If there is one team in Valorant scene that have seen both the top and the bottom, it would be TSM. The organization has not been able to find the success they desire for a long time, and now their fate is up to other North American teams who will participate in Masters Berlin.
The downfall of TSM’s Valorant esports scene
Back in May 2020, TSM was one of the earliest teams who entered the Valorant scene, acquiring the ex-mouseSpaz roster. The squad was full of former CS:GO players: Stephan “reltuC” Cutler, James “hazed” Cobb, Matthew “Wardell” Yu, Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik, and Taylor “drone” Johnson. Thanks to the experience they have, the roster became among the best teams in the region. Winning early tournaments, competing with Sentinels for the first place in NA, and performing decently overall; everything was going great for TSM Valorant in their early days until the First Strike.
After losing against 100 Thieves in the grand final of First Strike, the regression has started to set in for TSM in the Valorant scene. Many great teams and new talented youngsters entered the scene and the game’s meta changed quickly, and TSM couldn’t keep up and started to lose. Firstly, they failed to qualify for VCT 2021 Stage 1 Masters by losing in two open qualifiers and in Challengers 3. After that, they weren’t able to get through to Valorant’s first LAN tournament, Masters Reykjavik.
TSM made some roster changes before the Stage 3’s start, hoping to find those glory days back in 2020, by adding Sean “bang” Bezerra and Aleko “LeviathanAG” Gabuniya to the roster. However, they hit the brick wall once again after being eliminated in the open qualifier of Stage 3 Challengers 1 against Noble.
Last hope
TSM had one last chance to keep their run in 2021’s Valorant esports scene, and this time the powerhouse managed to qualify for the Challengers Playoffs after beating every opponent in Challengers 2. In the end, though, it wasn’t enough. Being eliminated from Challengers Playoffs following the losses against Rise and Envy put TSM’s VCT 2021: Champions dreams into nightmares.
Now, there is only one way left for TSM to qualify for the Champions, which is the Last Chance Qualifiers(LCQ). However, one North American representative has to win the Masters Berlin for TSM to participate in the LCQ since they have 40 Circuit Points.
If NA can’t win the Masters Berlin, Valorant Champions Tour 2021 will end in disappointment once again for TSM.
