Free Agency for League of Legends and specifically the LCS is coming up soon and there are already a lot of big names that will potentially be available. Once Team Liquid, Cloud9 or Clutch Gaming hopefully make a deep Worlds 2019 run, teams will be looking towards bolstering their rosters for Worlds 2020. Here are some potential spots one of the biggest free agents, Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, could end up.

Bjergsen

Potential 2020 Teams: TSM, 100 Thieves and Fnatic

He is likely the biggest name “available”, at least in the LCS and already the most talked-about name before gauntlet had even concluded. Will Bjergsen stay after the last two years of TSM failing to make Worlds? This is a fair question and one worth taking a look at.

The reason available is in quotations in the first paragraph is because it is possible that TSM will sign Bjerg well before he hits the open market. That said, the closer it gets to the start of free agency, the more likely it is that he could try his luck elsewhere. The only teams, in the West at least, that Bjerg might be looking at outside of TSM are likely 100 Thieves and Fnatic.

Fnatic

For Fnatic, Nemesis has been much better than most thought he would be in his first year. He has grown into one of the best mid laners in Europe, helping Fnatic to Worlds. It was always going to be hard for him as he replaced Caps Yet it seems as though Nemesis has been up to the task, even killing Caps 1v1 during the LEC Finals.

Statistically, for the Summer Split, he was first in KDA, first in Gold Difference at 10 and third in CS difference at ten. He also had the least amount of deaths and second-most assists among starting mid laners. It is clear the Nemesis had a stellar summer split.

With all of this in mind, could Fnatic be even better with Bjergsen? Would he be able to mix in well with the team? One of the things about Bjergsen is that he has had many different junglers in the past. While this may not be his fault it just seems like there may be something there. Broxah is one of the best players on Fnatic and losing him or putting undue stress on him would not seem worth it.

Overall it is likely Fnatic would stick with Nemesis. He has helped them to a Worlds appearance, had a solid summer split and has good chemistry with the team. Even if Bjergsen wanted to go to Fnatic it doesn’t seem as though they would want him.

100 Thieves

As for 100 Thieves, there is no doubt that this would be the most tempting option for Bjerg on the open market. He would be an instant upgrade over Ryu and with Bjerg 100 Thieves would be able to bring back Ssumday in the top lane. Imagine a lineup of Ssumday, Amazing, Bjerg, Bang and Aphromoo. That is the type of talent that could compete with Cloud9 and Team Liquid. Add onto that, the amount of support talent with 100 Thieves adding PapaSmithy as well and 100 Thieves looks like a great spot for Bjerg to land.

But, would Bjerg want to go there? With all of the different internal issues for 100 Thieves, one might be worried about going there. With the Meteos and Cody Sun drama after the team finished second in the 2018 Spring Split Finals many wondered how they would recover? Then they struggled that Summer and really made questionable decisions at a Worlds 2018 where they massively underperformed. They made changes for 2019 and still struggled until the last few weeks of the Summer Split. While next season can be completely different, this could impact Bjergsen’s decision.

While 100 Thieves would likely be interested in Bjergsen, the feeling may not be mutual. The team has talent without a doubt and adding him to their lineup would make them instant contenders. The problem is that the team has struggled to gel since 2018 and while the end of Summer Split was good, it still was not good enough. Would Bjergsen be enough to push them over the edge and would he be able to deal with the potential drama? It would definitely be interesting to find out.

TSM

To start, this option seems very similar to 100 Thieves. There have been two rough years and seemingly some internal issues. This is really the first time that Bjergsen has faced this type of adversity since joining TSM. The question is, is it enough to make him want to leave?

There are a couple of advantages that TSM will have over any other team that is interested in signing Bjergsen. First, they are his team. He is the face of the franchise. This means that it is imperative that TSM resign him not only because he is talented but, his fanbase and the TSM League of Legends fanbase are intertwined. Losing him could definitely damage TSM and possibly vice versa. TSM will definitely not want to take this chance and Bjergsen may not be willing to either. This means that TSM will likely be in the position to basically give Bjergsen whatever he wants in contract discussions.

The second part is that TSM are willing to build a team around Bjergsen. They have already done this and while it didn’t work out last time, that doesn’t mean it won’t this time. There are many solid free agents for TSM to take a look at when filling their roster. It is likely that Bjergsen will have some sway in this. Not only to fit what he wants but also because players will want to come to TSM to play with him. There are not many teams that will be willing to give a player this much influence. On other teams he may not get the same treatment and instead would be a star player for sure but the pressure of not playing well could make him just another cog in the wheel.

With all that said, is Bjergsen ready to leave TSM to potentially have a better chance of winning or is he ready to roll the dice with the organization one more time?

Likely Landing Spot: TSM

While this may not be the best option for Bjergsen compeitively it is definitely the safest and most likely. TSM are probably willing to pay a hefty price to keep Bjerg. He is their franchise player and losing him would be detrimental to the org as a whole.

As for Bjerg’s side, the money will be good and he will have more knowns. Even while a team like 100 Thieves may be better competitively with him, don’t forget that without him they are already worse than TSM was last year. Also, he can have the choice of who he wants to play with, as long as they are available, and that can mean a lot for a star player. That puts the onus on him to make sure the team performs and that pressure may be better than not having a say or really any control with another team.

While this may end up being the landing spot for Bjergsen, this may also be the last chance TSM get. If they should underperform again next year, it is unlikely that Bjerg will want to stay at that point. No matter what happens, all eyes will be on Bjergsen to see what he ends up for his 2020 season.

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