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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.
- 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…
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