Author Archives: @Loadscr33n

Wisconsin considering to make state-wide sports betting legal

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The state of Wisconsin may be considering the legalization of sports betting within the state itself.

Tyler Vorpagel, a representative in the state Senate has mentioned that keeping the activity illegal in the state is definitely not going to help achieve the goals of reducing the gambling habits of the population.

The reason is that residents of the state of Wisconsin can always just travel to Iowa or nearby states with legalized sports betting activities and gamble there. This forces funds to be funneled outside of the state, thus decreasing the overall gross income per year.

Vorpagel’s argument is that since the activities are not decreasing whatsoever due to the prohibition, why not make it legal state-wide and help entrepreneurs, businessmen and the state overall benefit from additional tax income, rather than see those funds be spent in other states.

Vorpagel is not the only representative pushing this motion, as there are supporters such as Petre Barca, who argues that maybe it’s time to reconsider the values of the state based on the state of affairs and make changes where necessary.

This would definitely not be an easy feat to achieve though, as the constitution will require an amendment, thus a gathering of the senate and a referendum that will get a majority vote. Should Vorpagel want to legalize sports betting in the state, he will have to pour in quite a lot of effort into the campaign.

Will Massachusetts be affected?

The state of Massachusetts has also seen a similar bill be drafted in the House of Representatives, but pushed back with the excuse of “not the right time”. Considering how the population of cities like Boston are heavily involved in sports, it’s reasonable to believe that a large population also considers placing bets on their favorite team, the New England Patriots.

This is also an issue for Massachusetts as the states constantly lose hundreds if not thousands of dollars per citizen once major sports events occur in the country.

The first bill to legalize sports betting in the state was pushed back in 2016, and the most recent one surfaced in 2019, with a relatively better reaction from the house of representatives. It’s likely that, should Wisconsin go through with the bill, Massachusetts will be the next to follow in 2020.

Will it be privatized?

The next thing on the mind of the representatives pushing these bills needs to be whether or not the industry will be privatized, or if it will be state-owned.

The reason why this is even a discussion is because of quite a lot of competition from representatives not too happy about the news.

Should negotiations for a fully legal, privatized sports betting industry state-wide fail, there is always an option to keep it state-owned and under heavy regulation.

However, it needs to be under a very light regulation, so that it feels like it’s based on competition, otherwise, nothing would change as citizens will still prioritize privatized industries in states like Iowa.

According to representatives from Сasinopånett though, having a state-owned sports betting industry is definitely not a solution for legalization. In fact, it could be considered that it will worsen the situation.

Such a comment from a Finnish expert for the American market could be a bit misplaced, but it falls into place the moment we look into their current state of affairs. Many don’t know that Finland has a state-run monopoly on the industry, which has caused quite the stir in the local population, which now believes that the state is profiting off of people’s gambling habits.

Wisconsin, as well as the Massachusetts House of Representatives, will have to consider every single detail, how a state-run gambling operation would look like in terms of politics. It should not be doubted that they don’t want that kind of hit to their PR.

Regardless though, it’s highly likely that both states will come to a conclusion regarding this industry. Its growth cannot be denied, and the interest of citizens, especially Patriots fans is not going to die down anytime soon.

The perfect argument would be to simply localize the funds that are being funneled out to other states. This creates a much better method of doing research on problem gambling within the state by comparing money spent to money gained. Based on this research, the states can implement preventative measures on a much more tailor-made basis.

Sources:

https://madison.com/wsj/business/sports-gambling-inches-closer-to-wisconsin-but-its-legalization-in/article_c12028d8-0e88-5fb9-ae97-b4d6f6c539df.html

https://casinopånett.eu/nyheter/finnene-vil-ha-slutt-pa-landets-spillmonopol/

HBO will be releasing the final part of their Patriot’s documentary on December 10th

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After a successful premiere of the “Do Your Job Part III: Bill Belichick and the 2018 Patriots” documentary on Wednesday, HBO announces that there is still one more documentary it wants to offer to the global audience who have been a fan of the NFL for a while now.

According to HBO, the documentary named “Belichick and Saban: The art of Coaching” will premiere on December 10th, 2019 after this year’s season has reached its peak. Should the Patriots be successful in their attempt to gain victory, it will be like icing on the cake when the documentary finally airs.

The new documentary could also become widely popular in Australia, considering how many Aussies were subscribed to the network in order to fuel their gaming habits while watching the channels’ most popular show, the Game of Thrones. Almost every brand new Aussie casino in the country was trying to cater to demand from the public for listing the HBO show as an option. At one point, the government had to intervene.

It’s good news that there will be nothing to bet on with this documentary though, as it will be the story of two legendary coaches going through life and speaking about the hardships, challenges, and successes of leading a coaching career in a sport like American Football.

HBO also promises a one-of-a-kind to peek behind the history of the Patriots. Conversations during the training, the relationships of players with their coaches and the overall impact that one man-made on a team of now professional athletes competing in one of the biggest sports known to mankind.

However, most of the screen time will be dedicated to Belichick and Saban relationship, opinions and takes on the current state of affairs in the modern generation of Football players.

Fans will most likely get insights from decades-long professionals and information about details they have never paid attention to before.

Uprising Stage 4 Week 3 Preview: Washington Justice

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New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.

Friday, August 9th @ 7pm: Washington Justice

I may be starting to sound like a broken record here – but there’s no more room for error for the Boston Uprising. We knew going into Stage 4 the amount of pressure that was on the team. After getting broomed by Guanghzou, and losing a tight match on map 5 to Chengdu in Week 1, the outlook is even worse for the boys in blue. Let’s take a look what Overwatch League’s official statistician puts our chances of making the playoffs at:

A 4.4% likelihood of making the top 12 is… not good. I won’t get into how the dominoes would have to fall perfectly for Boston. It’s better to focus on what Boston has to do to keep their hopes alive – win. And by win, I mean win a lot. Any more losses will sink this team. That means they need to win out against Washington, LAV, NYXL, Atlanta, and Florida this stage. Not a big deal, right?

Fortunately, Boston starts out the beginning of (hopefully) a miracle run against the Washington Justice. If you look at the season standings, you’ll notice Washington is there – at the bottom. You may think that’s just what the Uprising need. But then take a look at the stage standings and you’ll notice Washington is there – at the top. Unfortunately for Boston, Washington has been on a tear since the 2-2-2 role lock came out. Can they stop the momentum that the Justice have this stage?

Washington Justice

What is behind the Justice’s resurgence? As far as I can tell watching them, two things – swagger and Corey. First, these guys are playing with house money. They were eliminated from season end playoffs weeks ago – what pressure do they have? That type of freedom in a high pressure environment like the Overwatch League goes a long ways. And you can see that when they play. They’re smiling, talking, and are loose. I mean look at these guys:

Second, they just happen to have some great players. Corey looks to be one of the best Widows in the league. Like Colourhex, the guy must have partied like it was 1999 when GOATs died at the advent of the role lock. His match against Vancouver last week was a highlight reel. Dude was popping heads like a game of wack-a-mole. Additionally, Sleepy seems to be an S-tier flex-support. His sleep darts always seem to find the right player at just the right time. There’s no doubt Boston will have to bring their A-game with them tonight.

Less we forget, last time we faced Washington it was the last week of Stage 2. Boston lost in a devastating reverse sweep, in my mind the worse loss of the season. The boys in blue have plenty of motivation to seek revenge. Additionally, they’ve had an entire bye week to focus on their opponent. With no one else to play this week, there’s no reason they shouldn’t come prepared to play.

Outlook

There’s no denying that the Overwatch League has become the wild west with the new meta. Chengdu just swept the NYXL right after the Justice swept the Titans. It’s a whole new world out there. But Boston hasn’t made their claim yet. While the Guangzhou match was a dumpster fire, there were flashes of brilliance in the Chengdu match. Boston has traditionally been a team that picks up steam as stages go on, and there’s no time like the present to light the fire. Unfortunately, there’s no more time to wait. They’ll need everyone to click together for at least three maps to secure a win.

I don’t think the season ends tonight. There’s just too much talent and potential. Colourhex can show up Corey. rCk can get on a run. Aimgod NEEDS TO PLAY (talking to you Huk). Blase can pop off on Doomfist. These are all things we’ve seen from Boston this season. They just need to happen all at once. It’s happened before and it just needs to happen again – for five more matches. That’s not asking for much – right?

Photo courtesy of Stewart Volland/Blizzard Entertainment

For more weekly columns and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 4 Week 1

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New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.

Boston Uprising go into Stage 4 with plenty of work in front of them. Stuck at the bottom of the standings and looking up at a playoff spot, there’s no room for errors. No matches to tune up. Every kill and every map counts. Can’t take anything for granted. They needed wins against the Guangzhou Charge and Chengdu Hunters. How’d they do?

THE GOOD

THE BAD

  • Let’s talk about the elephant in the room first. Where is Aimgod? I thought we had moved past the roulette wheel of support last stage. Boston showed the Aimgod/Kellex combo was indeed their best pairing after taking out Paris and bringing Philly to a map 5. But yet – here we are. Back to Persia/Kellex. Are those rumors about a dysfunctional Aimgod/Kellex pairing true? There’s no time for this drama. We know who the best support line is for the team – why isn’t it out there?
  • And boy did Persia look out of place. From ducking out to take a piss before map 5 against Chengdu, to being picked in the backline time and time again – the poor guy just couldn’t live up to his predecessor.
  • Long stretches where Blase went silent. While Colourhex popped off all weekend, just seemed the American only played well on Mei. Plenty of times Boston could have used the type of DragonStrike or pick from a Junkrat that would have opened the door…and it never came. There were times he came through, but the consistency wasn’t there.
  • Did rCk and Fusions look dis-coordinated against Guangzhou? They sure did to me. Halt hooks missing left and right. Positioning just completely off. Not sure the cause, but something I noticed.
  • That map 5 loss to the Hunters was painful. While stage 1 saw a heated back and forth, stage 2 seemed like it was going to be a clean sweep. Then Boston crept back in, Blase getting some clutch picks, and the team staggering enough to scratch and claw their way back. But losing 99-95 to end a 2 loss weekend – hurts.
https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1155652059984728070
  • Also – the switching on Map 5 there was atrocious. Boston couldn’t make up their mind. Did they want snipers, dive, hack fist – make up your mind! Just swathes of time spent switching. Absolutely infuriating. Don’t they realize how they throw ult economy out the window when they do that?

THE UPRISING

  • Colourhex was Boston’s player all weekend. When Boston could create the space, there was the kiwi popping heads and leading teamfight wins. I’ve said all season he needs the opportunity and he’d make Huk and fans proud – boy was I right.
  • Looking at Fusions’ tank usage is a bit startling. The brit was on Orisa and Hammond all weekend long, with mixed results. There were alot of times, as has been the case often, that he drew opposing team’s fire and dropped first. Guangzhou and Chengdu have clearly learned from other team’s success that if you get Boston’s shotcaller first, not much good follows for the Uprising. Hard to figure where you point the finger. Do supports need to be there more? Should Fusions position himself better so as not to get picked so easily?
  • I thought rCk bounced back well from a pretty piss poor performance against the Charge. Playing the Hunters, it seemed like he connected on a much higher number of hooks. On Havana specifically, his Self-Destructs came in time and time again to clear out the Hunters and get Boston to the next point. He epitomized putting the past in the rear view mirror and driving forward.
  • Volskaya continues to be Boston’s go-to. Getting through Point B with over four minutes left? I barely had time to put my beer down and tweet how smooth that Point A cap was before it was over. Unreal. Need more of that.

Outlook

Is the year over? Well, let’s see here:

Boston doesn’t have one of those red “ELIMINATED” bars next to them yet, but it sure doesn’t look good. With only five matches left in the stage, you’d have to think they need to win out and have some help to squeeze into the playoffs. Is that realistic? NYXL, LAV, WAS, ATL, & FL. So… maybe? But then to think the Reign drop at least three matches (and Dallas, too) is… looking at the glass half full?

I’m not about to say Boston should start jumbling their roster, giving their bench players an opportunity, and starting an inventory of who they have for the future. No. We’re not in throw away mode yet. But it’s put up or shut up time. There ain’t much good to say, but it ain’t over yet. Boston can still make something of this mess. But another loss may knock them out. A win may not be enough. Boston gets a bye week to stew on this. So with that…

For more Boston Uprising content and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp

Uprising Stage 4 Week 1 Preview: Charge and Hunters

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New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.

Saturday, July 27th @ 4:45pm: Guangzhou Charge
Saturday, July 28th @ 7:00pm: Chengdu Hunters

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Boston Uprising. None of us have any illusions about that. There’s been some highs (four reverse sweeps) and lows (stage ending Map 5 losses to Washington and Philadelphia). But that’s all in the past. Here we are at the final stage of the season. Season end playoffs are realistically within range. A new meta, punctuated by the 2-2-2 role lock, has reset the pecking order of the league. This is the biggest change since the Mercy nerf came down last season. Nobody knows what hero comps teams will put out there. It’s the wild wild west and its time for the boys in blue to nut up or shut up. Lets roll.

Guangzhou Charge

With the new role lock it’s hard to predict how Boston’s Stage 4 opening matches will play out. We can only look at how the teams have done this season, any likely team comps, and what the match means for each team.

Given that, Guangzhou stands at 9-12 on the season, a step above Boston in the race for the season end playoffs. While they’ve been up and down all season, the most interesting part of Saturday’s matchup will be seeing who they put on stage. Guangzhou spent the break between stages making more roster changes than any other team, picking up the Gladiator’s Bischu and Fusion’s fragi.

In Thursday’s match against the Philadelphia Fusion, the Charge played a lot of Mei/Sombra, snipers, a Tracer here and there, with a lock on Ana/Mercy and Orissa/Roadhog. That may be their counter strat to the Fusion, or it could be what they think their strengths are at. Not exactly something you want to bank on seeing Saturday. But they clearly are putting up a fight against Philadelphia after rolling them on Volskaya.

Chengdu Hunters

All season the Chengdu Hunters have been that team that resisted the GOATs meta. These are the guys that were playing DPS when everyone else was running triple tank/support. It got them a lot of fans because, well, we were all sick of watching GOATs. But also, it takes a lot of chutzpah to go so against the grain on a professional level. Also, the conventional wisdom has been that given they’ve spent all year playing off-meta comps they would be the best equipped if a role lock ever came down the pike. What’s that mean?

Hard to say. At 9-12, Chengdu is also slotted one spot above Boston in the standings, currently in the season end playoffs. As the only team with an all Chinese roster, the Hunters’ fans believe they can be the reds’ national hope for Overwatch League dominance. Hopefully the boys in (red, white, and) blue can show up and lay their claim as a top tier role lock squad.

Outlook

Any prediction is a shot in the dark, especially when a drastic change like the role lock is being unleashed for the first time. Fusions and company spoke on the official Uprising Twitter that they expect to see plenty of dive and bunker comps. As I write this, I see a lot of Thursday’s matches feature double snipers, Tracer popping up intermittently, and somehow Mei becoming meta (is this the dawn of the ice age meta?). In other words, it’s utter chaos out there.

It’s time for the Uprising to pop off. Blase has been stuck in the Brig all season. Colourhex has only had a few chances to show what he can do on DPS – and he’s done great. We’ve got a new DPS in Stellar who single handedly put Toronto in top-tier contention until his early retirement. Add in All-Star Fusions’ drive to make the playoffs, and a squad with plenty to prove, and fans have all the reasons in the world to buy-in.

Photo courtesy of Stewart Volland/Blizzard Entertainment

That picture is the last we saw of Fusions and Blase last stage. Let’s hope they still have some of that swagger to bring to the stage this weekend. If Boston wakes up Monday without a win, that may be all she wrote for the season. That’s not what I’m expecting. That mantra from the start of the season still matters and should be on everyone’s mind going into this weekend and every match from here on out. Prove. Them. Wrong.

https://twitter.com/BostonUprising/status/1096133294876327936

For more weekly columns and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp

Reading the Tea Leaves in Boston’s Newest Player – Stellar

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After the Stage 3 playoffs, Overwatch League was set for a slow news week. Monday seemed to be the day to reflect on Shanghai’s unexpected upset of San Francisco to win the Stage 3 title. Instead, Boston takes the headlines away from the Dragons to announce the signing of DPS player Stellar. That name sound familiar? Yes, that’s the same Stellar who played for the Toronto Defiant. Same player who as recently as April retired from professional Overwatch. Wait, what?

Let’s try to break this down. Stellar, a Tracer specialist in Korean Contenders for O2 Blast, started the season for Toronto. He was there back on March 3rd when the Defiant trumped the Uprising 3-1. In the GOATs meta, much like Blase, the DPS specialist has been stuck in the Brig. Stellar played a bit of Sombra, he never stuck around long enough this season to see the DPS resurgence that has been prominent this past stage. That, along with unspecified personal reasons, was enough to make him to decide to step away from the game.

Staring at a wall

Now he’s back and we’re left wondering what Huk’s long game is here. A few hot takes for you:

  • First, with 2-2-2 lock coming down the pike, Boston strikes first in signing DPS talent. Makes alot of sense and glad Huk is out in front of everyone.
  • Second, If you’re Blase or Colourhex and you wake up to this news, what’re you thinking? These two DPS stars have had too few moments to shine and show what they can do. Now there’s another DPS player to soak up playing time? They can’t be happy.
  • Next, it’s strange that just two weeks after former Boston DPS player Mistakes unretires to join the Montreal Rebellion (Toronto’s Academy Team) Stellar unretires too. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day connecting the hidden dots between these players/organizations.
  • Boston is now up to four Korean players on the roster. That ties the most they’ve ever had with last year’s squad. After seeing Shanghai dump their original roster for an all Korean players to transform from an 0-40 team to Stage 3 champions, teams have to be tempted with this approach. Florida has done the same. Hopefully Boston will stay steadfast in their approach.
  • If you’re going to sign a DPS, what better can you do than another team’s former starter? That’s the definition of buying low and moneyballing the hell out of the competition. This has Huk’s hands all over it and I love it.
  • Lastly, anyone thinking this roster will be the same a few months from now is nuts. Huk may already be hawking some of the shiny looking toys in the box he’s shown off to the rest of the league. Maybe Colourhex’s Widow skills have earned him a spot on the trading block. Perhaps Aimgod is next out the door. Former obscure players like Striker and Neko found themselves in similar positions last year, after coming from obscurity to strutting themselves on the OWL stage. Either way, Boston wins and the machine keeps rolling.
  • Worse case – we never see Stellar on stage. Like Persia and Axxiom, he may be another Korean stuck riding the pine until Huk finds trading partners for everyone else. Hard to say what type of long game the President of Gaming has in mind.

Final Thought

Well, all these takes aside, what’s a Boston fan to think? For me, I think we have to trust the process. This is the same management team that plucked players like Gamsu and Note out of obscurity. We’ve seen this team go undefeated one stage and miss stage playoffs another. Boston dished out reverse sweeps four times this season, but also were reverse swept by the Washington Justice. It’s part of the fun of being an Uprising fan. Strap in. Drink the Kool-Aid. Enjoy the ride. Let’s go.

Huk
Look into those eyes. Does that look like the gaze of a man that doesn’t have a plan. #ThatsMyGM
Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 3 Week 4

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New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.

Well that sucked. After living off that reverse sweep high last week, Boston goes to another game five. And drops it. Against Philly. That’s a burn that will stay with the team for awhile. Not as bad an ending to a stage as getting reverse swept by the Washington Justice, but this will sting. Despite the loss, Boston played a tight game with a team that had beat them 2-1 just two weeks ago. Let’s take a look at what went down.

The Good

  • Boston’s full hold on Point B of Horizon Lunar Colony was a textbook bunker defense. Years from now scholars will study just how Boston was able to squash any offense Philadelphia threw at them. From perfectly timed Immortality Fields, well placed Widow snipes, to smart healing shots from Aimgod, Boston put on a clinic to hold Philly to just a point.
https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1145082670038364161
  • I have to eat a bit of crow as I’ve advocated Boston abandon GOATs. So how did they hold Philly on Point B defense on Havana? Ana GOATs. What’s so impressive about them succeeding with this comp was Fusion’s use of Sombra. Granted, Poko holding onto his EMP for the majority of the push until he gave up and switched to DVa helped. With Boston coordinated around the tight quarters of Point B, it seemed clear to everyone that the Uprising had rehearsed and were prepared for this part of the match.
  • Getting a point on sudden death Ilios by playing GOATs was huge. Playing the mirror to the Fusion was the right call, and Boston played it perfectly. rCk getting picks on the Zen, Rein, and Birgitte as OT started was the play of the stage there. The Finn was on fire.

The Bad

  • Let’s start on Nepal, where Carpe popped off on Widowmaker. Guy had free rein to click heads and was a force to be reckoned with. Boston had no answer for him.
  • Too often Boston was timid in swapping heroes out. We saw this on Nepal when rCk held onto Mei and her ult. He never found a spot to toss it in and swap out when Philly was already closing out. It happened again on Numbani when Boston came out with a strange bunker comp on offense. Didn’t work – and the boys didn’t switch to GOATs until it was too late.
  • Can we talk some more about that team comp on Numbani on offense? Blase on Rein? Colour on Bastion? I default to trusting in Huk and the coaches, but this seemed ill designed. Philly defended with a Winston GOATs, almost a dive comp with DVa. Fusion had no problem diving the Bastion and picking off the supports. I wish Boston had switched out quicker.
  • I’m calling out Malik, Soe, and Sideshow’s halftime analysis (or lack thereof). You’d think Philly was up 2-0 the way they were kissing their ass. Pandering to the Fusion in the middle of a close contest seemed off.
https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1145086023153725441
  • Philly won the match on Stage 2 of Ilios. Boston losing 99-100 was a back breaker. They had the map won until Blase used the barrage at point blank on Sado on the point, killing himself before he picked the tank. That lead to the Uprising having to retreat. Philly got the fifth swap of control on the point and, ultimately, the last. With enough time left to get an EMP, there was still hope. That is, until Carpe picked off rCk as Tracer. Philly mopped up the picks and Stage 3 was all but over.
  • Colourhex getting his grav eaten by Poko on that last stage of overtime…

The Uprising

  • I thought rCk was Boston’s best player Saturday. Rarely did he go down first, and he got so many picks throughout the match. He was aggressive from the jump. The flex player also hit the supports more often than not with his EMPs, preventing any effective response from the Fusion. He was coordinated with the other players all match, and seemed to bother the right Fusion player each time with solo hacks. Was nice to see consistency from the Finn.
  • It would have been easy to pack it in after dropping Numbani in such embarrassing fashion. Credit to Boston – they came out strong on map four to force sudden death.
  • Winning on the fifth map seemed inevitable. The four reverse sweeps throughout the course of the season loomed in the air and it seemed Boston was ready to avenge their loss from two weeks ago to the Fusion. Especially after playing so well on Stage 1 of Ilios. Boston has to respect what Philly did in stopping that momentum dead in its tracks.

Outlook

Stage 3 didn’t work out how any of us hoped. Getting swept three times and not securing a win until week three isn’t what anyone should be happy about. However, there was progress throughout the stage that Boston fans can hold on to.

Uprising’s support line was the story of the stage. A seeming roulette between Aimgod, Persia, Kellex, and Alemao operated through the early part of the stage. It’s no surprise that returning to the staple of Kellex/Aimgod helped Boston achieve its only win of the stage against Paris. While I do think the other players have potential, Aimgod and Kellex give the team their best chance of winning. Persia just stepped off the boat a few days before walking on stage, and could use more scrim time. Alemao is a serviceable Lucio player and should be given another opportunity. Hopefully the time off will serve the team here.

While Boston oscillated between GOATs, Sombra GOATs, Hackfist, bunker, and PharMercy comps all stage, they won’t need to worry going into Stage 4. Overwatch League all but confirmed that a 2-2-2 lock is happening next stage. No one knows what to expect from it, but fans can feel good that Boston has given dps comps a good trial run this stage. Hopefully the time the team has invested in these off-meta comps will serve them well in Stage 4.

For more Boston Uprising content and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp

Uprising Stage 3 Week 4 Preview: Philadelphia Fusion

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New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.

Saturday, June 30th @ 7:00pm: San Francisco Shock

There’s an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt.  For the Boston Uprising, who face the Philadelphia Fusion Saturday for the second time in two weeks, that means they’ll have an abundance of contempt to fuel them in this matchup. Don’t underestimate the power of pent up frustration. Look at last week. After losing to Paris two weeks earlier, Boston faced off with the Eternal again. We know how that ended – in a violent outburst only a soul crushing reverse sweep could cause. Can the Uprising go 2-2 in Stage 3 rematches?

Philadelphia Fusion

First, they’ll need to solidify the support line. With Aimgod and Kellex back on stage together, Boston was competitive with the top tier San francisco Shock, and reverse swept the Paris Eternal. Has Boston turned the corner and realized these two give them their best chance to win? Or does Huk want to keep playing with the toys in his war chest and see if he can build up more trade bait for other teams? While rumors, innuendo, and fake news crept around the internet about internal strife between Kellex/Aimgod, the two clearly give the Uprising their best chance to win.

Beyond the roster, Boston needs to settle on strats. In their last matchup, Boston played a lot of Sombra GOATs. We’ve seen all stage that Boston has slowly let go of living the GOATs life, abandoning it completely in both matches last week. They played a lot of Hackfist, PharMercy, bunker, and four dps. This played more to Boston’s strengths and caught Paris off guard. Only one of those is likely to be true this time. With Blase popping off on Fist, Fusions playing inspired Wrecking Ball/Winston, and Hex swapping back and forth between Zarya and Widow/Pharah, now’s not the time to lose your nerves. Lean in. All the chips in the middle. No hesitation. Live or die with these off meta comps as the sun sets on GOATs, and 2-2-2 is forced in Stage 4.

To win against Philadelphia every player is going to need to execute. Can Fusion avoid the focus fire and stand on his head? Will rCk avoid getting picked first and farm his EMP before their Sombra – Carpe? How will Aimgod and Kellex play when the internet’s rumor mill is on overdrive about them? Boston will need that synergy that we know they’re capable of. Only their best Overwatch will do it against a good team like Philly.

Outlook

I like Boston’s chances Saturday. As Blase said in this weeks Sights and Sounds video, these guys lost their confidence. Their swagger. Well if that’s the case, a patented reverse sweep ought to have given the boys some pep in their step. No reason to fear last year’s Grand Finals runner ups. Every reason to shove these zebra print wearing has-beens into a locker. No excuses.

For more weekly columns and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 3 Week 3

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It’s not exactly a hot take to say Boston hasn’t been great in stage 3. Going 0-4 so far, there hasn’t been much for fans to celebrate. That can all change in a heartbeat, and a win, this weekend. Next up is the San Francisco Shock and a rematch from two weeks ago with the Paris Eternal. With the fear of getting an 0-6 record looming overhead, how would the boys in blue respond?

In Thursday’s match against the Shock, you had Boston facing a surging juggernaut. San Francisco is coming off a Stage 2 golden stage, championship, and being the first team to deliver a loss to the Vancouver Titans. Unsurprisingly, they got swept. But there were positive signs. Boston played dps heavy team comps, made some solid plays, and showed much better coordination than they have all stage. Against a non-elite team like the Shock, there was hope they could win.

Then came Paris. Barely beating Boston two weeks ago, they wouldn’t be so lucky this time. And like it was drawn up by the coaches, the win goes to Boston in the form of a reverse sweep. More GOATs thrown into the mix, better job by just about everyone, and calm under pressure all added up to a Boston win.

A lot to digest here. Let’s break it down.

The Good

  • Nothing could start this more than the reverse sweep. Boston came out with a dump in their pants against Paris, but the magic was brewing as they started on Eichenwelde. The coordination between the triple DPS, supports, and tanks was firing. No one knows reverse sweeps and how to handle the accompanying pressure like Boston, so good for them. You could tell the pressure got to Paris and Map 5 was a formality as the W was locked in.
  • Blase was the best player for the Uprising this week. With Boston going full HackFist on Thursday and giving it plenty of love on Sunday, the dps man stuck in the Brig was the centerpiece of the team. He did not disappoint. Swapping onto Junkrat, Pharah, Doomfist and Bastion. This Pharah play was just ridiculous:
  • Hard to see who is doing what during an OWL broadcast. First, they have no idea what’s happening next. Second, they can only show one player/angle at a time. Therefore, we missed alot of what Fusions was doing the second half against Paris. What we did see, though, was the Eternal’s entire roster get knocked on their ass time and time again by his shatters. Clearly the Brit regrouped and hit his spots as he was in the middle of all the big plays at the end of the Paris match.
  • You have to have some balls to not play GOATs at all in a match at this point, and Boston did it against SF. Did it work? No. But would GOATs have worked against them? No way. I appreciate that the coaching staff was willing to go all in on the dps heavy comps – that will pay off as the team learns and grows from this experience.

The Bad

  • Pretty obvious that Fusions remains the #1 target for opposing teams. While SF somehow found rCk more often than you’d like, they and Paris focused on Boston’s shotcaller. He did better surviving against Paris, and the team seems to be able to deal with Blase on comms now. That needs to keep up if Boston wants to remain viable.
  • rCk did not have a good match against San Fran. While all teams at this point are focusing Fusions, there were too many team fights in Thursday’s match that saw rCk get picked first. He’s supposed to be invisible! Monte said on the cast that the Finn was taken 1:45 to charge his EMP. Worst thing a Sombra can do is die and be slow to get the ult. Not a recipe for winning.
  • I mentioned in my preview that Boston needs to settle on a support line. They didn’t. Boston continues to alternate their supports as we saw Persia/Alemao get the start Thursday and Aimgod/Kellex on Sunday. Is this the line going forward? What’s the big picture here?
https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1141844822829031424
  • Boston’s Paris defense on Point A against the Shock started off great. Bunker comp seemed to be working for them, but once they inevitably caved they got snowballed again. They can’t keep allowing themselves to fail at regrouping on Point B.
  • I can’t blanket praise the team for the Paris match. Those first two maps were ugly, particularly control. Blase on Tracer didn’t work out. Fusions’ Wrecking Ball is still questionable. There was no answer to the Paris Roadhog. It makes it that much more surprising that they were able to come back honestly.
  • Once Colourhex lost a Widow duel to Danye on Dorado, he goes on for a 3k. Brutal. Probably the only glaring loss I saw with Colour on the Widow.

The Uprising

  • I gave some love to Blase, but lets not forget Colourhex. He flexed onto Pharah and Widow all week to great effect. His Zarya has come a long way too. He may be the most unsung hero of the team.
  • Fun to see Amplification Matrix come out on Paris Point A for both the Shock and Uprising. While us plebes question how some heroes will be used, pros always find great uses for the seemingly obscure or useless abilities.
  • As Boston started Dorado, Paris whipped out some Mei stall defense by the first building. Never seen it. Love how Boston rode it out, building up ults and plowing the Eternal in a clean team kill. That may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Boston never looked back through the reverse sweep.
  • Aimgod. Need I say more? Ok, how about his sleepdarts? That pick on the Pharah where she slides down the roof – a masterpiece. His well timed biotic grenades, especially that one he tossed into a graviton on Map 5 against Paris – makes you wonder why anyone thought it a good idea to let him ride the pine.
  • Best part of that sudden death map was with Paris owning the point, 5 ults in the chamber, and the casters all but calling it for them. With ult economy and positioning against them, Boston dug themselves an early grave. Leave it to the boys in blue to come back. Next time you hear people doubt Fusions’ Winston, remind them of this map where he controlled all the space on the point. Just delicious.
  • Man that play at the end, in overtime, with rCk and Kruise (Lucio). With an EMP in tow, rCk goes around the point, manually hacks Lucio, then translocates onto the point and immediately deploys the EMP. Game. Set. Match.

Outlook

Well, where exactly does a 1-5 Stage 3 record put Boston? Stage playoffs are gone, but season playoffs are still on the line. Boston is a win below that 12th spot and well behind in map differential, so each match matters. They can’t afford to drop maps from hereon out. There are plenty of positives to take out of this weekend.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1142926179697156096

Boston is out ahead on the Sombra and HackFist meta. Blase is an S-Tier Doom and if rCk can play his best, I have no doubt Boston is the best dps team in the league. They need to play their best support players, which I believe to be Aimgod/Kellex. Lastly, they need Fusions’ best. It’s unlikely the Uprising’s support can keep him upright with the damage he gets, so the dps needs to peel and counter focus better. I’m undecided if Boston should abandon GOATs completely – it worked keeping it against Paris. I’ll leave it to Huk on that one.

Lastly, it’s the little things that bring me joy. Like seeing the Eternal’s Kruise slam and kick the desk after getting reverse swept. I could bathe in the tears of opposing, reverse swept teams. After a week that saw Vancouver and Houston go down, the league is wide open. If Boston can stay the course and iron out their inconsistency, they could shove a (Doom)fist right through everyone in the league.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1142989499879890945

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Uprising Stage 3 Week 3 Preview

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Thursday, June 20th @ 7:00pm: San Francisco Shock

Sunday, June 23rd @ 4:45pm: Paris Eternal

What better way to rebound from an 0-4 start to the stage then finding yourself facing the last stage’s champion? That’s where the boys in blue find themselves this week as they face off against the San Francisco Shock Thursday night. Following that, on Sunday they get a rematch with the Paris Eternal, who took out Boston just two weeks ago 3-1. Talk about a horror show wrapped inside a disaster. When life hands the Uprising lemons, can they walk out this weekend chugging lemonade, or will they be reeling from having lemon juice shoved in their eyes? Let’s take a look at what we can expect.

San Francisco Shock

After climbing the mountain, the Shock did what had yet to be done – beat the Vancouver Titans. With their Stage 2 championship, the Shock showed everyone that the top tier of the league had better make room for one more team. Since then, they’ve swept the Dynasty, won a hard fought 3-2 match against the Reign, and, surprisingly, lost 3-2 to the Outlaws. Clearly Boston can’t judge anyone for losing to Houston (see last week), but the Shock are certainly a team to be respected. What hope does Boston have?

Not much. While I quit the prediction game after seeing Boston shockingly get reverse swept by the Justice, it’s hard not to see the Uprising facing an insurmountable task here. Shock are on a rampage, and I’m not sure Boston has what it takes to counter it. Look for Fusions to draw most of the focus fire, and if SF play the Sombra, how the race with rCk to the EMP goes. I’d say those are your two keys to the matchup.

Paris Eternal

Stage 3 Week 1’s matchup between Boston and Paris was a nail biter. Now at 2-1 going into the final map, Gibraltar, the match was decided on who could make it further on their second offensive lap. As my colleague Brock broke down, Boston played well that map. It came down to poor ult economy management, not focusing on targets collectively, and poor positioning when it mattered most. Ending a winless opening stage weekend, Boston has plenty of motivation to seek revenge.

There was alot going on in that Paris match that fans can question. Will Aimgod and Alemao return to the support line? We’ve seen Persia, Kellex, Aimgod, and Alemao all get stage time. Will Huk and the staff finally settle on their support players? If it’s up to me, I stick with Aimgod and flip a coin on Kellex/Alemao. Aimgod has proven himself the best Zen on staff, and a more than capable Ana (if the situation calls for it). Meanwhile both Kellex/Alemao are great Lucios who seem to coordinate well with the other players.

Also likely to change in the rematch is the team comp. Their first encounter saw Boston employ plenty of standard 3-3, but this was not the way Boston played in week 2. Will they continue to bring out the hackfist comp? Maybe pull more from dps hero pools or bunker comps. I think, despite another two losses, last week’s matches showed Boston a road forward in the league that sees less GOATs and more dps.

Outlook

It’s not going to come easy. Nothing is given in this league. Boston has plenty they need to fix. We’ve seen this whole stage that Boston is more than willing to toss DPS team comps out into play. They’re a prominent OWL proponent of the new ‘HackFist’ comp. Sombra was used extensively last week. I think it’s time to throw caution to the wind and embrace the contrarian role.

Next, let’s settle down the support line. No more last minute lottery or outthinking themselves. Pick the best players and the ones that work best with the team (sorry Persia, you need more time scrimming before you’re stage worthy with the boys). I firmly believe Aimgod is our best support and Kellex/Alemao are a toss up for the second spot.

Third, rCk needs to prove his worth. While he has generally been good since he came over from Dallas after Stage 1, as more teams have embraced the Sombra the Finn hasn’t performed. He hasn’t been the best Sombra in the game. If he’s going to justify his position on the team (and alleviate frustrated fans still furious that Note is gone) he needs to step up.

If Boston cleans up these issues, plays tight, and executes their coach’s gameplan they can break their winless streak. I think this funk they’re in is escapable. But they have to get themselves together. Embrace the weird. Play their best. Tell the rest of the league to shove it. Lets go boys.

For more weekly columns and gameday banter, follow Loadscr33n on Twitter #BostonUp