- He was one of the organization’s biggest MVPs
- Spica announced he is looking for a new team for 2023
- This is yet another setback for TSM competitive LoL
TSM’s League of Legends troubles continue as after a recent defeat the organization decided to release their star jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu.
TSM And Spica Part Ways
It is not uncommon for organizations to shift rosters after suffering defeats. Sometimes this implies outright releasing players. This is what happened to TSM star jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu after the team was defeated by Evil Geniuses in the 2022 LCS Championship.
“TSM has terminated my contract, so I am a free agent, effective today,” wrote Spica on Twitter, thanking his fans for the support. He is now looking for new organizations heading into the 2023 competitive League season and says he is excited for what’s to come.
The 21-year-old League pro has been part of TSM for almost four years and has played 166 games in the LCS for the organization. He first joined the organization’s academy roster in April 2019, but quickly found himself playing in the main roster for brief stints in that spring’s regular season, as well as during the playoff series in the summer postseason.
In 2020, Spica returned to TSM’s development roster for the spring season. There he helped TSM’s academy squad to come in third-fourth in the playoffs, which earned him a spot in the organization’s main roster for the summer season.
TSM’s decision paid off quickly as Spica helped his team, which included superstars like Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, finish fourth in the regular season. Later, the team had an incredible lower bracket run, eventually winning the 2020 LCS Summer Split playoffs with a 3-2 grand final victory over FlyQuest.
How Will TSM Fare Now?
A testament to how important Spica was for TSM is the fact that he had remained on the team even after TSM’s largest defeats. After the team suffered a memorable 0-6 humiliation in Worlds groups, veteran players Bjergsen and Doublelift retired, forcing TSM to rethink their entire strategy. The organization returned in 2021 with an entirely rebuild roster, but still retained Spica and constructed the new team around the jungler.
Although the team had good results for the rest of the year, earning third place in the Mid-Season Showdown and a top-spot finish in the summer regular season, 2022 was not so kind to it. Not only did TSM miss the playoffs in the 2022 Spring Split and came in fifth-sixth in the Championship, but the organization’s former coach Peter Zhang was permanently banned from any Riot-sanctioned LoL tournaments.
It would be interesting to see how the organization recovers in 2023 after such a terrible year.
