In 2018, the CS:GO community was introduced to an upcoming prodigy that dominated North America’s FACEIT Pro League. At only 14 years old, Owen “oBo” Schlatter was a highlight machine, fragging and turning most matches into his playground.
With such incredible talent at a young age, he caught the attention of the biggest North American organizations, putting him under the scope for future pickups.
A year later in 2019, Complexity signed the young gunner after Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz stepped down from his leadership role following shaky results.
A rough start for the team led to a roster revamp, signing the Danish duo Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke in addition to Valentin “poizon” Vasilev and Major winner William “RUSH” Wierzba.
With such respectful names, the team was set up for a chance at success not far-fetched after a decent showing during DreamHack Open Anaheim 2020, to finally win the biggest event of the year: BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals.
During that period, The North American region struggled due to Covid-19 restrictions. Because most top-tier events were held online, Complexity moved to Europe to compete against the best teams worldwide.
Their journey was successful at the start before things took a deep dive into the worst after oBo notified the team of his leave after ESL Pro League Season 12.
By then, Complexity had already spent six months traveling in Europe, which overwhelmed the young prodigy. His situation was understandable considering his age and the fact he’d been away from home for so long, but out of nowhere and in a snap decision, oBo packed his bags and was ready to leave mid-event, leaving his teammates behind, feeling betrayed.
“I received a call at 1:30 in the morning Dallas time. Owen let me know that he was at the airport and his flight was in two hours, we discussed options, and I encouraged him to stay the additional two weeks to finish the Playoffs, and he decided to return home.” – Jason W. Lake, Through The Smoke.
The signs of confusion were clear on the other players, as they expressed in Complexity’s Unexpected Roster Shake-up YouTube video.
RUSH explained how he left without prior notice, causing frustration within the team. He emphasized that he has no intention of speaking to oBo again.
“It was a shock to all of us because he never really said to us “Hey, I can’t handle this” or, “Hey, I want to go home.” He never said anything; he just left on a whim. I lost a lot of respect for him. I gained a lot of respect for him, making it this far, but I would never think about doing that.”
Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke continues and says that he understands his decision, but he doesn’t get the way he did it.
“He did the right thing for himself, but I think he did it wrong. He just left without zero to no notice. It caught everyone off guard that he decided to just leave.”
In his defense, oBo stated in an interview with HLTV: “The team showed no interest in ever returning to America.” Adding, “It was becoming increasingly apparent that this was a permanent living situation rather than a temporary one. I was given zero reason to believe that things would change any time soon, if ever.”
The dust has settled, and after six months on the bench, Evil Geniuses signed Owen to effectively replace Ethan “Ethan” Arnold, who decided to switch to Valorant in February 2021. Despite some 1st place finishes during 2020, EG had a disastrous 2021 with oBo. Their best finish was 3rd place at an RMR event, leading to parting ways with their trio, including oBo after eight months on the team.
oBo with Evil Geniuses (Image Credits: ESL)Time went by, and the one who used to be considered a young prodigy vanished from the scene. Most people wrote him off as a kid who didn’t make it and fell under pressure, but it was bigger than that.
After going dark for several months, On the 17th of August 2022, The CS:GO community was buzzing with concern after his Twitter account, which has since been deleted, posted a series of troubling images. One particular photo caught people’s attention, as Owen appeared visibly sad while holding what many believed to be a chew toy for a dog.
The chew toy people have identified contained an unsettling message “All great things must come to an end. Time to throw me away.” This, combined with his gaunt appearance, sparked worry and panic among social media users. Some individuals have speculated about his well-being, pointing out his malnourished look and the presence of a dirty sink in the background, leading them to question his mental state.
While the community has been quick to make assumptions based on the images, suggesting possible depression or substance abuse, no concrete evidence has emerged thus far. Nevertheless, threads discussing Owen’s condition have emerged on Twitter and Reddit, generating significant attention. Fortunately, the big concern seemed to have notified those close to Owen, including the CEO of Complexity Gaming, to take action by reaching out to his family in an effort to help him.
Nearly a year after his troubling tweets, something unexpected happened’oBo went live and streamed himself playing CS:GO in a rather peculiar manner. The stream began with a motivational sound in the background, with oBo repeatedly reciting the uplifting words. However, a few minutes into the stream, he confessed, “I’m on Adderall withdrawal,” a consequence of stopping the use of the drug after consuming it unnecessarily.
Throughout the stream, oBo rambled about having a “witch” who had a strong affection for him. He even mentioned a girl named Hayden Tiffany, claiming she was the supposed witch. He quickly shifted back to the topic of Adderall when his brother, according to oBo, intervened and told him to stop talking about it on stream.
“I used to take 20mg of Adderall twice a day and 70mg of Vyvanse,” oBo declared during the stream.
The entire stream revolved around oBo repetitively using the word “Adderall” and describing how he believed a witch controlled his brother and family before he ended the stream. This incident was undeniably strange and raised concerns about his current mental state. However, since that day, oBo has disappeared again.
His situation is complicated and unfortunate, to say the least, from being a prodigy to struggling mentally and being unstable. While it’s unlikely to see oBo in the esports scene again, him being around his family and loved ones is a positive sign of his recovery. We can only hope for better days ahead and a successful journey towards improved mental health.
