TSM’s Former ADC, Zven, Opens Up About Difficulties and Desire to Leave NA
TSM’s former AD carry Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen faced a tough year in 2018, despite his potential as a top talent from Europe. In a recent podcast, Zven expressed that he even contemplated leaving North America due to ongoing conflicts within the team. He shared his thoughts with hosts Duncan “Thorin” Shields and Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles, stating that regardless of winning the Summer Split and qualifying for Worlds, he no longer wanted to play for TSM or stay in NA, expressing his desire to return to Europe.
Zven and his bot lane partner Alfonso “Mithy” Rodriguez faced criticism for the team’s underperformance in 2018. TSM finished the year in fifth place and failed to qualify for Worlds for the first time, losing to Cloud9 in the Regional Finals.
Data from previous years showed an impressive track record for TSM, with consecutive victories in splits with ADCs Peter “Doublelift” Yiliang and Jason “WildTurtle” Tran. However, when Zven, Mithy, and junglers Mike Yeung and Jonathan “Grig” Armao joined the team, TSM began to struggle.
Zven highlighted the jungle position as a major issue within the team. He expressed his preference for Xmithie to join the team, but the management and Bjergsen convinced him that MikeYeung was the better choice due to perceived talent and work ethic. However, Zven felt that MikeYeung did not meet the expectations of a high-performing jungler, citing his lack of communication and a passive personality.
As the team’s synergy continued to deteriorate, Zven reached his breaking point. He expressed his frustrations, mentioning his dislike for living in NA, the absence of friends, and being far from his family and loved ones. He initially planned to leave TSM alongside Mithy and join a European team for the 2019 season. However, TSM decided to remove Hauntzer from the team and keep Zven, altering their original plans.
Despite the roster changes, TSM faced further challenges in the subsequent season with the inclusion of Andy “Smoothie” Ta, missing Worlds for the second consecutive year.
The team struggled with sharing playing time in the jungle between Grig and Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham, resulting in a lack of synergy in the jungle, mid lane, and support positions. Ultimately, TSM lost to Clutch Gaming, and Zven acknowledged his partial responsibility for the team’s failures.
Zven has since found a new home with C9 for the 2020 season. After bonding with support player Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme and climbing the Korean ladder together, he is optimistic about his future in the North American league.
Zven will be making his debut with C9 when the 2020 LCS Spring Split begins on Saturday, Jan. 25.
keywords: TSM, Zven, European talent, conflicts, leaving NA, performance struggles, roster changes, C9, LCS Spring Split.