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Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller – Stage 1 Week 1

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Overwatch League’s opening week is in the bag. All the preseason power rankings and hot takes are starting to fade out against the cold indifference of reality. Unexpected heroes, disappointing performances, and POG plays abound throughout the league. Now it’s time to pull up the VODs, crunch the numbers, and have a realistic look at how the Uprising look.

Boston Uprising vs. New York Excelsior

Much has already been said about what this match means and what many expected. Would Boston get rolled 4-0? Could they steal a map? How could a team with last year’s MVP not dominate? Lastly, can a team that traded their main tank 2 days ago show any signs of life? Fortunately, the tempo of the match would be revealed quickly.

Nepal

In a foreshadow to how the match would be decided, stage 1 of Nepal saw NYXL play a rare off-GOATS team comp. Switching Meko from DVa to Sombra, the Uprising’s inability to stop the EMP would quickly become obvious to everyone. Without a dual dps threat (as Colourhex came into the match suspended for two games) NYXL had the advantage of knowing exactly how the Uprising would play. Unfortunately, it cost them the first map.

Meko on Sombra couldn’t be stopped

Despite the Sombra play by NYXL causing major disruptions, Uprising put up a valiant resistance on stage 1. NYXL squeaked by 100% – 99%. Stage 2 saw more back-and-forth but the NYXL prevailed. Interestingly, Note would be de-meched and eliminated first. Additionally, he missed all 3 of his Self-Destructs on Nepal. Stats don’t lie and these would portend future concerns.

Numbani

New York matched the GOATS comp of the Uprising on Numbani. This slower paced play style lead to equal exchanges on both sides throughout the match. Equal, that is, until Fusions decided he wanted to show what a Contenders and World Cup player from the other side of the pond could do:

Fusions: “Did someone say I would be nervous in my first OWL game?”

NYXL was supposed to steamroll the underprepared and lesser experienced Uprising, but Boston showed they were up to the task on this second map. Carefully managing their ultimate economy, focusing picks, and timely healing all were clear parts of their strategy. Did you know? According to the broadcast: NYXL won 29% of teamfights where they suffered the first death last season, 5% more than the next highest (Boston). Who’d have thunk?

Numbani was ultimately decided by the Uprising. Left with only a minute and a half after capturing Point A, the Fusions led team forced their way through NY’s defense and stole Point B. On the other end, New York was unable to capture Point A despite having over four minutes to do so. Boston’s impressive defense rested on their positioning on top of the point and splitting the front and back lines of New York. As a result, their team coordination drove them to take the map 4-3.

Horizon Lunar Colony

On map 3 we saw a bit of tactical differentiation between the two teams. Whereas Boston went up the right stairway to Point A, NYXL consistently used the longer outside path. Next, they walked along the skybridge and dropped down to Point A. Both teams played the GOATS comp appropriately, but to me, this was the PoTG on this map:

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1097319020150353920

Forced into Overtime at Point A and down 2-0, New York cleared the point and pushed Point B before Boston had regrouped. As a result, the Uprising rushed into a defense that became staggered. Through sustained offense and timely ultimate use, New York pushed through and tied it up 2-2. Thwarting Boston’s attempt on offense, NYXL had a minute and a half to get a tick on Point A. What did they do?

Surprising everyone in the audience (and the casters) they pulled out an unbelievable team comp. Mercy, Zenyatta, Hammond, Sombra, Pharaoh, and Tracer. I don’t think we saw this team comp anywhere else all week. While Wrecking Ball peeled Boston away to open the Point to Pharaoh spamming rockets, Axxiom’s Zen finally picked Pharaoh during her ultimate. Justice did not rain from above and Boston forced the draw. 1 – 1 going into the fourth map. New York’s arrogance to play this off-meta team comp failed. Gloriously.

Route 66

Remember when I said earlier that Nepal foreshadowed the end of the match? A Sombra having free reign to EMP and the Uprising not having an answer to it? Well, NYXL thought back to that first map and said, “Hey let’s do that again!”

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1097326968327077888

That clip pretty much sums up the fourth map. Over and over again, Meko would creep around behind the Uprising clouded in invisibility. At that point, EMPs would be unleashed onto the enemy team. Boston became defenseless and at the mercy of the NYXL. Deaths, objective failure, and frustration. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Look at these statistics from Route 66, specifically Meko:

Meko with 0, Z-E-R-O deaths on Route 66

Boston was unable to get through to the third point. As a result, New York pushed through to the end to win the map and the match by a combined score of 2 – 1.

Analysis

It was a story of good and bad for the Uprising. First, they silenced all their critics. Though many put Boston as a preseason bottom tier team (of which there were many) they showed they could compete with the elite of the league. Additionally, though former captain and main tank Gamsu departed abruptly just two days ago, Boston’s tank play didn’t miss a beat. Fusions, having landed in LA just two days before this match, already showed he was capable of holding his own at the OWL level. Lastly, Boston was held back by the absence of both of their dps’ availability. With more scrims and matches going forward with Fusions and Colourhex the sky is the limit for this team.

Of concern was the less than stellar performance of Note. Going into the fourth map, he had only hit 2 out of 12 of his Self-Destructs (for two kills total). He also seemed out of position often. Even in replaying the matches, it’s difficult to determine precisely the cause of his seemingly poor play. It could be that the supports were focused on boosting Fusions. New York could have been focusing their attack on the more mobile off-tank. Lastly, he could have just been uncomfortable among a relatively new set of teammates. Given his underrated performance last season, there is no cause for concern. The season just started and their is no reason to think he won’t turn it around.

Boston Uprising vs. Houston Outlaws

I spoke in my weekend preview of the unwarranted attention the Outlaws received. Given that they were a team that missed the playoffs last year, their offseason praise by critics is unjustified. Leaving their roster mostly intact, the Uprising had no reason to fear starting the season 0 – 2. Fortunately I wasn’t proven wrong.

Nepal

This got ugly, quick. Houston had watched tape on the Uprising and knew Colourhex was still out, forcing Boston onto the GOATS comp. Interestingly, they started out with a Hammond, Mercy, Pharaoh, Somra, DVa, and Zen comp. Much like they did in their match against the NYXL, Boston had no answer to the EMP. Taking a page from New York’s assault on Horizon Lunar Colony, the Outlaws also had free reign with their Pharaoh, Despite a 100% – 43% win for Houston, the stage was a slaughter. Outlaws scored 23 eliminations with Boston only earning 5.

Unfortunatley for Boston, the Sanctum stage didn’t play out any better. Muma showed why he is often considered one of the league’s top main tanks, popping off for multiple environmental eliminations. With both teams using a GOATS comp, Houston had no problem rolling Boston for a dominant 100% – 29% win. Was all the momentum from Thursday about to get lost in a 4 – 0 against Houston?

This is bad.

Hollywood

Fortunately for fans of the Uprising, Boston’s players were able to put that devastating map loss behind them. Boston’s coordinated strike included Note landing kills with his Self Destruct and Fusion doing what he does, putting Houston on their heels. Pushing the payload on their attack, Boston was unable to make it the last few feet to capture the third point.

On defense, Boston proved up to the task. Fusion landed several Earthshatters and hammered through several shields, each setting up Note for more effective Self Destructs. Houston was able to make it through the first two points, but reached a road block towards the end of the map. First, they were at a disadvantage at getting past Point 2 during Overtime. That gave them just over a minute to play with. Houston got the payload right up to their victory location at which point a dragged out war was waged. With Muma popping off and hammering down Uprising players, it was Kellex hopping around on Lucio that contested the point. Eventually Fusions and the rest of the Uprising ran out of spawn and repelled the Outlaws. As satisfying as the map win was, Houston was a Torb hammer’s length away from winning the map.

Note showing he still knows how to hit the Self Destruct

Volskaya Industries

As both teams stuck with a GOATS team comp, a back and forth predominated the early match. After a reasonably quick Point A capture, Boston sped forward to two ticks of Point B. Houston repelled them twice until Boston broke through with this nontraditional route to the capture point:

Early candidate for PoTG

I’m still debating what to call this. The Mass Pike? The Beantown Highway? Still undecided. Fortunately, the grouping on the platform worked as Boston captured the point. Houston responded in kind, capturing both points with a 3.5 to 1.5 time advantage going into the second turn. With only enough time for one push on Point A, Boston saw themselves stuck in massive team fight. Fortunately, Note saw Rawkus’ Zenyatta out of position and dove him. Eliminating their healer, Boston snowballed Houston to capture Point A. Additionally, Note got a key pick on Muma on Point B to push the Uprising to 4 – 2 going into Houston’s turn on offense. Houston was unable to match Boston’s push on Point B and lost the map 4 – 3.

Boston ended last season with a record of 10-1-1 on Volskaya Industries. Their only loss came in the playoffs to the Fusion. As a result, the Uprising still claim unofficial ownership of the map.

Dorado

What if I told you that Houston pulled out the Sombra? Would you think that this was the one time all week where the Uprising turned it around? If so, thank you for having that pure fandom to believe in the impossible. Sadly, you are mistaken. Danteh went back on the Sombra and used multiple EMPs to disable the Uprising’s heroes and snowball the team. A drawn out map that was over before it started.

Illios

Finally the two best words in all of Overwatch: MAP. FIVE. Winner take all, best of 3, control map. There’s nothing more exciting when you’ve fought through four other maps to get to this point. Houston had lost earlier in the week on map 5, losing in a reverse sweep to the Toronto Defiant. Would they fall apart at the end of a marathon of Overwatch again?

After trading stages, it comes down to the final winner-take all stage 3 of Illios. Boston would take the early lead, reaching 87% when they gave way to the Outlaws. With a Graviton Surge and Self Destruct, could the Uprising pull off the GOATS combo in the clutch?

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1097350466546163712

Yes! Note’s Self Destruct on Linkzr and Dive on Rawkus (again) sealed the victory for the Uprising. #BostonUp!

Analysis

What a first win for Boston! There are too many delicious treats to feast on here for Uprising fans. After getting absolutely demolished the first map, the boys put Nepal in the rear view mirror. Plowing through Houston the next two maps, it was that kryptonite of Sombra that forced them into a fifth map. Boston will need to figure out how to counter her if they’re going to survive this meta going forward. Adding Colourhex should help with that.

When it got to map five, the Uprising continued to impress. Working the ultimate economy and picking their spots, Boston got the eliminations when and where they needed. In a huge bounce back game from Thursday, Note showed time and time again exactly why he’s one of the few players to survive management’s purges. He’s just too reliable. While the rest of the league continues to discount just how valuable he is, we Uprising fans know he’s as dependable as anyone. Additionally, Fusion continues to impress despite being on the team for less than a week. That a Contenders player can jump up to the Overwatch League and perform at this level is mind blowing. New pickups Alamao and BlasĂ© also showed how competent they were in their roles. Particularly BlasĂ©, who was forced off his normal dps role and stuck on Birgitte.

Looking Forward

There were many questions coming into the 2019 Overwatch League season. Questions transformed into concerns when Gamsu was traded two days before the start of the season. But many of these have all been pushed to the side. Fusions has shown himself more than capable of bringing this team where we want it to be. Note continues to be the clutch player we need him to be. As a team, neither the bright lights or the pressure seems to faze them. Facing the heralded NYXL, this team went down to the very last point on the last map and barely scrapped by without a win. They took the favored Outlaws to five maps and came out with a win.

Next week will see the possible addition of Colourhex, the New Zealand dps. It will be interesting to see what Uprising coaches do – continue to use the same six starters to run GOATS or change team comps? Additionally, the Uprising only have one match next week – against the Shanghai Dragons (Friday at 10pm EST).

How emotional will players be going against their former captain Gamsu? Will they respond to having the entire Overwatch League’s fans on the side of the Dragons as they look for their first franchise win? Lastly, what happens when Fusions has actual time to scrim and develop with his teammates? Needless to say, the Overwatch League is on notice. Fans should keep an eye on all the casters and opinion makers as they scramble from their preseason takes. Don’t be fooled – we knew all along who these players could be. And we never doubted. We’ve just got three words for all the doubters.

PROVE. THEM. WRONG

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Knee Jerk Reaction – Uprising vs. NYXL Week 1

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As I take the T out to the burbs on my way back from the Hard Rock Cafe, juiced on adrenaline, I have to dump my thoughts. Here are a few things that popped up as I watched the game and that I’ll investigate further this weekend for the next Monday Morning Shoutcaller. In no specific order:

The good

-The entire Overwatch League is on notice. All those preseason power rankings putting the Uprising in lower tier territory will need to be scrapped. Look out tomorrow for all the pundits to thaw their hot takes and come back to earth and realize what we know. Huk is a talent finding unit.

-Lets start with the obvious MVP of the night is Fusions. Coming from Britain’s World Cup team, to the Uprising Academy, to getting called up to the main roster and landing in LA just two days ago. This kid can compete. His positioning with the Rein shield, timely charges, and effective shatters allowed the Uprising to stay in every team fight. If this kid had any nerves from going on the big stage, I sure didn’t see it.

-Another rookie who showed no signs of that freshman status was Axxiom. Playing primarily on Zarya, a character out of his hero pool, put him at a disadvantage from the start. Still, he seemed to land many of his gravitons and bubbles. I’m anxious to see him develop over the course of the season.

Another unknown to the Overwatch League community, Alamao, showed up big. His Lucio bounced around and always seemed to have a Sound Wave when we needed it. I wouldn’t say he’s put himself in elite company. However, he’s silenced any doubters that his South American Contenders experience would hold him back.

-The one millionth rookie debut on the team was Blase – and he drew the short straw named Brigitte. Was he elite? No, certainly not. Could he have done better? Sure. But give a pro OWL player two days to learn an unfamiliar hero and show me someone who played as competently as Blase.

The bad

-I have to throw a flag at Note tonight. It seemed in every team fight that Note was the first to die. As a result, the Uprising often found themselves without the tank line that could prevent a snowball. I also would wager he didn’t break double digits with his self destruct across the match. Without looking at vods, it’s hard to say whose to blame. Maybe the NYXLs plan was to focus the DVa. Conversely, maybe without his partner in crime Gamsu, the Note we know and love disappeared. It’s early, but it’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

-Unfortunatetly, as I expected, the Uprising were forced into a GOATS meta all game. Team comp never changed, even when they subbed Kellex in. Problem is, if you give a team like NYXL 4 maps they’re going to figure out a way to counter it. Feel good Uprising fans that the Uprising GOATS got the better of NYXLs GOATS. But we all could see just how disabling the Sombra was, and how the Uprising has nothing to switch to on Route 66. 

Takeaways

-Close your eyes. Go back to that last map. Imagine having Colourhex and Blase there, swapping to a Tracer, Genji, Doomfist, or Junkrat. See how the Uprising could twist their strat around these new dps and push that payload those last few feet on offense. Or pick off all of NYXLs tanks on their approach. This isn’t a dream. You’re not imagining things. Had the Uprising not been held back by Colourhex’s suspension, that’s what would have happened. Take that to the bank.

-After it’s all said and done, the Uprising have all the reasons to walk away feeling great. The presumed future champions were nearly beaten on opening night. The same night that saw the defending champions unexpectedly lose in the first match of their title defense.

-We are well on our way to fulfilling the team’s 2019 mantra – PROVE. THEM. WRONG.

-Imagine being the Outlaws right now. Sunday afternoon can’t come soon enough.

Uprising Week 1 Preview: Excelsior and Outlaws

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Thursday, February 14th @ 8:30 P.M. – Boston Uprising vs. New York Excelsior
Sunday, February 17th @ 3 P.M. – Boston Uprising vs. Houston Outlaws

Boston Uprising vs. New York Excelsior

Whoever is running the Overwatch League clearly knows the Boston – New York rivalry is import. Boston’s match opens up the season right after the Grand Finals rematch between Philadelphia and London. How does the Uprising follow up an inaugural season where they claimed the only undefeated stage and surprised everyone by making the playoffs? If you’re Robert Kraft’s team you charge headfirst against the juggernaut that is the NYXL with a chip on your shoulders looking to silence your critics. And there are plenty out there with things to say about the Uprising.

It’s High Noon

Criticism isn’t unwarranted. The offseason has been tumultuous for the Uprising as DPS Notes and Striker have left for greener pastures and main support Neko has joined the Toronto Defiant. Additionally, team captain Gamsu was just sent to the Shanghai Dragons two days ago and Fusions has been called up from Boston’s minor league Contenders team. Along with the departures of bench players like Kalios, Avast, and Snow, Boston is coming into its second season with a lot of question marks. They have promoted main tank Axiom, also from their Contenders team. He’ll be under pressure to live up to the performance of Gamsu. Also, DPS players blasĂ© and Colourhex were picked up along with Alemao as a backup support. How these new players will meld with the returning core of Aimgod, Note, and Kellex will be the story of how this season plays out.

Tonight’s matchup will feature Nepal, Numbani, Horizon Lunar Colony, and Route 66

Match Preview

When facing the NYXL, the Uprising have to hope the past stays in the history books. Posting a 2-3 record against the Excelsior last year, the Uprising have their work cut out for them. Unfortunately, that losing record includes that crushing defeat in the Stage 3 Finals all the way back on May 6. New York didn’t post the league’s best regular season record by being slouches. Seven out of their ten players made last year’s Atlantic All-Star team. This includes league MVP Jjonak, human highlight machine Pine, and arguably the best DPS player in Saebyeolbe. NY is a coach’s worst nightmare to plan against, and President of Gaming Huk and his staff have their work cut out for him.

Odds are not in the favor of the Uprising against the NYXL. Getting the new players to gel with the returning core likely will be a season wide struggle. Starting the process against the inaugural season’s best team, who will come into the season with a lot to prove after disappointing in last year’s playoffs, is less than ideal. If you want to be an optimist, the path for the Uprising is very clear. With Colourhex’s suspension, they’ll be playing GOATS. We know it, they know it, NYXL know it. If somehow Axxiom steps up and plays out of his mind, Alemao and Aimgod gel right away, blasĂ© plays well on Birgitte, and they win those coin-flip type team fights, they may have a chance.

Prediction

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1092977582453215237
Most optimistic statistic I could find for the Uprising…

Realistically, if the Uprising can put together a solid gameplan and put up some degree of resistance they may likely steal a map. But fans should temper expectations – expecting the Uprising to win the entire match may be unfair of a roster of strangers playing together for the first time. Consequently, if they can walk out of the match showing some signs of life, fans have reason to be hopeful for the season. But if the NYXL’s roster flattens the Uprising, fans may have to #riseup to get their team to put it together as the season may unravel before it even gets started.

Boston Uprising vs. Houston Outlaws

While they’ll be facing an unstoppable force in the NYXL their first game, the Sunday matchup against the Houston Outlaws is a different story. The Outlaws are the Overwatch equivalent of vanilla ice cream. First, they posted a slightly above the mean 22 – 18 record. Second, their sole post-season experience was losing to London in the Stage One playoffs. Though they made up significant ground in Stage Four, they were on the outside looking in when it came playoffs time.

Justice Rains from Above

If the Outlaws are vanilla ice cream then consider their rainbow sprinkles to be the unofficial league spokesmen Jake and Rawkus. Appearing seemingly everywhere – these two haven’t shown the performance that warrants the attention they get. Jake’s “Jakerat” play may be popular with fans, but it’s unlikely to do anything against the presumed GOATS comp the Uprising will run. There is no statistical evidence to show that Rawkus is an elite Zen, Ana, or Sombra player. Additionally, their much hyped main tank Muma is more style than substance. Looking at his stats, he didn’t actually show anything outside his Stage One Winston play. His inability to adapt to past the dive meta portends poorly for the Outlaws.

Sunday’s match will be played on Nepal, Hollywood, Volskaya, and Dorado

Given this background what exactly have the Outlaws done to improve? More than any other team in the league, the Outlaws doubled down on their roster. While scrapping several bench players, all their core starters from last year have returned. Given their middle tier status, that decision is questionable. Their only notable roster change was to add former San Francisco Shock dps Danteh. As he mentioned in a Players Lobby post – his inconsistency throughout the inaugural season gives no reason to fear he’ll be the Uprising’s undoing. As a result, the Outlaws enter the 2019 season thinking their experience, team camaraderie, and growth will carry them through this season. Considering Boston has had a nearly complete roster overhaul, a meta battle of team building strategy will be fought in Sunday’s game.

Match Preview

If the Houston Outlaws are the sliced white bread of mediocrity than why are they seemingly favored by all the predictors? Nothing in their history last year should give any reasonable fan confidence in picking them over the Uprising. While Boston’s current roster may not go into the match with a history together, they’ll have already faced NYXL by Sunday. Given that experience on the stage and all their scrims in between, there’s no reason to doubt their preparation. While Houston’s sole bright spot from season 1 was their Stage One performance, 2019 is a different story. Jake’s DPS abilities, regardless of what you think of them, are largely irrelevant in the GOATS meta. Muma has not shown elite level tank play. They are who they are and there’s no reason to think they’ve changed.

That is not a player focused on getting better at the game…

Prediction

While there may be hope for a single map win in their battle against the NYXL, the real litmus test for the Uprising in Week 1 will be the Outlaws. Houston is as plain as a $1 Cumberland Farms coffee. If they can squeeze out a win they will instantly put all their doubters on notice. Most pollsters are expecting a decimation throughout the first weekend for Boston. However, I think the Uprising rebound from the NYXL match and show what they’re made of. Axxiom makes Uprising fans start to forget about Gamsu. BlasĂ© shows that Hex is the GOAT of talent scouting. Who knows – crazier things have happened.

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Who are the Boston Uprising? A beginner’s guide

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It can be a bit overwhelming to get into any new sport, let alone one of the biggest eSport league in the world. In an attempt to get you up to speed, I will be presenting a five part series to introduce everyone to the Overwatch League, the four different game modes, the basics of Overwatch’s heroes, some common terminology, and a look at the Boston Uprising’s roster. In this article, I’ll be looking at the Boston Uprising’s roster.

Roster Moves

Boston Uprising’s first season was nothing less than a rollercoaster. Experts predicted the unknown players would sink to bottom of the league. Instead, they went on to claim the only undefeated stage. Like many other teams, they went on to crumble in the playoffs. And lastly, they went on to gut their roster.

Striker, the star DPS of the team, was traded to the San Francisco Shock. Giving away one of the best Tracer players in the league raised a lot of eyebrows. Rumors of dissension with the coaching staff abound. Uprising’s oft-lauded support Neko was also released and signed with the Toronto Defiant. The Zenyatta main’s coordination with fellow Korean players Striker and Gamsu is likely what propelled the Uprising to their highest successes last season. Other players Kalios and Snow both were let go.

Going into the 2019 season it seemed the Uprising would rely on their core of Gamsu, Note, and Kellex to bring continuity to the team. Then this happened:

With two days to go before the season starts, the Uprising sent Gamsu over to the Shanghai Dragons. While it was a shocking move, there is a certain level of sense to it. Given the overlap between Gamsu, Axxiom, and Fusions (more on them later), the Uprising had a surplus of main tanks. Moving one seemed inevitable. However, no one expected Gamsu to be the one traded. With him gone, a vacuum of leadership permeates the Uprising. Additionally, with only two days to go before the start of the season, how the Uprising regroup and create synergy will be a main storyline of their 2019 season.

Kellex

Another returning player to the Boston Uprising is the Danish main support Kellex. Last season he played a lot of Mercy, but with the addition of Alemao and Aimgod likely to take a more prominent role, many expect him to return to his main, Lucio. Last season, Kellex’s success seemed to flow along the same path as the overall team. As a result, many fans wonder if he can be the difference maker that other supports in the league are. To get to the next level, Kellex will need to show he can push his team over the hump when the challenge is at its highest.

Note

Note is the last of the three players on the Boston Uprising’s roster who played most games last season. An underrated DVa player, Note spent the off-season leading Team Canada to a bronze medal in the Overwatch World Cup. With Gamsu gone, how quickly Note can learn to work off-tank from Axxiom will be crucial for the Uprising’s success. While many thought the small DPS line would be the Uprising’s biggest weakness, Gamsu’s trade has shifted the spotlight to the tank line.

Aimgod

Aimgod is the second support player for the Boston Uprising. Though he played on stage towards the end of last season, his ability to contribute is still a question. As a Zenyatta main, Aimgod saw limited playtime at the end of last season. How he fits in with Kellex and Alemao is one of the bigger storylines going into the season.

Colourhex

One of the few New Zealand players of the league, Colourhex plays the flex DPS role for the Uprising. Going into season 2, he will be serving a two game suspension for player boosting. Uprising will miss him, as his Widowmaker, Genji, and Pharaoh specialities will surely be needed. Unproven on the main stage, the Uprising will lean heavily on him in the absence of Striker. Whether he can live up to that level of talent will direct how far the Uprising can make it in the 2019 season.

Axiom

Coming from Boston’s minor league affiliate Toronto eSports, Axiom is a main tank who mains Reinhardt and Winston, like Gamsu did. He played well last year in Overwatch League’s minor league Contenders, but hasn’t faced elite competition. Given the Gamsu trade, Axiom will face significant pressure to live up to the former fan-favorite main tank. Fans speak highly of Axiom from his performance in Contenders, Overwatch’s minor league. If he can bring that elite level of play and mesh well with Note, the transition could be a smooth one.

Fusions

Another main tank, Fusions is a British born player on a two-way contract with the Uprising’s minor league affiliate, Uprising Academy. With the departure of Gamsu, Fusions has been called up to the main roster as a main-tank sub. As a result, it’s likely he’ll get his opportunity to shine on the main stage in situational roles. Seeing as he wowed fans in the World Cup this past year, fans are anxious to see how Fusions plays on the Overwatch League stage.

Alemao

Brazilian flex-support player Alemao was well known in Overwatch League’s minor league Contenders league. While he was on Brazil’s Overwatch World Cup roster the last two years, he has no Overwatch League experience. As the first Brazilian on an Overwatch League roster, Alemao will have a lot of pressure on him to perform well. A true flex support player, he is known to be just as productive on Mercy, Lucio, or Zenyatta.

Blase

Relatively unknown among Overwatch professionals and observers, Blasé comes to the Boston Uprising as a flex DPS with a lot to prove. As a Genji, Junkrat, and Doomfist main, he has a flexibility to play multiple roles. Given the loss of Striker and Mistakes, Blasé comes to the Uprising with big shoes to fill. How he adjusts to being on the main stage and depended on to produce at an elite level will be evident quickly.

Outlook

What does all this mean for next season? Looking at their schedule, the Boston Uprising have a long road ahead of them. Out of the gate they start day 1 against the NYXL, last season’s most dominant team. They finish week 1 against the Houston Outlaws, another playoff team. If they can’t squeak by with a win there, they’ll be showing signs of blood in the water if they can’t manage to top the winless Shangai Dragons in week 2. This matchup will have more attention paid to it given that Gamsu was just traded to the Dragons. It could get ugly real fast so the Uprising need to come out strong.

Tanks

How will they succeed in the 2019 season? First, Axxiom and Note need to get on the same page. There will be little time for Axxiom to adjust to the Overwatch’s top level. Success came aplenty to the Uprising in the dive meta, which relies heavily on aggressive tank play. Strong tank play is central to success in the Overwatch League. Therefore, if the Boston Uprising wants to reach the playoffs, they need to confidently rely on their tank line. Fortunately, with Fusions on the roster, the team has backup on call if things turn south. Given that Gamsu was traded two days before the start of the season, Uprising fans may rightly be anxious about the play of their tank line.

DPS

Strong tank play can get you far but it won’t get the job done alone. Alongside their tanks the Uprising will need strong DPS play. This is where many see a weakness of the team. Unfortunately, BlasĂ© and Colourhex have no Overwatch League experience. The void left by Striker, Dreamkazper, and Mistakes looms over the whole team’s head. Many expect the Uprising to sign additional DPS players as two DPS is not going to cut it. If BlasĂ© and Colourhex can come out early in the season and show what they’re made of, all the skeptics can be silenced. If those two falter, they may become the center of the storm for the team.

Support

Lastly, the unheralded support players need to do their part. With Kellex on Lucio, Aimgod on Zenyatta, and Alamao on Mercy, the Uprising seem to have a reliable support line. If these three can step up and do their part they will play a critical role in the team’s success. Kellex has done admirably in the past and looks to continue his success. For Aimgod, he needs to continue his growth from where he ended last season. Many saw him as a strong Zenyatta main last year. If he can continue playing at a high level, he could claim the title of unspoken hero of the team. Alemao, as well, needs to face the pressure head-on and show he can perform at an elite level.

Prediction

There are plenty of questions headed into the 2019 season. As you can see here (here, here, and here) there are a lot of doubters. Not many expect the DPS duo of BlasĂ© and Colourhex to perform. Many also wonder about our support line. Losing their star main-tank two days before the start of the season certainly raises more questions for the Uprising. I believe if players can buy into their coaching and follow the leadership established by Kellex and Note, the Uprising can outperform expectations. Last season saw the Uprising silence their doubters quickly. There’s no reason to think they can’t do it again.

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and the Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Gamsu of the Boston Uprising

Gamsu traded to Shanghai Dragons and it’s not looking rosie right now

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In a bombshell announcement two days before the season is starting, the Uprising’s main tank Gamsu has been shipped to the Shanghai Dragons. Boston’s star main-tank, a fan-favorite and considered the captain, is now tasked with helping the Dragons secure their first win. Where does this leave us?

Looking back

Boston already is reeling from an off season where breakout players Striker, Neko, and Mistakes all departed. While new players Axxiom, Alemao, Blase, and Colourhex all have potential, the Uprising already are low on returning players. Going into the 2019 season it seemed Note, Kellex, and Gamsu were the core of the team. Gamsu on main tank and Note on off-tank were the engine to the team’s undefeated stage 3, dive-focused streak. Breaking up this pair portends poor future returns for the uprising.

Many fans noted the abundance of tanks on the Uprising after the initial turnover of the roster in the offseason. Additionally, Axxiom and Fusions both can fill the main tank role. With Fusions on a two-way contract, expect Axxiom to land on the starting roster this Thursday against NYXL. Can Note and Axxiom spark the type of magic the Note/Gamsu pair had?

Looking ahead

Opening day’s one-DPS issue has suddenly been switched out with a healthy dose of tank drama. Consequently, what are we to make of Hek’s decisions? We knew with Colourhex’s suspension that an in season DPS pickup was likely. Also, we knew that we would be in for a tough transition at the start of the season. However, that doesn’t mean we expected such a drastic change 2 days before the season. This is a team that has been scrimming for weeks now, trying to build synergy. What state can we expect this team to be in on opening day? How many reps has Axxiom got with our starting roster?

Fortunately the Uprising are opening their season against the NYXL. Dealing with a suspended DPS and the loss of their star main tank shouldn’t affect their performance. Who would think that?

Goodbye Gamsu and Uni. We hardly knew thee….

Basic Overwatch terminology. A beginner’s guide

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It can be a bit overwhelming to get into any new sport, let alone one of the biggest eSport league in the world. In an attempt to get you up to speed, I will be presenting a five part series to introduce everyone to the Overwatch League, the four different game modes, the basics of Overwatch’s heroes, some common terminology, and a look at the Boston Uprising’s roster. In this article, I’ll be looking at the Uprising common terminology.

If you talk to Overwatch League fans or listen to a broadcast, you will hear some terminology you don’t know. If you’re not careful you’ll be easily left behind! As a result, a basic understanding of some common terms and concepts is worth reviewing. This won’t be an exhaustive list, but should help you sit through a game of Overwatch and feel comfortable knowing what’s going on. Let’s try to hit the basics.

Meta

Overwatch League teams interface with a constantly changing dominant strategy as other sports teams. Whether it’s moving to a 3-point heavy shooting in basketball, pass-focused offense, or the defensive infield shift, rules and tactics are always changing. ESports has this type of meta change often. Regular patches to the game change the fundamental ways it can be played. In addition, in Overwatch new heroes and maps continue to be updated on a regular basis. This means that the meta, or the commonly accepted primary tactics used by teams, is constantly moving. For example, dive was a dominant strategy for the first three stages of the inaugural Overwatch League season. Stage four saw the introduction of GOATS which teams had to quickly adapt too.

Team Comp(osition)

The heroes that you choose for your team are the foundation of any strategy in Overwatch. Whether you choose all support characters, 3 DPS and 3 tanks, or any other combination will dictate how you play the game. Commentary around the game is often focused on how different hero classes are chosen. Different team comps become so popular that they get their own name (see dive, goats, 2-2-2, etc).

Dive

Team comps centered around quickly mobilizing towards a goal are called dive. Generally the idea is for a team to pick an enemy hero and have all heroes converge (or dive) on that single target. Given that the team that gets the first kill statistically wins the most team fights, dive is popular because it prioritizes achieving the first kill. Dive is generally created with a core of Winston, Dva, Zenyatta and Tracer. For more info, see here.

GOATs

Another popular team comp that includes 3 tanks (Rein, Zarya, Winston and/or DVa) and 3 support (Lucio, Birgitte, Zenyatta, and/or Moira). Originally used by a North American Contenders team called GOATS, this team comp is the primary meta for the start of the 2019 Overwatch League season. This team comp is focused on tanks being blanketed with constant healing, making them difficult to take down. With Lucio onboard, they are also able to quickly get from point to point.

Triple Tank

Any team comp that includes three tanks. Arguably a meme until GOATS came around and showed the team comp could succeed. With the addition of Hammond the triple tank has seen renewed attention.

2-2-2

Generally the default team comp you see in online play. This includes two tank heroes, two DPS heroes and two support heroes.

Pirate Ship

A team comp on escort/hybrid maps where teams set up on the payload. Generally this means putting a Bastion or Torb turret on the payload with a shield and/or a pocketed support. As a result, the payload becomes almost a mobile weapon for the offensive team

CC (Crowd Control)

Crowd Control is a catch all term for hero abilities that limit or stop a hero’s movement by either slowing or stunning them. Examples of this include McCree’s Flashbang ability, Mei’s ultimate Blizzard and Endothermic Blaster, or Ana’s sleep dart. Therefore if you hear something like “Winston is popping his ultimate for CC” you know Primal Rage is coming.

POTG (Play of the Game)

At the end of a game of Overwatch a single highlight from the match is replayed. Play of the game, or POG, is the name of this end game highlight. When watching a game from the Overwatch League, fans often call out “POG!” when something exciting happens. Think of it as the eSports version of being on Sportscenter’s Top 10 Plays.

POG

An online meme that is used when someone is excited. Often you’ll see Twitch chat fill up with “POG!” after an exciting play. You can follow an online rabbit hole to find out more about the origin.

A changing meta throughout a season of Overwatch League means that the most flexible team will be rewarded. If a team is only strong in one meta they risk being left behind in the next meta. As a result, teams have to develop a roster of diverse skillsets in order to convert to the dominant meta of the time.

Buff/Nerf

Regular patches to the Overwatch game itself by Blizzard change the characteristics of the game’s heroes. They can be both positive and negative. For example, if a hero’s guns are changed to an additional amount of damage per bullet, this positive change is called a buff. Conversely, if a hero is weakened by a patch it is called a nerf.

Shoutcaster

The eSports word for an announcer. Because everything has to be different in eSports.

Main/hero pool/one trick

All phrases that refer to the primary or set of heroes that Overwatch players have the most expertise in. To main a hero is to default them – the one you have most familiarity with. While you may main a certain hero, you can still have a hero pool of other characters that you are competent at. Conversely, to be a one-trick is to only have one hero that you main and not have any others in your hero pool.

Boop

A type of attack, special ability, or ultimate that pushes other characters back. Certain levels where enemies can be pushed off the map to their death make booping useful. An example of a boom attack is Lúcio’s Soundwave.

Squishy

A hero that is ‘squishy’ is anyone with a small health pool/health bar. Non-tank characters are generally considered a squishy and ripe to be taken out quickly by most other characters.

Peel

To peel is to essentially drop everything you’re doing and get to your teammates who are under attack. This was first prominent when dive was meta in the Overwatch League. If the enemy team dove onto a teammate, the only response would be for everyone else on the team to peel to the one under attack. Another way to get a team’s front-line attack to stop is to get them to peel. Attack the backline and get front-line attackers to peel back to help. There is more information on peel here.

Choke

A choke is a location on the map where there is generally little space a team has to traverse through. By focusing on choke areas, the opposing team knows where the other team is going to be and can set up their position to respond. Oftentimes escort, hybrid, and assault game modes see the defensive team focus on choke points to thwart the offensive team.

Front/Back line

The front/back line is a generic way of understanding how teams orient themselves on the map. Generally a team’s frontline consists of its tanks and dps characters. They are first to engage the enemy or reach the goal on the map. Back lines are made up of a team’s support characters. Heroes that get hurt in a team fight will flee to the back line to get healed before reentering the fight. Also, the backline is in constant need of peeling from the front line in the event of an attack. The balance between the two lines is what makes a team formidable.

Ultimate

An ultimate is a power that heroes gain after a fluid amount of time. While players can theoretically just wait for an ultimate to charge, often they aim to charge it through actions. This includes using other powers, both offensive and defensive. Additionally, some heroes are able to charge their ultimates quicker than others. For example, Tracer’s Pulse Bomb and Sombra’s EMP are ultimates that can be gained quicker than DVa’s Self Destruct or Zarya’s Graviton Surge.

Ultimate economy

At a meta level within a game, teams are tracking which heroes are accruing their ultimates and have them at the ready. Ultimates often dictates the winner of a team fight. As a result, the careful accrual and expenditure of ultimates can dictate the overall game. Therefore, the team that is constantly tracking their ultimates as well as the enemy’s within the context of the broader game has a better chance of winning.

AoE (Area of Effect)

Abbreviation for Area of Effect. Used to describe abilities or weapons that can affect multiple targets within a specified area. These are useful to get an enemy or enemy team away from a specific area on the map, like a payload or objective point.

Splash damage

Any type of attack that can hurt more than one target. Ashe’s dynamite, Pharah’s rockets, or Junkrat’s grenade launcher all do this. Oftentimes teams will try to focus all their splash attacks on areas of the map where they know the enemy will concentrate, like a choke point or an objective.

Staggering

Teams intentionally waiting to kill an enemy after a team fight to prevent them from getting respawned faster and thus preventing the attacking team to regroup faster. To delay or ‘stagger’ an opposing team’s respawn and extend the time needed for regrouping results in a smaller time bank. Staggering is a great way to force an opposing team to burn time while they regroup, or force them to make a mistake in their haste.

Hitscan/projectile

Heroes whose primary fire hits their targets instantly is categorized as a hitscan. In contrast, a projectile is an attack that launches from the attacker and delays in reaching the target. An effective projectile hero is an expert at tracking enemies and calculating the right place to aim their weapon to lead their target.

Full-hold

A full hold is when a defensive team prevents the attacking team from reaching a single tick on the objective point. This happens on assault and hybrid game modes. To be able to prevent the enemy from getting even a tick on the first point is quite the accomplishment, given that the offensive team spawns significantly closer than the defensive team.

C9’d

If a team loses an objective or fails to capture it because they accidentally either vacated the point, or did not touch it in time despite winning the fight, they C9’d. This term comes from the pre-Overwatch League APEX Season 2, where the team Cloud 9 (or C9 for short) made this mistake in several key matches. Today, people say C9 when a team leaves or doesn’t get on the objective, even if it was impossible to get on.

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and the Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller

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Welcome to the first edition of Monday Morning Shotcaller, where I will be armchair quarterbacking the past weekend of the Overwatch League. As I clearly am writing for Boston Sports Extra, my focus will always be the Boston Uprising. I’ll be providing an analysis of the weekend’s matchups, try to provide honest reaction, give other OWL notes, and review the good, the bad, and the ugly. As this weekend featured the Community Countdown (OWL’s preseason equivalent) let’s get into what went down on the precipice of the 2019 Overwatch League season.

Now Loading…

Overwatch League announced on February 7th a Community Countdown event. Featuring a “series of rivalry-building scrims” and interesting custom games, the unofficial preseason gave fans anxious for opening day something to chew on. Dallas Fuel coach Jayne hosted the day’s festivities. Providing commentary and answering fans’ questions in Twitch chat, he let on how disorganized the event was. Oftentimes he had no idea why there were such long breaks in between maps. He also didn’t realize it was a best of three on maps until the second game ended.

Despite the disorganization and haphazard nature of it, the Community Countdown was still an opportunity for fans to see their favorite teams and players. How would teams treat it though? A legitimate opportunity to try new strategies or an exhibition to goof around in? Well, here’s what the Overwatch League commissioner had to say 1 day into the 5 day event:

https://twitter.com/natenanzer/status/1094401351960805377

Needless to say it was a disaster for those seeking high level Overwatch play. Teams played seemingly random if not meme-seeking team comps that were clearly meant for fun. The day’s first match between the NYXL and Paris Eternal symbolized what was to come. Coaches clearly didn’t want to show off the strats they had been working on in practice and private scrims. Better to save that for the regular season, so they’d say. But what happened when Boston took on the Atlanta Reign?

High Noon

The Uprising made it clear from the get-go how they were approaching the day. Opening roster on Ilios was:

  • Note (tank) on Mercy (support)
  • Axiom (tank) on Pharah (dps)
  • Gamsu (tank) on Lucio (support)
  • Blase (dps) on Hammond (tank)
  • Aimgod (support) on Roadhog (tank)
  • Alamou (support) on Orissa (tank)

Any hope for the Uprising taking the match seriously was quickly smashed. Players taking on unfamiliar roles told everyone what we were in for. Though seeing Note and Axiom run the Pharmercy pair was novel, the effectiveness wasn’t there. Boston only got a paltry 13% on the first stage. The second stage saw a bit more flair, with BlasĂ© playing Ashe in a preview of what may happen on Thursday’s opening game. Boston took on the control point for a bit but lost 100%- 95%.

The less we talk about that map the better. Considering the Uprising were fooling around there isn’t anything to read into it. They tried even less on King’s Row. Starting on offense, the Atlanta Reign got a full hold as Boston never attempted a coordinated strike. Seeing as all they had to do was get one tick on Point A, Atlanta had it easy. The Uprising didn’t put up a fight, although gems like this made it worth watching:

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1094770532237611016

Justice Rains from Above!

Atlanta saw their first stage appearance during this matchup. Many Overwatch fans were interested to see famous Overwatch streamer/Contenders player Dafran. The former McDonalds worker is famous for tilting and complaining, publicly. Such as this lovely piece of poetry:

Dafran clearly changed his mind and ended up signing with Atlanta. His team showed that they could coordinate and run what Jayne referred to as the TOAST comp. That’s Rein, Zen, Tracer, Zarya, Ana… and Tjorb. Two teams throwing off-meta team comps made for some interesting plays. But it makes it hard to draw any real conclusions. We’ll see how Atlanta does when the lights are a bit brighter and fans are screaming in their faces.

POG

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1094773254038929410

Considering this weekend’s games were a joke I’m not going to try to change the mood. Here’s a quick little interchange from the end of Boston’s Kings Row defense that made me smile. We’ll see you Thursday for our game preview for the first week of the 2019 Overwatch League season!

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and the Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Who are the heroes of Overwatch? A basic guide.

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It can be a bit overwhelming to get into any new sport, let alone one of the biggest eSport league in the world. In an attempt to get you up to speed, I will be presenting a five part series to introduce everyone to the Overwatch League, the four different game modes, the basics of Overwatch’s heroes, some common terminology, and a look at the Boston Uprising’s roster. In this article, I’ll be looking at Overwatch’s heroes.

Now that we’ve covered game types let’s talk about the different characters that Overwatch League players choose from. Players have to coordinate in order to move the payload or capture a control point, but how do they do it? Teams are playing a sophisticated game of paper-rock-scissors based on the three main categories of the characters they choose. First, DPS (damage-per-second) players are tasked with killing other players. Second, tanks are aiming to stand in the middle of the battlefield, moving/capturing the objective, and disrupting the DPS from doing their job. Lastly, support players try to augment their teammates through their ability to heal or boost players. How these three types of heroes work together is the meat and potatoes of Overwatch.

DPS (Damage-Per-Second)

If you want to be a human highlight real than DPS is for you. These players make the fancy plays, hit incredible shots, and change the tide of a game with a single click. Their mission, 9 times out of 10, is to seek and destroy. They have different ways of doing this (we’ll get into it) – but the DPS heroes are all bloodthirsty killing machines. How Overwatch League teams choose their DPS heroes and their strategy is highly dependent on context. I’ll try to cover some basic universal truths.

DPS are the ones who have to get rid of tanks. That’s because they’re the only ones who produce enough damage to complete that task. Additionally, supports don’t have the strength to take out a tank. They’re too weak. Other tanks are not nearly as effective as wiping out their fellow tanks as a DPS player.

A big problem is that tanks are generally being healed or boosted by some type of support. How can you kill a DVa whose 400 health is constantly being replenished by a Mercy who heals at 50 health/second? Thus, you have the eternal cat-and-mouse of Overwatch. DPS wants to kill tank. Simultaneously, tanks are being helped by support. Then DPS targets support so they can get around to killing the tank. Lastly, supports ask their DPS and tank teammates to defend them. And on and on in a death spiral.

Here are the current DPS heroes – each with their own unique abilities that make them useful in various different contexts. Choose wisely!

Hitscan vs. Projectile & Close Range vs. Long Range

DPS players generally fit into two different categories; hitscan or projectile. Hitscan means players have a gun – ie you click to shoot and assuming your cursor is over the other player, they get hit. Someone like Widowmaker with her sniper rifle, or Bastion with his turret is a good example of this. A projectile is, well, a projectile. Projectile DPS have to do a degree of estimating where their targets are going to be in order to land their shot. This includes Junkrat shooting his grenades or Pharah launching her rockets.

Another distinction with DPS are between those who play close or long range. Some heroes, like Reaper and Doomfist, have to be up close to enemies in order to maximize their utility to the team. Others, like Widowmaker and Ashe, can play much further out. Knowing who you are, how to position yourself, and maximizing your abilities is what makes a star DPS player.

Tank

For those who want to be the big boys that push everybody around, the tank may be the role for you. It’s confusing to understand what a tank is and what they do if you’re new to Overwatch. They don’t fit into the kill/heal dichotomy. Tanks are somewhere in the middle and off on their own. There are a few common attributes of tank players. They are big. One could say phaaaat. As a result, they are big targets. Teams often will focus all their efforts on wiping tanks out.

Those who play as tanks aren’t necessarily looking to get kills and aren’t even particularly good at it. Granted, they are more than capable especially compared to a support. But that’s because tanks aren’t looked at for the damage they deal. Oftentimes they provide shields for your team by blocking/absorbing the enemy team’s shots. Most also have ultimate abilities that make the enemy team run away. This is helpful when you’re trying to control a specific area on the map.

Tanks draw enemy team’s attention, but maximizing their toolset is what sets the rookies apart from the elite level tanks. Positioning, resource management, and coordination are all important attributes you’ll need to succeed.

Tanks play a unique and non-trivial role. Oftentimes those playing tank are shotcallers, or people who direct the whole team. They’re the ones that direct attacks, coordinate positioning, and order retreats. Tanks are often the first on the point or payload. Additionally, tanks coordinate in tandem with other players to use their ultimates, requiring a strong level of communication.

Support

Overwatch players in the Support role are the unsung heroes of their teams. Rarely shown on the broadcast, supports’ stats don’t represent well what they do, and they’re usually the center of meta-controversies. Like a lineman or a mid-game reliever, supports don’t get any respect. But these are the backbone of any successful Overwatch League team.

The supports use their abilities to heal and buff their teammates. Whether it is Lucio boosting nearby teammate’s speed or Brigitte increasing armor, their help can tip the scale in a team fight. Oftentimes support players can also target enemy players with nerfs – Ana‘s sleep dart and Zenyatta‘s discord orb are examples of these. Those powers help a support’s teammates focus on a target to wipe out early on in a team fight.

They look friendly, but these support heroes can be the difference between winning and losing. Carefully defending and utilizing your team’s support is a big part of a team’s strategy.

Support players aren’t known for their offensive capabilities, generally. Though there is a whole “Battle Mercy” meme out there, supports generally play in the back line and work to help their team. It is the tank and DPS’ job to protect them from attack. Interestingly, JJonak, the league’s first MVP, is a Zenyatta main.

Closing thoughts

With only a basic understanding of what the three main groups of heroes are you are more than capable of understanding a game of Overwatch. The cat-and-mouse, paper-rock-scissor dynamic holds true in nearly all circumstances. Learning the minutia of each individual hero will certainly get you to a degree of mastery, but it isn’t required. Knowing that you have the DPS, tank, and support roles is more than enough to enjoy watching a game of Overwatch!

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

What are the different game modes in Overwatch? A beginner’s guide.

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It can be a bit overwhelming to get into any new sport, let alone one of the biggest eSport league in the world. In an attempt to get you up to speed, I will be presenting a five part series to introduce everyone to the Overwatch League, the four different game modes, the basics of Overwatch’s heroes, some common terminology, and a look at the Boston Uprising’s roster. In this article, I’ll be looking at the different game modes in Overwatch.

It is confusing that in Overwatch their are different game modes. Most sports have one goal and an offense/defense dichotomy (prevent/score goals, get outs/score runs, etc.). But in Overwatch there are four modes with completely different rules. Not to be confused with football, where you have three different phases of the game (offense, defense, and special teams). But in Overwatch, teams play a best of four map series. Each game mode has its own rules, scoring system, and strategies. Sometimes two competing teams require a fifth match to determine a winner. I’ll review each game mode and explain the rules. Additionally, I’ll point out the broadcast cues you should follow along with. Let’s go over the basics.

Control

Neither the blue or red team has captured the point yet (the circle around A is white). Blue team has 3 players in the control point and nearly has it!

In the Control game mode, teams start on opposite ends of the map with an objective area in the middle. This objective area, or control point, unlocks 30 seconds into the game. Once unlocked, a team can capture the control point by being the only team in the objective area. To do this though you have to wipe out the other team from the control point. The more players a team has in the objective area, the quicker they capture the control point. If the team vacated the objective area, the meter that measures how far along the capture process slowly resets back to 0.

Blue team has the control point (the circle around A is blue) but red team has two players there to capture.

Once a team captures the control point, they slowly move towards 100%. At this point the other team needs to clear the objective area of opposing players and capture the control point. The first team to 100% wins – there is no time limit. Additionally, once a team gets to 99%, the other team has to be cleared out of the objective area to get to 100%. A lot of times you’ll see scores of 99 – 100% as one team fails to clear out the control point.

When playing the Control game mode, it is first to 100% on a best of 3 maps. The winner of the best of 3 gets a point towards the overall series. If the overall series needs to go to a 5th match The Control game mode is also used . This is because Control always produces a winner and can’t end in a draw.

Assault

This shows the start of the Assault mode – Point A is ready to be attacked/defended

The Assault game mode is one where teams rotate offense/defense. When on offense, a team starts opposite of where the defensive team starts. While on offense, teams have to reach an objective area and capture it. Capture mode’s rules around capturing points all apply. There are two points to capture (point A and point B). Point A is always closer to the offensive start point, and further from the defensive start point. If offense can capture Point A their start point moves up on the map and they must capture point B.

The 3 below Point A means 3 offensive players are at the control point – the Contested means the defensive team also has players present at the control point

There are a few nuances that make assaulting/defending the objective areas a bit different than Control mode. Whereas Control mode has a circular meter to measure progress towards controlling the objective area, in Assault mode the meter has two checkpoints on the way to capturing the point. Offensive teams work to raise the meter to one of these checkpoints. That’s because even if they get wiped out by the defending team, the meter won’t reset beyond the last check. Additionally, the meter’s progress stops when the defensive team gets into the objective area. You’ll see the word “CONTESTED” underneath the capture point in the heads up display. Thus in Assault mode the assaulting team has to wipe the defending team off the capture point every time they want to move towards capturing the point.

Point B is open and has been taken past the first of 3 ticks – the control meter won’t reset back beyond the first tick now

Escort

The offensive team has two players on or near the payload with no defensive players to contest its forward progress

The Escort game mode is the most straightforward – teams take turns bringing a mobile payload (a big object like a battering ram on wheels, floating car, etc) from one end of a map to the other. To move the payload, the team on offense must be in close proximity to the payload – the more players on/near the payload, the quicker it will move. By being on or within range of the payload the attacking team is healed. Forward progress can be stopped in one of two ways. First, the offensive team is removed from the area on or around the payload. Second, the defensive team gets a player on or around the payload.

It’s overtime and even though the offensive team has two players on or near the payload, the defensive team has someone there too!

The offensive team has a set amount of time to escort the payload from the start to the end of the map. When the payload reaches one of the two checkpoints along the way additional time is awarded. If each team successfully escorts the payload to the end, teams get an additional turn to escort the payload from the start to the end with however much time they had left over.

Escort mode always has a winner – whoever moves the payload the furthest (even if it is the second, third, or more) lap through the map. The end of each round is also like Control. This means if the attacking team’s time runs out, as long as they have a player on or near the payload the round will continue. Oftentimes you’ll see teams with no time push the payload past a checkpoint during overtime. As a result they get additional time to play with to get the payload to the next checkpoint.

Hybrid

If you have your head wrapped around Assault and Escort mode, then you’re off to the races. That’s because hybrid combines the two. First games start with an Assault mode-type objective area which must be captured/defended. If the offensive team wins then it becomes an Escort mode.

Now that you know the four game modes of Overwatch, you’re ready to get on the Overwatch League bandwagon!

For all the latest on the Overwatch League and the Boston Uprising, please follow me on Twitter #BostonUp

Ranking the new Overwatch League Twitter emotes

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Overwatch League just announced they are partnering with Twitter to have official hashtags/emotes for the 2019 season. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, go on Twitter and put in any hashtag you can think of. A hashtag is a nice way to get your message circulated, but these Overwatch League ones are special. Put in one of the team/league specific ones and an emote is generated, like this:

Pretty sweet right? Well, for no other reason other than it’s what we do, let’s rank these bad boys. I’m judging these both by the hashtag phrase they use and the team’s logo. The ones I put at the top were the ones that sounded the most badass, while the ones at the bottom make me roll my eyes. That’s the barometer. Without further ado:

#20 – New York Excelsior

Ever upward? To what? Where? How? Why? What does this mean exactly? Also I am not a fan of that logo. Too on the nose for me.

#19 – Houston Outlaws

Such wasted opportunity. Loved that they used Texas, but hard? What is that about? “Texas Forever” is an all time TV line, but Texas Hard? Just an absolute swing and miss.

#18 – Vancouver Titans

That new logo is lit, but force of nature is too pretentious to make it move for me. There had to of been something better out there to pair with that awesome logo.

#17 – Los Angeles Valiant

Now we’re getting to the place where I don’t hate the hashtag but it’s just not getting me revved up. Something about wings coming out doesn’t exactly light the furnace. A valiant effort, I’ll say.

#16 – San Francisco Shock

No one will ever be shocked by the Shock. Just not going to happen. That logo has also always been a bottom feeder logo in this league, so I gave them points more for the hashtag than logo.

#15 – Guangzhou Charge

Seems like someone let the intern run the social media accounts. Feel the charge? That’s the best you could come up with? Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Feel like this was another missed opportunity.

#14 – Seoul Dynasty

I actually really like this one. I just like the others better. Good effort Seoul – here’s hoping your effort in the game matches this.

#13 – Toronto Defiant

Really like this one too – very straightforward, clever, and clean. Could see this on a billboard or poster or shirt. Well done.

#12 – Florida Mayhem

Another clever hashtag that matches up well with the logo. I like the branding and I’m sure their fans will too.

#11 – Atlanta Reign

This one is pretty well done too. Problem is I can’t really see the logo very well in this format. Weather it’s Twitters fault or not, that logo doesn’t shine as well as it usually does.

#10 – Los Angeles Gladiators

Only one team gets to use the word “Up” – and it aint you guys. I get it but sorry, no.

#9 – Chengdu Hunters

Everyone knows the Chinese expansion teams brought the heat with branding during the offseason. The Hunters have an all-time mascot. Pairing it with a fun, playful hashtag like that is a no brainer. Excellent job.

#8 – Washington Justice

Not sure why but after seeing this I feel like running through a wall and waiving an American flag. Just seems so well thought out. I want to see this blasted after every one of their wins.

#7 – Paris Eternal

I have no idea what any of this means but I had to give points for leaning in on the foreign language. No one else is doing that – very bold.

#6 – London Spitfire

Between these guys winning the championship last year and that awesome spitfire branding, how can you not respect this? Aces high just screams intimidation. This was well thought out and will likely be heard throughout the league all season.

#5 – Dallas Fuel

Dallas’ logo has always been top tier for me, and this hashtag has ups the ante. Really like how it connects to their logo. It’s straightforward and badass.

#4 – Philadelphia Fusion

This could have gone either way. If you cringed at seeing this I don’t necessarily blame you. However, I’m a sucker for a good pun. This one was too clever not to boost to the top.

#3 – Boston Uprising

Other than the Outlaws, no other team mention their home town. Whereas they got weird by saying “Hard” – this one makes much more sense. Pairing the city name with a connection to your logo is so straightforwardly brilliant. Why didn’t anyone else do this? Also, because it’s Boston, the greatest city in the world, it gets massive bonus points.

#2 – Hangzou Spark

I think the general consensus is that the Hangzou won the offseason expansion branding war. Both the baby blue/pink colors and the snapping finger logo are absolutely electric. Paired with the only one word hashtag, and that being the word “Bang”, almost wins singlehandedly. I can see fans shooting these suckers out everytime a Widow takes someone down. Whoever is running the branding ship over there is doing it right.

#1 – Shanghai Dragons

Everyone at the end of last season was rooting for Shanghai to win. That last game had everyone standing in anticipation of them getting their first win. We all are hoping for Shanghai to break through – so here’s me doing my part to get them there. I’m a believer.