The Dane Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg is considered the most popular and important player in the US League of Legends. It is inextricably linked to the TSM name. Bjergsen actually ended his career in 2020, then worked as a coach in LoL for a year, but came back in 2021 to shine as a professional player. But that went wrong. Now he is retiring at 27.
Why is Bjergsen so popular?
Bjergsen is the biggest player in the US – Faker is the biggest in the world:
Bjergsen resigned after the 2020 World Cup debacle
What was the catch? Even if Bjergsen was the dominant player with TSM in the USA and the fans kissed the ground he walked on, he could never convince internationally. He was regularly kicked out early at the Worlds. The competition from China and South Korea has always been two or three classes better than the teams in which Bjergsen played.
In 2020 he experienced an absolute disaster with TSM. That flew out with 0-6. After that, Bjergsen ended his career and became a coach at TSM.
The last 2 years Bjergsen played with “super teams” but never made it far in the playoffs
How was his return now? After a year as a coach, Bjergsen wanted to do it again and play professionally again. His boss at TMS, Reginald, also allegedly made him a great offer, promising him money and strong players, but Bjergsen switched to Team Liquid, where he was given a “super team” of great European players like Hans sama or Bwipo.
But Team Liquid didn’t succeed, the team didn’t fit together, got knocked out in the playoffs against younger teams and the team broke up after a year.
In 2023, Bjergsen wanted to do it again with “100 Thieves”. He joined the team there, replacing the German Abbedagge and was also reunited with his old friend Doublelift.
But this team couldn’t convince either – fell mercilessly in the playoffs, in the Spring Split 2023, against FlyQuest and Golden Guardians.
Bjergsen has played LoL half his life, he’s had enough
This is the end now: Bjergsen has now announced his final departure after losing to the Golden Guardians. He says it’s not because of retirement or the team, but that he’s been at odds for a long time now.
According to Bjergsen, LoL is so complex with the many champions that it takes a lot of time and effort to stay on top. He’s been doing this for a long time. That was also the key to his success. But now he no longer feels that fire after playing LoL for half his life.
You’re always chasing that one success, winning a championship or winning an international tournament. But that’s probably no longer the case for Bjergsen.
He says:
I’ve worked harder than a lot of people, I wanted it more than a lot of them, and I was willing to sacrifice time with friends and family, personal interests, hobbies, pretty much everything else.
For a long time he has been telling people around him that if he no longer feels that he can give everything to win and be the best, then he will stop. And he believes that time has now come.
Bjergsen does not see his first resignation as a resignation because he still wanted to win, albeit as a coach.
This is his first and only retirement from the competition. He doesn’t yet know what will happen next. He decided not to continue as a coach or streamer straight away:
I’d like to find out what my identity is when all my time isn’t connected to League of Legends.
This is behind it: It’s hard to be a little mean to Bjergsen after the emotional video. But, to put it bluntly: After 2021, the hustle and bustle surrounding Bjergsen was more hype than actual sporting success. Before that, Bjergsen and his teams were dominant in the USA, only internationally it was never enough against Korea and China.
After his comeback, Bjergsen’s teams were no longer the big force nationally either: it all seemed bought together to create a team that would play a role at the Worlds. But apparently that’s not how LoL works.
While his teams performed well in the regular season, they crumbled under the pressure of the playoffs. Although Bjergsen has played well in recent years.
It’s a shame for Bjergsen. You could tell he didn’t want to stop with the 0-6 at the 2020 World Cup. But in the end he hasn’t managed to earn a place on the international stage in the last two years. So this part of an otherwise dreamlike career remains unfulfilled.
By the way, Team TSM is not doing well at the moment:
LoL: The USA’s most successful team is said to be selling its place in the LCS – “What a decline!”