First Dyrus retires after a long and successful League of Legends career, then Santorin and Lustboy step down. In a matter of days, Team Solo Mid lost 80% of their team, are looking for a new coaching staff, and more importantly, looking for their success again. This writer thinks a roster shake-up is what is necessary for TSM to move in the right direction, as well as become successful again.
Top Lane
Although this writer loves Dyrus, a switch seemed necessary. Dyrus has contributed a lot to the team, the brand, and the fans, but his play was not on par with other top lanes in the region. He used to be a scary force in the top lane, and maybe because the meta switched, he wasn't as useful, but at the very least, he needed a break from playing professionally. He seemed burnt out in the way he talked in interviews, the way he seemed after announcing retirement, and so on. TSM needs to find a top lane who can impact the game single-handedly in 1 on 1 matchups. There are two top laners who this writer thinks fits the bill: Team Impulse's Impact, and Gambit's Cabochard. Impact himself has been a carry in the top lane his whole career, and showed that during his Team Impulse tenure. Cabochard showed resiliency playing against the other quality EU top lanes, and is a bright spot for the way the meta seems to be shifting. Other notable players include Zion Spartan, and LGD's Flame, though those two are unrealistic additions.
Jungle and Support
Jungle and Support will be very interesting roles needing to be filled. Lustboy has had a historic career in League of Legends, so hisretirement isn't surprising. Santorin on the other hand, was very surprising. Santorin was a quality jungle alongside Bjergsen, but he did not show the ability to help out Dyrus i nthe top lane at all. This could be a coaching error, a gameplan error, or a Santorin error, but the way League of Legends is moving, Santorin can't gank mid lane over and over and expect TSM to win. The jungle, support, and top lane synergy is crucial and Santorin didn't have that. This writer doesn't know the path that TSM will go in the jungle, but a shot-calling jungle should be what TSM looks for. Bjergsen has a lot of pressure on his hands, with having to deal with top-tier mid laners as well as make the calls for the team. It would be interesting to see TSM get a shot-caller as a jungle and have Bjergsen trust and give way to that jungler.
Support-wise is tricky. TSM lucked out by getting Lustboy. Lustboy was arguably the best support in the NA LCS. Yours truly thinks TSM should pursue TiP's Adrian. Adrian did a heck of a job warding, controlling vision, and supporting for TiP. If TSM can convice Adrian to join them, then they can really look for hard-carry top lane and jungle players.
Coaching
There's no doubt Locodoco understands the game of League of Legends, but Team Solo Mid needs to go in another direction. They need someone who can dominate meta changes, control pick and ban (which always lacked, as we saw at MSI), and help lead the team. Although Reginald does step in and help, and does a great job at it, TSM needs someone that has studied the game. They also need someone who can act as a "scout" for other teams that knows in and out how other teams play and how to exploit the weaknesses they see. Locodoco shouldn't be fired, he should and likely will be helping, but they need a real leader coaching them that can drive discussion, not necessarily create chaos by not having a set gameplan.
Lastly, Team Solo Mid just needs a refresher. They've had the same core of players for a long time and we see it in sports too that not one team can use the same players and expect to be good every year. The San Antonio Spurs have the same big three in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Tim Duncan, but they added pieces. They added Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills, Danny Green, and now LaMarcus Aldridge. TSM can't expect to be dominant with the same guys week in and week out. Hopefully this roster shake-up will help.
