TSM faces an uphill battle to qualify for League of Legends 2021 World Championship

TSM FTX dug themselves a hole in Round 1 of the LCS Playoffs by losing to Team Liquid four times. All they had to do was beat TL to secure their ticket to the 2021 Worlds, but Team SoloMid FTX couldn't bring enough heat to advance. Now they're placed in the loser's bracket. TSM is up there with Cloud 9 as North America's representation across international tournaments, but this year looks rough for them.

TSM FTX could face C9 on their road to glory to qualify for Worlds

TSM has a relatively easy matchup against Immortals, who they beat in all 3 matchups over the Summer Split. Afterwards, they'll have to face the winner of Cloud 9 and Evil Geniuses to progress through the loser's bracket, but a win there could buy them a ticket for Worlds. TSM FTX beat Cloud 9 3 times as well, so the rematch should fall in their favor. Both teams are looking to redeem themselves.

yeah locking in worlds later will be cool, but the real prize today is gonna be stopping TSM from qualifying#forNA

— Barney Morris (@Alphari) August 15, 2021

On the flipside, TSM might have to face EG instead, and their track record against them isn't nearly as pretty. Evil Geniuses beat TSM FTX 2 out of the 3 matches they fought head-to-head.

The second half of the Summer Split has also been kind to EG, as they've been on quite the roll since despite losing to 100 Thieves in the previous round. TSM managed to win the Mid Season Showdown series against EG. So, if they can resort back to what worked for them then it may be a done deal for them to make a Worlds appearance.

Love hearing TL talk about how much it means to qualify for #Worlds given the struggles they've went through this split. They came together at the right time as they now look like the team to beat in #LCS IMT, EG, C9, and TSM are now all fighting for 1 more slot to go to Worlds

— Matt Samuelson (@Cubbyxx) August 15, 2021

Last year, TSM FTX won the LCS Summer Playoffs and claimed the title of sole victor in North America. The story looks a little different this year. Their chances of taking 1 of the top 2 spots drastically fell with their loss to TL, who also dominated the NA region despite finishing fifth in the Summer Split.

If TSM FTX wants to work their way to Worlds and make a run, they'll have to defeat either C9 or EG in the next round. All of this depends on the result of their series against IMT on Friday. But if TSM can't get by IMT in the first place, they don't deserve to be in the League of Legends World Tournament pool, dropping the chance to redeem themselves from last year's Worlds performance.