When watching the TSM vs. TL game today I was expecting the works from this series. The usual game 1 throw by Bjergsen and company followed by a clean sweep of the next two games to win the series 2–1. However, when watching the first game something did not just seem right. There are a few reasons for that feeling.

TSM may not have the best early game in the LCS but theirs is nowhere near how bad TL’s has been most of the season. Before the matches today, TL was averaging a gold deficit at 15 of about 1500 gold and TSM usually having about a 200 gold advantage at the same time frame. I am not going to speak too much on TSM’s game 1 struggles because it is self-evident by this point. So, by these statistics TSM should not be having that much trouble with TL in the early game. However, that was nowhere near the case.

After the first game where Reignover’s Olaf literally ran through TSM’s bot lane for the first 15 minutes of the game I felt like TL just may have their crap figured out. Reignover is a very well-rounded jungler however, he just has not had hardly any success this split. He is posting an abysmal 2.7 KDA which is the worst of any jungler and just 0.2 better than the ADC turned mid laner Piglet. On TSM’s side, it showed the bot lane struggling mightily. WildTurtle only posted about half a thousand more damage than the Karma support, on Ashe. While Bjergsen and Hauntzer were doubling that with both doing about 12k in damage.

In the second game, TSM looked to be turning things around. They did not lose in the early game and kept the gold lead steadily increasing until the mid-game where they excelled greatly and won in 30 minutes. On the other hand, WildTurtle continued to not contribute to the teams’ damage total by posting the same 6k damage on Ashe.

The third game was a seesaw battle that had through two huge team fights that did not go TSM’s way and 27 and 29 minutes. Also, you probably guess what I am going to say next huh? The key weakness in the damage department of TSM was again WildTurtle barely outdoing the support Karma in damage on again, Ashe.

No matter how much I want to, I am not going to blame this loss on WildTurtle completely. There were things each player could have done better on TSM, including coach Parth. There are a couple of questions that I have concerning TSM drafting this series. One, why put Svenskeren on Rengar when he has one of the cleanest Lee Sin’s known to man? Secondly, why let the Lulu continually go through when it is easily the best support at the moment? Lastly, what was the point of letting WildTurtle play Ashe into Doublelift’s Ezeral THREE times in a row when it is obviously work the first two times.

I do not know if WildTurtle volunteers to only play Ashe or he is being forced to. Whatever the situation is, it needs to change. Put him on a Lucian or Ezeral that has an escape/more mobility. That way if he overextends he at least has a chance if escaping. The decision has most likely been made on who will be TSM’s starting ADC for the summer split. WildTurtle could possibly change Reginald’s and the community’s opinion by preforming well in playoffs and maybe MSI, if they even make it that far.