Bjergsen

Bjergsen
Bjerg in 2015
Personal information
NameSøren Bjerg
Born (1996-02-21) 21 February 1996 (age 28)
Denmark
Career information
GamesLeague of Legends
Playing career2012–2020, 2022–2023
RoleMid Laner
Coaching career2021
Team history
As player:
2012Western Wolves
2012Team-LDLC
2012–2013Copenhagen Wolves
2013Ninjas in Pyjamas
2014–2020Team SoloMid
2022Team Liquid
2023100 Thieves
As coach:
2021Team SoloMid
Career highlights and awards

Søren Bjerg (Danish: [ˈsɶːɐn ˈpjɛɐ̯ˀw]; born 21 February 1996), better known as Bjergsen (English: /ˈbjɜːrɡsɪn/ ⓘ BYURG-sin), is a Danish former professional League of Legends player. He is best known for his 7 years from 2014 to 2020 as the starting mid laner for the Team SoloMid League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) team. He followed that with shorter stints as a head coach for TSM, and again as a mid laner for Team Liquid and 100 Thieves.[1][2][3][4] He is one of the winningest North American players of all time with 6 domestic titles and 10 finals appearances, and has never finished below 5th place. Internationally, he won IEM Katowice 2015 and qualified to the League of Legends World Championship 5 times, but only advanced past the group stage once.[5] He is best known as the greatest North American player for his individual prowess as a mid laner, where he was a perennial MVP and 1st Team All Pro candidate; he won 4 MVP titles, 3 playoff MVP titles, and 6 1st Team All Pro titles.[6] He has never finished below 4th in All Pro voting, and is the current all-time LCS kills leader.[7][8] He retired from competitive eSports in April of 2023.[9][10]

Early life

[edit]

Bjerg was born on 21 February 1996, in Denmark.[11][12] He grew up in Mejdal, Holstebro with his two brothers.[13][14] Prior to League of Legends, Bjerg played several games casually, including Counter Strike Global Offensive, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo 2.[15]

Career

[edit]

Bjerg joined professional League of Legends in 2013 as a member of the Copenhagen Wolves in the European League of Legends Championship Series. Due to age restrictions put in place by Riot Games, Bjerg was unable to play with the Copenhagen Wolves until Week 3.[16] For the first two weeks, he was temporarily replaced by the team's substitute player, cowTard. After he turned 17 years old on February 21, he joined the main lineup and played in the remaining matches.[17] After finding success with CW, his team was acquired by and re-branded as Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) for the Summer Split of the EU LCS.[17]

On 2 November 2013, Bjerg left NiP to move to North America and joined Team SoloMid as their mid laner.[18][19] He was the second player to cross over from the EU to NA LCS, after Edward left Gambit Gaming to join Team Curse during Season 3.[20] On 23 January 2014, Riot Games announced that Bjerg violated the LCS rules by approaching and encouraging a contracted LCS player to leave his position at Lemondogs.[21] He admitted the violation and was fined $2,000.[22][better source needed] In the Spring Split, Bjerg and TSM finished second place in the regular season with a 22–6 record, and Bjergsen won the Most Valuable Player award in his first split in North America.[23] They were placed into the semi–finals, where they defeated Counter Logic Gaming 2–0 before falling 3–0 to Cloud9 in the finals. In Summer, Team SoloMid ended at 16–12, which was good enough for a third place seeding in the playoffs. TSM faced Dignitas in the first round, and won 3–1, before facing defeating LMQ in a close 3–2 series to make their fourth consecutive finals appearance, and their third against Cloud9. This time, Team SoloMid was able to overcome the reigning champions, and Bjerg won his first LCS Championship.

In 2015 Spring, Bjerg once again won the MVP Award, leading his team to a 13–5 record; first place in the league.[24] In playoffs, Team SoloMid defeated Team Impulse 3–1 in the Semifinals, before once again meeting Cloud9 in the title match.[25] TSM defeated C9 3–1, and won their third LCS title, and Bjerg's second. In the Summer Split, TSM finished 5th, with a record of 11–7, but once again made the run to finals, defeating Gravity Gaming and Team Liquid both with a score of 3–1. In the finals, they faced Counter Logic Gaming, and were swept 3–0. Despite losing the Summer Finals, TSM still qualified for the 2015 League of Legends World Championship.[26] At Worlds, Team SoloMid were drawn into Group D, alongside Korea's KT Rolster, Europe's Origen, and China's LGD Gaming. TSM came last in their group with a record of 1–5, eliminating them in the group stage.

In 2016, Team SoloMid started the Spring Split slow, ending in sixth place, with a 9–9 record, barely qualifying for playoffs. However once the knockout stage arrived, TSM defeated Cloud9 and Immortals, 3–1, and 3–0 respectively, to face Counter Logic Gaming in a rematch of last year. Once again, TSM was defeated, this time with a score of 3–2. In Summer, Team SoloMid finished with a record of 17–1, dropping only a single game to Immortals, and Bjerg won his third MVP. The team faced Counter Logic Gaming in the playoffs once again, but this time in the Semifinals, and this time, TSM swept the series 3–0 and went on to face Cloud9 in the finals, where they would win 3–1. With the victory, Bjerg earned his third World Championship appearance, this time, as North America's first seed. At the competition, Team SoloMid was drawn into group D, with Korea's Samsung Galaxy, China's Royal Never Give Up, and Europe's Splyce. They finished third in their group with a 3–3 record, and were once again eliminated in the Group stage.[27][28]

For the 2017 season, TSM finished Spring with a record of 15–3 as the second seed. Bjerg was awarded First Team All–Pro, but missed out on the MVP. In playoffs, TSM defeated FlyQuest 3–0 before facing Cloud9 in the finals. TSM won 3–2, and qualified for the 2017 Mid–Season Invitational. At MSI, Team SoloMid finished with a 4–6 record, placing fifth out of six teams. For the Summer Split, Bjerg and Team SoloMid once again finished first in the regular season, with a 14–4 record. Bjerg was awarded his fourth MVP, and in playoffs, TSM defeated Dignitas 3–1 before facing a new challenger, Immortals, in the finals. TSM won 3–1 and once again earned the first seed for the 2017 World Championships. Team SoloMid were placed into Group D, alongside China's Team WE, Europe's Misfits and Taiwan's Flash Wolves, but despite not having a Korean team in their group, TSM were still unable to advance, going 3–3 to finish third.[29]

In 2018 Spring, Team SoloMid achieved an 11–7 record in the regular season, seeding third for playoffs. Bjerg was voted First Team All–Pro, but in playoffs, TSM were upset by the sixth seed, the newly formed Clutch Gaming and for the first time in their history, Team SoloMid were eliminated before finals. For Summer, TSM finished fifth with a 10–8 record, and faced Echo Fox in the quarterfinals, where they won 3–1, before losing to Cloud9 in the semifinals. Due to their fifth and third place finishes, respectively, Team SoloMid did not automatically qualify for Worlds 2018 and were instead placed into the Regional Gauntlet as the 2nd seed, with the winner claiming the third and final spot representing North America. In a rematch with Echo Fox, Team SoloMid swept the series 3–0, before being swept themselves by Cloud9, eliminating them. For the first time in his LCS career, Bjerg did not attend the World Championship.[30]

After a disappointing 2018 season, Team SoloMid went 13–5 in 2019 Spring, good for third place. Bjerg took home another First Team All–Pro, and in playoffs they defeated Echo Fox 3–1, then reverse swept Cloud9 3–2 to return to the finals vs Team Liquid, where they were, in turn, reverse swept. In the Summer Split, TSM finished fifth, with a 10–8 record, but lost their first playoff game 3–1 to Clutch. Once again, the Regional Gauntlet was the team's last chance to save their season, but TSM was defeated 3–2 by Clutch gaming, and for the second straight year, Bjerg and Team SoloMid failed to qualify for the World Championship.[31]

In the Spring Split, TSM began their season by going 9–9, and in playoffs, defeated 100 Thieves 3–2 before falling to FlyQuest 2–3 and were once again eliminated early. In Summer however, they finished fourth, at 12–6, and Bjerg once again took home All Pro Honors, being voted to the First–Team. TSM faced Golden Guardians in the first round, and swept 3–0. However due to the new format, they were given another change in the losers bracket. There, TSM went on a run, defeating Dignitas, Golden Guardians, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and finally FlyQuest to win the 2020 Summer Split. Bjerg claimed his 6th LCS Championship Title, tying him for second all time, and earning TSM a spot at Worlds, however they failed to win a single game, going 0–6 and finishing last among all teams in the group stage.[32]

In October 2020, after a seven–year career with Team SoloMid, Bjerg retired from professional play and transitioned to the head–coach position for TSM.[33] Bjerg dismissed speculation that his retirement was prompted by TSM's disappointing performance at the 2020 Worlds, saying that he had been planning it for some time.[13] On November 21, TSM signed Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage from FlyQuest to replace Bjerg in the midlane.[34] This new TSM squad, with Bjerg as their coach, finished second in Spring and first in Summer, but despite regular season success,[35] Team SoloMid did not succeed in playoffs, and placed fifth in Lock-In, third in the Mid-Season Showdown, and fourth in Summer, losing to Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Cloud9, respectively.[36] As a result, Bjerg's team did not attend Worlds.[37]

In September 2021, Bjerg announced a desire to resume a player role,[38] and a one month later, he rejected a contract renewal offer from TSM, and announced he would be leaving the team.[39] On 24 November 2021, Bjerg joined Team Liquid.[40]

Bjerg made his debut with his new team in the 2022 Lock–In, which Team Liquid won, defeating Evil Geniuses 3–0.[41] Bjerg earned player of the series in the final match.[42] Despite having a roster of superstars, Team Liquid failed to make the finals of either split in the 2022 LCS season and the team was disbanded after that season. Bjerg joined 100 Thieves for the 2023 LCS season, reuniting with former TSM teammate Doublelift. After being upset early in the playoffs of the 2023 Spring split by Golden Guardians, Bjerg announced his retirement from League of Legends on 8 April 2023.[43]

Seasons overview

[edit]
Team Year Domestic Mid-Season Invitational World Championship
League Spring Summer
Copenhagen Wolves 2013 EU LCS 5th–6th — — —
Ninjas in Pyjamas — 6th Did not qualify
Team SoloMid 2014 NA LCS 2nd 1st 5th–8th
2015 NA LCS 1st 2nd 5th 14th–16th
2016 NA LCS 2nd 1st Did not qualify 9th–12th
2017 NA LCS 1st 1st 5th 9th–11th
2018 NA LCS 5th–6th 3rd Did not qualify Did not qualify
2019 LCS 2nd 5th–6th Did not qualify Did not qualify
2020 LCS 4th 1st None held[a] 13th–16th
Team Liquid 2022 LCS 3rd 4th Did not qualify Did not qualify
100 Thieves 2023 LCS 5th–6th — Did not qualify —

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 Games Included [45]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[44]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Park, Gene (14 October 2019). "League of Legends player Bjergsen becomes part owner of TSM, renews contract". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (14 October 2019). "Bjergsen re-signs with TSM for 2 years, becomes part owner". Dot Esports. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. ^ Bernal, Alan (14 October 2019). "TSM re-signs star mid laner Bjergsen in "unprecedented" deal". Dexerto. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. ^ Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg – Red Bull
  5. ^ Kristiansson, Helena (16 March 2015). "Team SoloMid Wins Intel Extreme Masters World Championship". INQUIRER. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  6. ^ Staff, LoLEsports (7 September 2022). "Top 10 LCS Players of All Time". LoL Esports. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Bjergsen is now the all time #LCS kill leader with 2,274 total kills in his career". google.com. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  8. ^ Matus, Ihor (29 August 2022). "Bjergsen set an absolute record at the LCS". egamersworld. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  9. ^ Bjerg, Soren (7 April 2023). "My farewell". Bjergsen. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  10. ^ Quinn, Nia (9 April 2023). "Bjergsen's retirement leaves behind an incredible legacy". esports.gg. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  11. ^ "TSM Snapdragon Profile: Dyrus – News at GameSpot". GameSpot. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  12. ^ Erzberger, Tyler (26 April 2017). "North Americans still can't win NA LCS MVP". ESPN. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Bjergsen's 'League of Legends' legacy – The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
  14. ^ Søren Bjerg [@Bjergsen] (25 February 2014). "Here's another one with my brothers ;-)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "TSM Bjergsen". Twitch. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  16. ^ Barfoed, Christian (29 March 2015). "Danmarks bedste League of Legends-spiller: Flere følgere end Bendtner og Eriksen". Nyheder. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b Lingle, Samuel (4 September 2014). "From prodigy to champion: How Bjergsen conquered the LCS". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  18. ^ Sevenhuysen, Tim (18 August 2015). "STARS COLLIDE: BJERGSEN VS DOUBLELIFT". Unikrn. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  19. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (16 July 2014). "Inside the Biggest Nerd Sporting Event You've Never Heard Of". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  20. ^ Announcing the new TSM roster! Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine solomid.net
  21. ^ Zacny, Rob (11 January 2014). "Riot fine League of Legends pro Bjergsen $2000 for poaching another team's players". PCGamesN. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  22. ^ Esports Competition Ruling: Fining of Bjergsen Archived March 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine forums.euw.leagueoflegends.com
  23. ^ Volk, Pete (25 April 2017). "NA LCS MVP: Updated winners list". The Rift Herald. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  24. ^ Fields, Frank. "LCS Spring Split Awards presented on PTL and LCS Finals - na.lolesports.com".
  25. ^ "NA LCS Finals Preview: TSM vs C9, Head to Head". 18 April 2015.
  26. ^ Erzberger, Tyler (28 September 2016). "NA's history at the League of Legends World Championship". ESPN. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  27. ^ Torres, Xander; Marshall, Cass (10 October 2016). "Bjerg's Final Thoughts at Worlds 2016". Red Bull. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  28. ^ Berkman, Frank (8 October 2016). "Royal Never Give Up end Team SoloMid's Worlds run". Dot Esports. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  29. ^ Goslin, Austen (14 October 2017). "TSM eliminated from Worlds, Team WE and Misfits advance to Knockout Stage". The Rift Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  30. ^ Mickunas, Aaron (16 September 2018). "TSM to miss Worlds for the first time thanks to Cloud9 and top lane Hecarim". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Clutch Gaming stuns TSM to qualify for the League of Legends World Championships 2019". Metabomb.net. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  32. ^ "TSM take down FlyQuest in 2020 LCS Summer Finals to win first LCS title since 2017". 7 September 2020.
  33. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (24 October 2020). "Bjergsen retires from pro play, becomes TSM's head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  34. ^ "TSM signs PowerOfEvil to replace Bjergsen in the mid lane". 21 November 2020.
  35. ^ Kelly, Michael (30 July 2021). "TSM reclaim first place from 100 Thieves in 2021 LCS Summer Split". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  36. ^ Kelly, Michael (14 May 2021). "Bjergsen speaks on TSM's strategy and approach going into 2021 LCS Summer Split". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  37. ^ Garcia, Ethan (23 August 2021). "Cloud9 return to Worlds as final NA representatives with victory over TSM in LCS Championship". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  38. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (12 September 2021). "Bjergsen reportedly returning to pro play for 2022". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Bjergsen to depart TSM after 8 seasons – Dot Esports". 28 October 2021.
  40. ^ Kelly, Michael (24 November 2021). "Bjergsen officially joins Team Liquid for 2022 LCS season". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  41. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (29 January 2022). "Bwipo helps carry Team Liquid to 2022 LCS Lock In Finals with win over Dignitas". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  42. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (31 January 2022). "Bjergsen finishes 2022 LCS Lock In with tournament-leading 15.6 KDA". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  43. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (7 April 2023). "Bjergsen retires from League esports". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  44. ^ Rand, Emily (23 April 2020). "Riot cancels Mid-Season Invitational, announces changes to worlds". ESPN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  45. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2018: Games". Forbes. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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