It’s been an up-and-down career for Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, who is known by most League of Legends fans as one of the greatest players in the game’s history. But after 100 Thieves’ playoff run was cut short by Golden Guardians this past split, the 27-year-old has hung up his keyboard and mouse for the final time, he announced today.
“I worked harder than a lot of people, I wanted it more than a lot of those people, and I was willing to sacrifice time with friends, family, personal interests, hobbies, [and] really just anything,” Bjergsen said. “For a long time, I’ve felt—and even told the people around me—that if I didn’t feel like I could give my absolute all towards winning and being the best… then it would be time to stop, and it feels like that time is now.”
The talented veteran also said that this might seem like a “second retirement” to some people since he technically stepped away from on-stage competition before. Bjergsen “retired” for the first time in 2020 after TSM’s unfortunate 0-6 run at Worlds, where he transitioned to a head coaching role with the organization for the following year.
Related: Bjergsen surpasses Aphromoo to claim another LCS milestone
In Bjergsen’s eyes, this was never a true retirement since it was a transition to another role that still had the ultimate goal of winning a championship. After a disappointing coaching debut with TSM, however, he made a triumphant return to pro play with Team Liquid in 2022.
His first year back was plagued with a plethora of different issues, even though Liquid’s roster was filled with superstar-level talent. The team failed to reach either LCS Finals and after a single season was split apart for another rebuild while Bjergsen searched for another team to complete his next journey to the top of the mountain.
The hype surrounding Bjergsen was amplified to new levels this past offseason when he decided to join 100 Thieves alongside his old running mate and friend, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng. Unfortunately, the team had a relatively shaky regular season, and even though they went into the postseason on a red-hot seven-game winning streak, they were eventually kicked out by one of the underdogs of the tournament, Golden Guardians.
The three-time MVP will be leaving a significant hole that the Thieves will need to figure out before the start of the 2023 LCS Summer Split. The org does, however, have plenty of time and resources to find a suitable replacement for the iconic mid laner as it aims to represent North America at the 2023 World Championship in South Korea.
In the meantime, Bjergsen’s legacy will continue to live on in the players and teams that blossom in the years to come. His journey from a quiet kid using League to escape his troubled childhood to becoming one of the greatest players in LoL esports history will be remembered in the annals of this esport for years to come.
