Bjergsen Declines TSM LCS Offer, Pursuing Return to Play Elsewhere

After eight storied seasons with TSM as a mid laner, head coach and part owner, Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg is looking elsewhere as he pursues a return to professional League of Legends as a player.

The announcement was first made directly by the org on Twitter via a sit-down video with TSM CEO and Founder Andy “Reginald” Dinh and League of Legends General Manager Parth "Parth" Naidu, who broke down the timeline leading up to Bjergsen's decision in recent weeks.

According to the duo, the org respected Bjergsen's initial desire to return to play and test the free agent market for the first time, giving him permission to speak to every team on Sept. 1.

On Oct. 1, TSM reportedly made a "highly competitive" offer and pitch to Bjergsen for him to return as a player, and received word of his final decision nearly four weeks later.

"We were notified today that Bjergsen is choosing to decline our offer," Parth said, "and pursuing a project with a different team. While we're incredibly disappointed, we wish him the best of luck."

Bjergsen departs TSM with four MVPs and six championships in the LCS to his name.

"He joined TSM back in 2013 and has been a driving force in all of our championship titles and everything else we've achieved in the past eight years," Parth said. "He will always be an integral part of TSM's history. His legacy will be the foundation of our future."

As for Bjergsen's next endeavor, that will have to wait until at least Nov. 16, a date in which his current contract ends and players will have already been allowed to officially sign new deals with North American teams.

"I'm genuinely wishing him the best of luck," Reginald said. "We've been close friends, co-workers and ultimately, I've worked with him for the last eight years. Both his goal and mine has always been to find success at Worlds and win Worlds even.

"I know this is really disappointing for TSM fans, but I'm genuinely excited for the future. Not only for TSM, but for Søren. I feel like this is going to be a big breath of fresh air, and really allow for both of us to grow."

Reginald and Parth also mentioned how they're currently looking at a variety of options for TSM's LCS roster and intend to focus on up-and-coming players to build their culture around long-term, but not necessarily field an all-rookie development team.

As reported by Dot Esports, Bjergsen will be required to come to an arrangement with TSM to sell off his ownership equity within the org acquired in 2019.