Summary
Players hit its stride with an incredibly written episode heading into the season finale.
This recap of Paramount+ series Players season 1, episode 9, “Finals,” contains spoilers.
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We are coming off a massive episode of Players. Fugitive Gaming got over the hump and is returning to the LCS finale for the fifth time. Organizm SNAPPED on his family for only wanting to be there cause of the money. It should be a jam-packed episode, let’s dive in.
Players season 1, episode 9 recap
We have reached the LCS finale, and the team is soaking up the stage before the big game. Next, we see Foresite come in to talk crap to Creamcheese. Then, we get some hype videos from both squads. I am excited to see how this unfolds!
We hear about how much hype is surrounding this matchup. Of course, we have the Rookie of the Year (Organizm) playing in his hometown, the goat (Foresite) playing his old teammate/friend, but the fans were more interested if Creamcheese was finally going to get over the hump or choke. They show a montage of him not delivering during his big games while announcers talk about him being a choke artist.
The show takes us back to 2016 and how no one questioned whether or not Creamcheese was clutch. Kyle and April talk about how his confidence was at an all-time high and contributed it to Morgan. They were heading to the finals in their first season in the LCS. They went to the Britney Spears in Vegas concert (this was the best moment of the whole series). Creamcheese talking about the show and jamming at the concert is the best moment of the series ever.
However, someone at the concert saw Creamcheese, and they began to ask him why he wasn’t practicing ahead of the finals, and Creamcheese snapped at the guy. The moment went viral, and everyone criticized him. However, Creamcheese didn’t care because he knew they would win the championship.
It is game time, and Fugitive Gaming came out and got first blood. The team was playing as they had been all season long. Fugitive took a 2-0 lead in the LCS Finale, only needing one game to win it all (we know they lose). Their confidence was at an all-time high, and as they were on the verge of winning, all Creamcheese had to do was land the final move, and they won, but he blew it. From that moment, TSM came back down 2-0 and won the championship.
The aftermath of the championship took a toll on the team. Creamcheese decided to give the crowd a SPEECH, and everyone criticized him for it. He was just rambling and rambling, and this was the moment where he didn’t promise just one championship. Instead, he said they could win SEVEN. Guru had a field day on his show over this. Kyle talked about how that series changed Creamcheese forever. He got louder, became a worse teammate, and wasn’t the person everyone knew. We also see at this moment that everyone blamed Creamcheese for going to see Britney post-game, including Foresite.
Morgan thought Creamcheese needed a break and bought them tickets to Paris, but Creamcheese refused to go. Instead, he needed to focus on getting better at the game. She knew he needed to get away to get off of the grid for a little while, but Creamcheese couldn’t stop thinking about that moment in that title game. So they broke up, hurting Creamcheese but not as much as Foresite leaving him. Once Foresite left, he won title after title putting even more pressure on Creamcheese to win one of his own.
They follow with montage after montage of him losing and choking in every single significant moment. And now, we move back to the present day and the LCS finale.
The ending
We are back to the present day, and the atmosphere is insane with the Philly crowd being rowdy. Kyle gives a pep talk to Creamcheese and tells him to forget about the past, be present, and make history. Rudy is at the game and said he would show up regardless as his brother or manager. The game is about to begin!
Fugitive came out with a lane swap that caught TSM off guard, and Kyle was brilliant for coming up with this strategy. However, I still wish they used Call of Duty here, it would’ve brought a much cooler atmosphere, and the gaming would’ve been ten times better. Nevertheless, the intelligent coaching decision gives Fugitive game one in the LCS finals. One down, two to go.
Game two sees the teamwork come together again. Each member was down, but Nightfall came to the rescue, and they won game two. Fugitive is one game away from the LCS title. Creamcheese gives a speech saying they are the best team ever. The games were really close, and Foresite is the best in the world for a reason, and they can come back quickly.
Game three starts, but the game pauses mid-game because one of the players said his headset didn’t work. Look, this moment reminded me of the blackout in the middle of the 49ers/Ravens Super Bowl when the 49ers had all the momentum, and the blackout caused the game to be stopped, and they lost it. Some brilliant writing here by the writers to make a move to keep us on the edge of our seats.
No coms, nothing being said, the players start to sit with their own thoughts, and it’s not going well for team Fugitive. Moments later, the crowd begins chanting, and as it gets louder, they are chanting TSM, which is now getting in their heads. The momentum is shifted, and Creamcheese is facing the internal battle of remembering what happened last time he was in this moment. TSM takes advantage of the break and takes game three.
Creamcheese is flustered and is starting to take his frustrations out on everyone else. Foresite typed into the chat Oops, a direct shot at Creamcheese. Back in the locker room, Creamcheese and Organizm are at each other’s throats. They blame each other, and Creamcheese storms out of the room. As the episode closes, he is alone in the bathroom and slides down and breaks completely down.
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