Players season 1, episode 8 recap – “Philadelphia”

This recap of Paramount+ series Players season 1, episode 8, “Philadelphia,” contains spoilers. 

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Last week on Players we saw the backstory of Creamcheese’s love life. We also saw the venture capital the crew didn’t want to buy the team, buy the team. With their purchase, they hone in on making Organizm a star. As we inch closer to the championship, will this affect how the team plays? Let’s dive in.

Players season 1, episode 8 recap

After playoff wins against Dignitas and Immortals, Fugitive is heading to the LCS Quarterfinals. We open with the team doing great in a battle because their coms have been on a high level. Next, they take down Team Liquid and are heading to Philadelphia. They are one win away from the LCS finale.

We move to Philadelphia, where Organizm plays thirty minutes from his hometown. Organizm’s family meets him with open arms as they arrive at the airport and are excited to see him. Organizm, not the center of attention, swoops in and asks Organizm if he is hopping on the bus with them, and his brother Rudy steps in and tells him they got plans with Puma. Next, Organizm says he is excited about the quarterfinals, but he wishes it was anywhere but home.

As the team preps for the finals at their hotel, Organizm is noticeably missing as he has obligations to the sponsors. The group breaks down how it’s unique and different because they have to set up the makeshift atmosphere for gaming and living arrangements change how they prepare. Nathan, fired from Fugitive, has partnered with Guru and NeverLost gaming to build that brand higher than ever. Nathan’s daughter Emma has begun to stream with NeverLost but is still worried about Organizm and the distractions happening as they head into the big game.

We are in the Organizm family household where Puma is shooting some stuff to find out the who, what and how Organizm became who he was. However, he has family members he rarely knew talking about him (they want money), and Rudy is running him all over the place. They move to his high school, where Rudy wanted to expose him even more, but Organizm wanted no part of it because he hated High School. We see an incident happen where Organizm got “pants” by a kid at school. He got redemption by smashing a bag of milk over the kid’s head.

We find out that Organizm would purposely get suspended so he could stay at home and game. The moral of the story is? It was to show us how hard Organizm is willing to work to be the best of the best. He would stop at nothing to make sure he was in the zone and ready for battle at any time.

The team is practicing, and Organizm arrives late, and the team has to continue to practice without him. Everyone is exhausted. Organizm is upset because he wants to play one more game, but everyone is hungry and ready to get out. Creamcheese tells him to take him to his favorite food spot and takes him to Dave & Buster’s. DAVE & BUSTERS.

Creamcheese reminds him of the story of how he got here and says that Fugitive needs him, and he needs to be focused on the team and be present with them. The writing of these two has been pretty spectacular. It’s not your typical relationship, it’s the new guy coming in to take the veteran’s spot, and while the veteran is jealous, he also knows he needs the new guy to win his first title. It’s only gotten better and better with each episode.

The ending

It is GAMEDAY! Cloud9 had the best record in all of LCS and would not be easy to beat. Unfortunately, Creamcheese is being undecisive during the game, and it is causing the team to struggle. He has a history of struggling under the big lights, which is only continuing. They are down two games to one, and the end looks like it has arrived for team Fugitive. However, Organizm steps up to help them win game four. It all comes down to one match with the winner going to the championship.

Fugitive is starting the game struggling. Cloud9 has a counter for every move Creamcheese is making. But, at this moment, Organizm saw something that Creamcheese didn’t, a weakness in Cloud9’s game, and they took advantage of it. Organizm took over the coms, everyone listened, including Creamcheese, and it pays off as the team wins game five and heads to the championship.

They asked Organizm what happened, and he mentioned his relationship with Creamcheese and how it improved, which helped him. Then, finally, we are getting the matchup we all wanted, with TSM taking on Fugitive in the championship. As the team heads backstage, Rudy and his family are excited. They have an after-party to attend, but Organizm tells them he isn’t going. His dad snaps at him and tells him it’s time to spend time with his family, which sets Organizm OFF.

Organizm snaps at his family and mentions it took them a half-million-dollar deal and for him to play thirty minutes away for them to finally see him play. He says, “f*ck y’all,” and Rudy stands up and says he is right, but it’s Rudy’s turn to get this pent-up frustration from Organizm. He calls him out for making fun of him during high school and how he called him “piss jar” and storms away from them. Organizm knows he will have to be focused heading in as the youngest player in LCS championship history. It is Fugitive’s fifth LCS final, and they are 0-4 in the previous four.

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