IEM Season 10 San Jose. Their 2-0 victory over LGD showed a lot of promise, but the following series against Origen ended in crushing defeat. With that, TSM were knocked out of the tournament.
TSM had a lot of hype coming into the 2016 World Championship. Unfortunately, they ended up in the hardest group of the tournament together with Samsung Galaxy, Royal Never Give Up, and Splyce. Granted, Splyce didn’t put up much of a fight, but TSM couldn’t overcome their other opponents, and their 3-3 record wasn’t enough to make it past the group stage.
Fans didn’t have high hopes for TSM at the 2017 MSI. With Doublelift temporarily leaving the team, the org had to put all of its eggs into the mid lane basket. But even a player of Bjergsen’s caliber couldn’t solo carry a team on an international stage, and TSM’s 4-6 groups run was far too shaky to qualify for the playoffs.
Once Doublelift returned for Worlds, everyone expected great things out of TSM. They were placed in a group alongside Team WE, Misfits, and Flash Wolves, which was the best case scenario for TSM fans. But inexplicably, the NA LCS powerhouse crumbled. TSM went 3-3 in the group stage and ended up losing a tiebreaker against Misfits. And while Doublelift received the most criticism, Bjergsen also got a lot of flak for his overly passive playstyle.
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