Only one person from North America passed through the first round of Team SoloMid’s tryouts—and he’s a relative unknown.
Vincent “Biofrost” Wang will be flown to South Korea to compete with other candidates, the team announced today.
Biofrost was the best North American candidate to move onto the next stage, according to the team’s press release—implying that he will be North America’s lone representative throughout the tryout process.
TSM began the search for its new support in April, after Bora “Yellowstar” Kim expressed a desire to return home to Europe. Yellowstar, an acclaimed European player, joined TSM late last year as part of a massive roster shakeup that intended to transform the team from a regional powerhouse to an elite, championship-caliber outfit.
Things didn’t go as smoothly as expected, however: Team Solomid recorded their worst ever record in the 2016 LCS Spring split. They turned it around during playoffs, upsetting Immortals before losing to arch-rivals Counter Logic Gaming in a close 3-2 set during the 2016 North American LCS Spring Grand Final. Many pundits expected TSM to improve drastically for the summer split. But Yellowstar’s departure has thrown a spanner into the works.
Biofrost is a relatively unknown name in the League community. He previously played for Dream Team during the 2016 North American Challenger Series, and is regarded as an up and coming rookie by many community members.
This past split has seen an influx of new talent join established teams. Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett and Matthew “Matt” Elento were both instrumental in Liquid’s fourth-place finish in the 2016 LCS Spring Split.
Biofrost has some serious competition to contend with. TSM has opened up the selection process to any player in North America, Europe, and Korea. While he’s passed the first phase, his talents will be put to the test when he bootcamps with the team in Seoul and faces competition from applicants in Europe and Korea, who are undoubtedly eager to secure their spot in one of North America’s most storied teams.
