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Exit Review: 100 Thieves’ Quiet Disaster of a 2023 Season
Publish Date: August 14, 2023
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If you blinked, you would have missed that 100 Thieves were eliminated for Worlds contention. In the wake of TSM’s departure, their 3-1 series loss in convincing fashion to Team Liquid ended what was arguably a miserable year for an organization that had convinced most a back-to-back international appearance was a lock at the start of the season.
Moving on from the core roster that saved their floundering League of Legends reputation proved to be a challenge despite a large off-season bankroll. Household names complimented by young talent were meant to be a formula for future success. Instead, it is a quiet disaster, one with larger ramifications than people may realize.
Behind the scenes, 100 Thieves have battled financial turbulence. Two significant rounds of layoffs within a year and a half went unquestioned. An immediate release of their academy lineup – despite being one of the bigger participants in the space – was a small blimp on radars compared to frustration with other organizations. And now, rumors of a potential sale in 2024 begin to circulate.
Which is what makes this season so fascinating to revisit.
The two headline acquisitions – Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Yiliang “Peter” “Doublelift” Peng—both failed to inspire in their performances. Their prized prospects Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij and Alan “Busio” Cwalina both showcased greenness in their first appearances at the professional level. A conflict in the fixes for the lineup led to an in-season coaching change.
Despite a two-week climb in the leaderboards, the team failed to connect the dot in the playoffs, losing back-to-back series against FlyQuest and Golden Guardians.
Bjergsen’s sudden retirement after the split fastened the inevitable reality that something was wrong. And despite more roster changes – re-acquiring Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho and acquiring Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung, the stink carried into the summer.
Can “Closer” Çelik would be the main point of blame – succumbing to the narrative of a niche champion pool. But the reality stands that 100 Thieves as a whole did not look up to form – with Ssumday notably having one of the worst splits of his career.