oBo benches himself from Complexity’s starting lineup

Sep 22, 2020

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Owen “⁠oBo⁠” Schlatter has removed himself from Complexity’s starting lineup, leaving the organization in a bind after his surprise return to the United States.

According to Complexity CEO Jason Lake, oBo had originally planned to play out the remainder of ESL Pro League’s Season 12 before returning to the United States, but oBo called the team on the morning of September 22 and informed them that he was about to board a plane home. Lake told fans that oBo won’t play out the remainder of the EPL season as the team looks for his replacement. In the meantime, Complexity has subbed in head coach Jamie “⁠keita⁠” Hall in oBo’s place during DreamHack Open Fall’s ongoing closed qualifier.

Our first #DHOpen Fall match is startling soon against @sAwggofficial!@keitaCSGO is subbing in for @oBoCSGO for today’s matches.

???? @COLUpdate
????️ https://t.co/EiS88vJ8Uh pic.twitter.com/VZOzHPqNRD

— Complexity Gaming (@Complexity) September 22, 2020

oBo’s surprise US return leaves Complexity in a bind

oBo was the lone Complexity player to survive the team’s rebuild after a massive underperformance from the team during last year’s StarLadder Berlin Major, causing a major overhaul that eventually led to a successful roster headed by in-game leader Benjamen “blameF” Bremmer. While many of oBo’s former teammates moved on to Valorant, oBo stayed on under the team’s new IGL as the team found success in Europe through 2020. The 17-year-old rifler has been in Europe since early 2020, and the team found itself stuck in there ahead of ESL Pro League Season 11.

Lake said that current player buyouts were not in line with what Complexity was willing to pay, calling some of the amounts teams were asking for “exploitative.”

“[Complexity will] not be extorted by teams trying to capitalize on this situation,” Lake said.

The Complexity CEO continued with the emergency update by admitting that it may not be possible for the organization to find a permanent replacement by the ESL Pro League Season 12 playoffs beginning next week. Complexity is currently in second place in Pro League’s group B with a 5-2 scoreline and a +36 round differential, just one win behind Astralis with a match against ENCE scheduled for September 29 to open the league’s playoffs.