oBo Gets Benched: Where Do oBo And Complexity Go From Here?
On September 22, oBo made his way to the airport after a snap decision to leave Complexity. Earlier this month he made remarks about being homesick and not wanting to play in Europe. The original plan was to have oBo participate in the ESL Pro League Playoffs from September 29 to October 4 and then return home. While being in a global pandemic and far away from his family, oBo made the decision to pack his bags and catch the next flight out.
CEO and Founder of Complexity Jason Lake informed fans that he will spend time not only looking for a replacement but also getting oBo on an NA based team. Rumours have spread about Cloud9 looking to take advantage of this pickup to play alongside their newest members mezii and Woxic. At first, Jason made a quick response to this rumour by saying oBo would not be joining Cloud9 but later changed his mind by saying he was unsure. Keita who is the coach for Complexity was originally gonna be the stand in but Jason cleared this up and is on the lookout for an emergency substitute.
This decision will result in Complexity losing 20% of their points and even up to 36% if oBo decides to come back. That second statistic is highly unlikely. Despite being a top five team, Complexity placed 13-14 in ESL One Road to Rio and didn’t finish their participation at the cs_summit 6 regional qualifier. At this moment in time oBo hasn’t mentioned anything about this situation on his Twitter or Instagram page. There was no drama within the team due to oBo’s announcement and everyone wishes him the best of luck.
Click to enlargeJason showed a lot of emotions during his press conference, which was held on Twitch at 12:30 PM ET. Only a few hours after the announcement. Jason was upset since he helped shape and form the young prodigy but completely understands the situation he made. The original plans for Complexity included their main house to be in North American but have training camps in Europe. Due to COVID, this was unable to happen, and the company had to choose the best location for them. A shortlist for replacements has been compiled including NA and EU players. Jason did state that he would prefer another younger pickup since they're usually more driven to win compared to veteran players. He also talked about buyouts and how he doesn't believe in how they're used. Jason admitted to not wanting a team to pick up oBo just for financial gain. If you're a fan of Complexity, then now is the time to act like one. Feel free to message or tweet out to players and show your support, said Jason.
With no information on oBo's next move, we can only gather data from North American teams that have available spots. Despite what Jason initially said about team buyouts and the possibility of oBo joining Cloud9, it looks like the best move for him. He's a new player in the scene meaning his buyout would be small. Cloud9 has also made some snap pickups this month that nobody would've thought of. Most importantly they're a well known North American team with younger players. Another angle to look at is VALORANT.
Plenty of CS:GO tier one and two players have made the move to the new hit game. With the same concept and similar shooting style, it's an easy switch to make. The competitive scene has brought in pub stompers like Asuna to well-known pros such as Swag and ShahZam. Seeing how quickly oBo caught on to high-level CS:GO, it wouldn't be a shock for him to change games. He has a long career ahead of him, including the time to think about what game he wants to pursue. Some of the top teams in VALORANT are located in North America including Cloud9, Sentinels and TSM. Even though these orgs have full rosters, it doesn't mean they wouldn't mind a change of subs. This would give the young star time to think things over, practice and then eventually workout a contract deal.
Jason Lake being the old school leader he is, might've pushed oBo away. Ever since Counter-Strike 1.6, Jason has been a bull who isn't afraid to show his true emotions. He was always that one guy at LANs who would show more excitement than the actual players. His go-to line is that he can't stand losing. Jason has been like this since Complexity beat Dsky years ago in 1.6. Back in August of 2019, Jason made a tweet that had Freakazoid's head spinning. The veteran clan leader mentioned how his team's tournament results would not be tolerated and asked if any tier-one players needed a fresh start. Freakazoid followed up with a response on Twitch saying how this is the worst possible way to treat your players.
Besides participating with the best, moving back down a tier is a possibility. We've seen this happen to players like TenZ who is currently on the Cloud9 VALORANT roster. He went from playing on stage to becoming a main for Recon5, an ESEA team that participates in the Mountain Dew League. It's hard to see a player walk away from everything and not wonder if he'll ever find a new team. Obviously, there is always a spot for oBo on ESEA, but that's highly unlikely. This is probably the worst time to change rosters with everything that has happened. oBo has left Complexity with no choice but to move on. Both oBo and Complexity are at a major loss and need to find new teammates.
Images via HLTV | Esports Observer
