The fallout series is (shamelessly) inspired by Zach Lowe’s weekly column “10 Things I like and don’t like” where he picks out short topics to discuss from around the NBA.

Okay, let’s go.

1. Melt the Mental Block

Coming into Croatia, Evil Geniuses had lost four straight versus Cr1t’s former team. The Boys in Blue would often stand out as the best team at events and then fizzle out against Fly’s broad shoulders. The idea of a kryptonite was becoming undeniable (after all, OG’s logo is green and Superman wears blue).

“OG is the team we respect the most, cause obviously they’ve beat us a lot of times. [But] every time we lose to them, we learn more from them, then they learn from us.” “There’s a long time until TI, hopefully we learn [enough] by then at least.”

— Cr1t on their toughest opponent at Dotapit

6.88 was rough for the new EG, particularly at Boston. Fly correctly predicted the adjustments Cr1t would make in semis and one-upped them. OG played faster than EG had anticipated and took the series 2–0. It was a deflating exit for the NA squad.

Courtesy: Valve

In some ways, Fly molded Cr1t into the superstar he is today. The duo were support partners for a year and became intimately familiar with each other’s philosophy about the game. Cr1t left after TI6, but Fly seemed to be still in his head, silently watching what the Dane was cooking.

Maybe a new patch was all EG needed. A reset. For Cr1t had the ability to read OG’s game plan as well—

“Often when we play against them I can tell what their idea is, […] how they wanna move on the map, and I have an idea about how to respond to it. But sometimes it’s hard for me to give it to my team. That’s something we have to specifically look at when we wanna play OG.”

— Cr1t on their struggles versus OG

The two teams met in the Upper bracket finals at Dotapit and history didn’t repeat this time. EG out-drafted & out-executed their nemesis twice to sweep the series. The underdog finally got a punch in.

But Fly is a cruel, cruel mentor.

When they met again in the grand finals, he dusted off the Alchemist once more in Game 1. EG’s troubles against the hero are well-documented (6 losses out of 7 games in past 6 months — 4 versus OG), but no team had touched him at the event before the series. He was supposed to be gone in 7.00.

It’s like when you try and bury a relationship problem instead of dealing with it properly and that shit comes back to haunt you when you least expect it.

EG lost Game 1, and Alchemist ate up one of their first phase bans for the remainder of the series. Fly had carved out a decisive advantage for himself in the drafts going forward. The drafting phase was tightly fought since, and the series went down to the wire — Game 5.

The Boys out-executed once more.

All five from the superstar lineup came alive when it mattered and OG’s gameplay faltered in comparison. The difference in skill level — however tiny it maybe — was apparent.

Clip from Winner's Finals. Full highlights for the finals

EG don’t lay claim to the crown of the world-beaters yet, and maybe the mental block versus OG isn’t fully gone either. Fly will also come back stronger next time they meet. But Dotapit was a giant step in the right direction for EG. They know they can rely on themselves to out-execute despite some draft/strategy shortcomings.

No second-guessing anymore.