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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.
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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?
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.
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.
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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.
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Welcome back to Team Fight Tuesday! Even though the weekend as a whole was devastating for Boston, we finally got some winning team fights to discuss! For this week, we are going to talk about the Uprising’s use of the new-hotness going around both OWL and contenders – the comp known as “Hackfist”.
What is Hackfist?
The “Hackfist” team composition is based around the two characters Sombra and Doomfist. Popularized by the Korean Contenders team Element Mystic, this setup aims to create chaos against GOATs and capitalize on the disruption. The combination of Sombra’s hacks and Doomfist’s stuns create the opportunity for early fight picks. This is powerful against a 3-3 team, because 3-3 comps rely so heavily on coordinated group play. If a player in GOATs is unable to use abilities to save an ally, or is knocked away/stunned before they can ult, the rest of the squad is very vulnerable.
If things make more sense to you in video form, here’s a great video from Akshon Esports. They describe more of the intricacies and nuances of the comp.
Why Did Boston Run It?
One of the toughest aspects of a GOATs heavy meta is that talented DPS players are often pushed to the wayside or forced to play tanks. After a terrible string of losses playing with and against GOATs, Boston decided something needed to change. It was also at this time Boston remebered they have one of the premier Doomfist players in the league with blasé. With rCk’s Sombra on hand, it was only a matter of time that Boston would bust out their latest strat.
The comp also allows Fusions and Kellex to stay on their comfort picks in Reinhardt and Lucio respectively. Colourhex gets to gain more practice on Zarya for when the team needs to default back to GOATs, and finally Persia is given the duties of playing Ana.
Boston decides to run this on Illios most likely for a few reasons. First being Illios has plenty of high ground positions and natural cover. When blasé dives in he has the ability to get out safely, thanks to Doomfist’s highly mobile kit. His flanking routes can come from any of the tall buildings or alleyways behind Philadelphia. Second, Boston wants to punish the over-aggressive nature of Philadelphia’s main tank Sado. Catching out the Reinhardt in a GOATs comp is one of the best ways to win the fight. Using Doomfist’s Rocket Punch and Uppercut blasé should be able to displace Sado and create separation between him and his back line, leading to an easy kill.
The Final Fight on Illios
I love this fight because it demonstrates all the advantages Hackfist gives to Boston.
Hackfist in all its glory
Starting from the start of the clip, we can already see blasé setting up on the high ground looking for a kill on a support. He uses Seismic Slam to jump into the Philly Team, and an Uppercut to shoot Sado into the air. Once Carpe bubbles the Reinhardt, blasé jumps right back out to the opposing high ground to safety.
These first five seconds are why Doomfist can be so obnoxious to deal with. Not only is he attacking from a unique angle, he has an amazing quickness that enables him to make riskier plays but come out alive. After his first engage, blasé has now set himself up for another high ground flank.
All while this is happening Sado is hacked by rCk, forcing Philadelphia to commit resources to keep him alive. Eqo uses Rally to keep their team alive, and Carpe uses both bubbles before the fight even starts. Expending these abilities so early in a fight leaves Philadelphia in a difficult situation. Because these cooldowns are used, they have to make a difficult choice. Philly can either back up and wait for more ults (which seems bad because no one is close to one), or push hard and be the aggressor.
Surviving the the GOATs Aggression
For a moment, the aggression pays off as Philly is able to take down Fusions. Normally this would be a lost fight for Boston, however they aren’t playing GOATs this time around. The hidden benefit of Hackfist is that Fusions is no longer the focal point of the team. Of course him being alive is better than dead, but a Reinhardt death in Hackfist does not immediately signal “lost fight”.
10 seconds into the clip, Sado pushes towards Fusions to clean up the kill. But if you notice, Philadelphia is completely surrounding the remaining Boston players. blasé jumps onto the Ana, and rCk lands a hack onto Sado to essentially trap him between Kellex, Colourhex and himself. You can see the moment Sado is hacked and Boombox is killed, the remaining Uprising members collapse onto him. Boston splits him from the rest of the team, leaving him in a position to receive no healing or support.
Once Sado dies, the fight devolves into a series of solo battles between players. Poko runs off to the side to kill Persia but is pressured by rCk. blasé charges in to focus down Eqo, pushing him towards Colourhex and Kellex. Then finally rCk EMPs one more time to secure the point for Boston. Even though Persia is the only one that dies in the prolonged engagement, Boston’s comp is much better suited for this chaotic moments.
Own This Comp and Perfect It
As Boston looks forward to Stage 4 and beyond, they really need to find their style. With 2 stages worth of evidence, I am confident to say that Boston is not a GOATs team. While they may have the ability to run it and beat worse teams, GOATs itself is constantly evolving, and Boston has reacted too slowly to grow with the league. However, something like this can set Boston apart from other mediocre GOATs teams. Sure enough, Philly is one of those meh GOATs teams that Boston can beat with Hackfist. Unfortunately, the moment they swapped back to 3-3, Philly took over the series.
To make a point short – Boston needs to swap back to a 2-2-2 set up, specifically specializing in the Hackfist composition. Teams have discovered that Boston is significantly reliant on Fusions, resulting in Fusions dying first in almost every fight. It’s time for Boston to remove the pressure from their main tank, and place a bit of it onto their DPS stars.
If its any indication from their twitter, it may seem like the Uprising already have the right idea.
That’s it for Team Fight Tuesday! Next weekend we have a tough one against San Francisco and a rematch against Paris. Maybe one punch is all we need to turn this stage around.
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After a disastrous opening to Stage 3, Boston had plenty to improve on. Swept by the London Spitfire and only taking a single map from the Paris Eternal was far from how anyone envisioned last week going. It seemed evident that Boston was experimenting both with their hero composition and the backline players on stage. That type of tweaking of the team’s chemistry and strategy on stage didn’t work out well last week. Would they do the same against the Houston Outlaws and Philadelphia Fusion?
Short answer? No.
A resurgent Houston team that put everyone across the league on notice earlier this week by taking down the San Francisco Shock came ready to play, sweeping Boston. Despite a map win and a winner take all map four, Boston would fall 2-1 to the Fusion. Another 0-2 weekend has added to the scrutiny that this team will be under. What happened?
The Good
Blase’s Tracer taking out Jake’s Pharah on Nepal was fantastic. Seeing Houston’s dps getting wacked with Hex’s rockets (I counted 3x) the whole map showed Boston at least had the advantage in the sky. Honestly I thought Boston had Jake’s number all match long, which I loved. Overwatch League’s lead poster-boy getting shown up was the highlight of the match.
I thought Colourhex was our best player this week. Whether it was his Pharah or Widowmaker, he was consistent through both matches. I loved seeing the Fusions throw everything but the kitchen sink at his Widow on Paris, still fail to get him, and get punished by the rest of the Uprising. Delicious.
I’m a big fan of the dps comps Boston threw out there this weekend. They clearly aren’t a top tier GOATs team, so why keep hitting their head against the wall? I don’t hate Boston trying something new. They just need to execute more consistently.
It’s 2019 and we’re seeing a Hanzo? I’m here for this.Doomfist was great too.
At least Boston didn’t look as bad as Philly. Who thought those jerseys looked good? I’ve never seen anyone wear zebra stripes like that. What, do you want to look like an umpire? No one thinks referees look cool.
The Bad
There’s been a lot of talk about Fusion’s efficacy on Winston. Should he just stick to Rein and get swapped out if the map calls for something else? Well, that attempted jump from the corner to the main platform on Nepal’s first map where he went for a fall… not helping the pro-Winston case. As Hex said on the cast – you have to know when/where you can make that jump.
Several miscommunications on Volskaya Industries (which Boston has a reputation of winning on). Persia hitting a Transcendence after Fusions gets picked. RCk only hacking 4 Outlaws, notably not the Zen with a Transcendence ready to launch. Just not how anyone drew that map up.
Danteh was the better Sombra in the Houston match. Boombox was the better Sombra in the Philly match. I hate to say it, but the Finn didn’t match any of the competition. Considering we traded for rCk to play a Sombra meta, this was not a good development.
Boston’s sole turn on the bunker comp on Paris didn’t work out well, did it? While we saw some brilliance from Hex’s Widow, who had seemingly open range on Philadelphia, it didn’t last. Philly’s dive was too potent and lead to a quick cap on both points.
Any hopes of a reverse sweep against Houston went out the window on Numbani when the Outlaws held Boston off Point A at 99.8%. They stalled long enough for the team to rally back, and Boston took too much time. Boston seemingly couldn’t focus on their targets while Houston got picks left and right.
I listened to Uber’s defense of using Ana over Zen – and I don’t buy it. A biotic grenade isn’t in the same ball park as a Transcendence to respond to an EMP with. Yes, Fusions in general should benefit from a focus Nano, but I didn’t see nearly enough of that in either match to justify it. Anytime Boston saw Danteh or Boombox on Sombra they should have switched the Zen on.
The Uprising
A simultaneous EMP on Point B was one of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen. 10 players without powers as Boston tried to close out their second lap. That’s not something either team prepares for. Boston winning that fight got them the point and3
Yes @UberShouts, this team effort means we go "agane" on Paris!
You could tell how much fun Blase was having out there. Being allowed out of the brig (#DadJoke) to play Doom was just what the doctor ordered. He was great too! Boston played several dps comps where the frenticness played into Doom’s hand (or fist).
Stage 3 playoffs is dead. Let’s not kid ourselves. Boston is barely keeping their head above water. There are holes in the hull. The sail is burning. They’re taking on water. The ship may be sinking. But there is hope.
Figure out the support line. Persia seemed wildly out of place and out of sync with the rest of the team. Establish some consistency there. Keep working the DPS comps. There were flashes of brilliance against Philly. Let’s build on that.
Stage 3’s schedule isn’t getting any easier. Rematches against Philly and Paris. Stage 2 champions the San Francisco Shock. No joking around. Figure your crap out. We’ve seen these guys rally when the situation called for it. Let’s hope they can do it quickly.
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Friday, June 7th @ 8:45pm: London Spitfire
Sunday, June 9th @ 4:45pm: Paris Eternal
Finally! It seems like it’s been ages since we’ve gotten any Overwatch League action. In fact, it’s been 33 days since we’ve seen the Uprising in action. Given that the boys in blue were reverse swept against the lowly Washington Justice on that day, the break has been tainted by an extra sense of bitterness. Well, no more. What better way to start Stage 3 then a double header against London and Paris?
Before we get into the matchups, let’s shake out some cobwebs. At 7-7, the Uprising are standing at 12th place. For those that don’t remember the year end playoff format, 12th place is a dangerous spot to be in. Eight teams make up Overwatch League’s year end playoffs, but the path in is highly circumstantial. First, each division winner gets in. Second, the next four teams with the best match record (regardless of division) punch their tickets. Lastly, the seventh through twelfth place teams go through a mini playoff for the last two spots. Got it?
Thus any worse than 12th automatically gets you kicked out. Clearly Boston should be shooting to be a top 6 team. Is that realistic? Well, the 6th spot currently belongs to the Dallas Fuel, who sit at 9-5. The point is, Boston has to keep pace. They have to make up ground. They can still realistically get out of the play-in tournament and qualify for an automatic postseason bid. But the importance of each match can’t be understated. There are no more throw always. They have to start stockpiling wins. And that starts with this week.
London Spitfire
Last year’s inaugural season champions the London Spitfire are tough to read this year. At 9-5, they are seemingly where they need to be. But, they are 3-2 against teams with a record greater than 500. That means they’re feasting on lower tier teams and winning just over half their games against the top teams. Also, they haven’t played Vancouver, New York, or San Francisco, the near unanimously perceived top teams in the league. What happens when they get to that part of their schedule?
Ggs @Spitfire they were so much better than us today, luckily we have so much to learn from that game. See you tomorrow vs Titans 😊
But don’t start calling me just a homer. On 4/20 they broomed the Uprising right off the stage. Maybe some of the European players brought their free attitude towards pot with them and got everyone on board for the day. Perhaps Boston were just off on an early Saturday night game. Maybe London was on a three game winning streak and were just hot.
Either way, there is a tough history there for Boston. London is a team that has taken care of business enough to be where they are – automatic qualifier for year end playoffs. It’s hard to expect them to falter as we wind down to the end of the season. Uprising fans can expect any hope for a hot start to the new stage to meet stiff resistance.
Paris Eternal
On the other end of the spectrum is the Paris Eternal – a quagmire wrapped in an enigma, bounded in a puzzle. There’s been some flashes of brilliance (opening the season with a win against the Spitfire) but mostly it’s been turmoil. Losing their head coach (daemoN) and team manager (lizlin) are indicative of some chaos behind the scenes. While it’s laudable that the team is made up of all European players, the execution hasn’t hit the high marks many hoped for.
While there is much to hope for in the match against the Spitfire, Boston fans have all the reasons to feel confident against Paris. Given the month break, the boys in blue should have learned from the Justice loss to never underestimate their opponent. To take each match seriously. And to execute for all four maps. No reason to think they can’t do what is necessary to win here.
Outlook
How will the Boston Uprising start Stage 3? Will they be the team that stole an undefeated stage from the Los Angelas Gladiators or the one reverse swept by the Washington Justice? As mentioned, the Spitfire are a team seemingly reaching top tier but still not thoroughly battle tested. Paris is a team that all would expect Boston to steamroll – but expectation is the mother of disappointment.
Obviously starting off 2-0 would be great. London has shown signs of weakness and inconsistency all year. Paris seems like a dumpster fire. If the Uprising show they’ve taken the lessons they’ve learned all season long seriously, they could put the league on notice. But if they aren’t on their A game, if they pump themselves up too much, it could be a long weekend. Here’s hoping they come into the new stage with the fire burning in them.
Don’t forget the Uprising are hosting an official watch party!
We're giving away a Watch Party 🆙grade!
RT to enter to win a reserved table, team signed flags & $100 in food and beverage!
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The London Spitfire have so many talented players on their roster it’s insane. You could discuss Profit and Birdring for literal hours going back and forth about who can carry their team harder. Then you have Gesture creating all sorts of space for the back line, while Fury is having an incredible season eating almost a grav a game. But today we are going to breakdown how Bdosin, London’s off-support, surprised Boston and pulled the match into London’s favor.
The last time these two teams met, the match came down to a last minute push on King’s Row. Boston was able to hold London short of the last point, so all they needed to do was push 1 meter farther. The fight was shaping up to be a clean Boston win.
rCk looks for the game-winning EMP
Let’s Watch the full fight and see what happened.
Clip Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment and the Overwatch League
By just a hair, rCk missed Bdosin with his EMP and Boston lost the fight because of it. This one small play by Bdosin prevented another reverse sweep attempt from Boston. But after watching this series multiple times over, it’s obvious that this match wasn’t defined by one play. It was won by Bdosin having one of the cleanest games of his OWL career. I want to take a look at how that happened, and what Boston can do to stop him in the upcoming match against London.
Superior Positioning
Bdosin’s strongest asset he brought to the match was his incredible positioning. He constantly creates situations where Boston was left with an impossible decision. Does Boston attempt to attack the back line first in a 3-3 mirror? Or do they believe they can power through the front line and clean up the healers after? The usual answer is the latter – burst down the enemy Reinhardt or Zarya, and then quickly roll the rest of the team over since their main source of damage is gone.
Having seen his fair share of GOATs, it looks as though Bdosin decides to create as much pressure as possible from difficult to reach positions. By staying far away from the chaos, he is able to force Boston to take fights that are out of their favor. Take this example from the first map Busan – Meka Base.
Busan – Meka Base
As Boston approaches the point, London is posturing just for a moment to build ult charge and to allow Gesture to return to the point. In the meantime, Bdosin takes advantage of the high ground that overlooks the point. The strength of Bdosin’s position lies in the fact that he is both uncontested and able to see the entire point. Why is this important? From where Bdosin stands, he is able to generate ult charge twice as fast as Aimgod. Being able to have line of sight to heal as well as deal damage, Bdosin gains 55% ult charge in 27 seconds. To compare, Aimgod gains 41% in the same time span.
Bdosin overlooks point from a safe distance
Even worse for Boston is that even if they do decide to pressure Bdosin on the high ground, they would waste large amounts of time to force him to simply rotate back to his team. Because he plays near the ledge behind his team, Bdosin puts himself in a spot to be able to drop down and ult if needed. From this one fight, London is able to snowball their advantage into a map win.
Paris Defense
As a bonus example, I wanted to share this little clip from the next map Paris. London has given up the first point easily to Boston, and now face a large time bank to hold Boston from completing the map. It’s a brief moment, though I think it really defines why these players are pro and most people are not.
Bdosin avoiding unnecessary damage
Boston eventually pushes London out of this position, but Bdosin sets up in a spot with 3 forms of protection against the enemy Zen. Bdosin sets up behind Birdring here, but he has the option to stand behind the globe as well as Gesture. From this position, Bdosin also has two very easy escape routes behind him and to the right towards point. Small moments like these are excellent for showcasing how each position should bring value to your team, even if you aren’t in a fight.
The Clutch Factor
Just like physical sports, the attributes that separate a good player from a great player are the intangibles. During this series, Bdosin displays what it means to have incredible game sense. His plays on Paris and King’s Row highlight what exactly “the clutch factor” can do for a team.
Paris Attack
If you re-watch this series, you’ll start to notice a trend in Bdosin’s play. He solely focuses the Boston supports in the posture phase. The pressure he inflicts onto the Boston backline causes Aimgod and Kellex to position themselves in awkward areas.
On the second Paris attack, Bdosin turns on the heat and brings Aimgod to half health the moment he peeks the choke. The shock of almost getting one-shot forces Aimgod to back up and play safer around the small wall and Blase. This also forces Aimgod to use bio-nade, a crucial cooldown Boston needs in order to slow down London’s push.
Moments later, Bdosin ends the game with a pick on Kellex to break the stalemate. The death of Kellex creates a flurry of opportunities for the London attackers.
First and foremost – Boston no longer has a defensive ultimate because they had elected to play Ana in hopes to counteract Bdosin’s transcendence. Second, Boston no longer has the speed boost to control the pace of the fight, once Lucio is gone London is given the freedom to attack when they choose.
Without that kill, Boston has a shot at winning the map and gaining momentum into King’s Row. Unfortunately Bdosin had other plans.
King’s Row Defense
Down 0-2, Boston needs to create a spark to get the momentum back in their favor. Up until this point, Boston has not brought out their Sombra GOATS despite having resident expert rCk in the lineup. It only makes sense that now would be the time to lean back on “the crutch” that is Sombra.
Sure enough, that is exactly what we see from Boston on their first attack. Even though Boston is able to complete the map, it was obvious the match would boil down to Bdosin’s transcendence vs rCk’s EMP. You can guarantee both players knew this as well, but only one was able to come out the victor. When the dust settled, Bdosin dodged 4 out of the 6 EMP’s from rCk.
Just another dodge from Bdosin
How was the battle so lopsided? Bdosin knew that each fight he had transcendence available, he needed to watch and listen for Sombra. Understanding that Sombra is the Boston win condition, Bdosin positions himself in spots that allows him to either ult early or avoid a hack altogether. Most importantly, when the last fight came around, Bdosin was simply more clutch than rCk.
When you watch the clip at the start of the article, you can see rCk trying to line up his EMP. He looks to hit both tanks and DPS, but Bdosin knows he is out of line of sight. Staying in that room forces rCk to either commit fully to hacking only Bdosin, or hack the rest of London with Bdosin left able to use his ultimate. By taking a small step back, Bdosin ends the match with a bang. Bdosin’s clutch dodge leads to a disappointing loss for Boston.
Moving Forward for Boston
This time around, I believe Boston can beat the Spitfire if they neutralize Bdosin’s play style. It’s important to not let him become comfortable standing in the back line uncontested. Whether it be Sombra or a triple-DPS team composition, Boston needs to be more proactive against London. After Busan, Boston was down 31-12 in terms of eliminations. Against any opponent this is a terrible ratio, let alone a team as strong as London. As we watch the games this weekend, keep an eye out for the thrilling rematch of rCk and Bdosin. Hopefully this time rCk waits just one more second to use that EMP.
All clips featured in this article are courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Be sure to follow Brock on twitter for more breakdowns and analysis #BostonUp
New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.
The Uprising can be a really frustrating team to watch. At times they can be world beaters, smashing even the best of teams without breaking a sweat. Then at times they look like their monitors are turned off in the midst of high-pressure games. As we head into a pivotal Stage 3 for Boston, we are hoping that the boys in blue are able to play like the top tier team they can be. The only problem is their difficult schedule ahead.
Stage 3 Schedule
The Uprising will have to play 3 top-8 teams, even having to play Philly a second time in what will certainly be a decisive last game for Boston right before playoffs. As a result, Boston has found itself as the underdog for more than half of the stage. Luckily they get the benefit of playing the struggling Paris Eternal twice, providing some form of relief from tougher opponents. But just how tough is it for Boston in Stage 3? Check out the head-to-head records against each opponent:
Opponent
Head-to-Head Record
London Spitfire (4)
2-3
Paris Eternal (16)
0-0
Houston Outlaws (18)
2-3
Philadelphia Fusion (7)
3-4
San Francisco Shock (3)
1-2
Paris Eternal (16)
0-0
Philadelphia Fusion (7)
3-4
Yikes. Boston does not have a single winning record against their opponents this stage. The most surprising being a losing record against the currently 3-11 Houston Outlaws, a team that has thoroughly played below expectations. While the game against Houston should be relatively one-sided in Boston’s favor, the rest of the schedule will not be so kind.
Strength of Schedule
Here’s a quick glance at how Boston’s schedule compares to the rest of the league.
Rank
Team
Average Opponent Map Win %
1
Chengdu Hunters
0.572
2
Dallas Fuel
0.556
3
Atlanta Reign
0.549
4
Florida Mayhem
0.53
5
LA Valiant
0.522
6
London Spitfire
0.518
7
LA Gladiators
0.513
8
Boston Uprising
0.509
9
Toronto Defiant
0.484
10
Houston Outlaws
0.478
11
Vancouver Titans
0.477
12
Hangzhou Spark
0.474
13
Washington Justice
0.47
14
Shanghai Dragons
0.462
15
Paris Eternal
0.459
16
Philadelphia Fusion
0.455
17
Seoul Dynasty
0.451
18
San Francisco Shock
0.438
19
Guangzhou Charge
0.422
20
New York Excelsior
0.408
Ranked 8th in the league in terms of schedule strength, Boston has quite the uphill battle if they want to finish the stage with a positive record. At 7-7, they sit on the playoff bubble with teams like Atlanta, Seoul, and Toronto – all of which share the same record. While Atlanta has the 3rd toughest schedule this stage, Seoul and Toronto have much weaker schedules, adding even more pressure onto Boston to win their tougher match ups.
Match Predictions
San Francisco Shock (11-3)
Coming off of their “Golden Stage” and a Stage Championship,the Shock are easily the hottest team in the league. This is undoubtedly Boston’s toughest match of the stage and it will be a gigantic test for the Uprising. Prediction: San Francisco 4 – 0
London Spitfire (9-5)
The classic revolutionary rivalry. London absolutely smashed Boston last time around, but since it is the first match of the stage for these two I see this as a statement game for Boston. They can again assert themselves as a team to fear with a win. Then again, Boston is 2-4 in stage openers, so we can only hope they shake off their early stage struggles. Prediction: London 3 – 2
Philadelphia Fusion (8-6)
Philly is a team that really excels in a DPS-focused meta where they can make use of carpe and eqo’s insane mechanical skills. Expecting more GOATS and bunker comps, Boston’s tank line should be favored this time around. Since they play twice this stage, I wouldn’t be surprised if these two split 2 very close matches. Game 1 Prediction: Boston 3-2 Game 2 Prediction: Philly 3-2
Paris Eternal (5-9)
The first meeting for these two teams, and we get to see them play twice in the same stage. Paris has seemed lost through the first two stages, showing some really good moments but a lot of bad decision making. Boston should have no problem capitalizing on the mistakes of a weaker team. Game 1 Prediction: Boston 4-0 Game 2 Prediction: Boston 3-1
Houston Outlaws (3 – 11)
I don’t think there’s a more disappointing team to watch than the Outlaws right now. Their GOATS is just terrible, which is stunning with a normally exceptional Rein player in Muma. Boston needs to expect shenanigans from a desperate Houston team, otherwise we will see another Washington fiasco. Prediction: Boston 4-0
I think at 4-3 Boston would have a shot at making the stage playoffs, however looking forward to the season playoffs they would certainly have to pull out a few upsets along the way. There is a scenario where Boston upsets London and wins both games against Philly to go 6-1 for the stage, and I think it may be more likely than most people realize.
This is the stage for Boston to truly separate themselves from the rest of the pack of middle-tier teams. With a full stage with rCk under their belt, and a set roster moving forward, this stage is the best opportunity to make some noise in around the league. Last year we saw Boston have a perfect Stage 3, who says they can’t do it again?
Be sure to follow Brock on twitter for more breakdowns and analysis #BostonUp
Hey there! I’m new here so I’ll introduce myself real quick. My name is Bryan Rockwood and I will be joining the Boston Sports Extra team to discuss the Uprising.
I am a software developer by trade, and a video game enthusiast on my time. I went to school in upstate New York with a dream to become a video game developer. A quick 4 years later I realized I wasn’t quite cut out for it. What I did find out though, was that I was quite good at discussing games instead of playing them. After a couple of articles on my personal site, I knew it was time to try something bigger. So here I am now, bringing in some fresh insights into OWL and the Boston Uprising.
As someone who grew up in Massachusetts, Boston sports are near and dear to my heart. When the news came out that Bob Kraft would be pouring money into a Boston OWL team, I couldn’t believe it. There would be a full fledged location-based esports league for a game that I love watching. Every other league that I have watched was named after an organization like TeamSoloMid or Fnatic. But now, I could add another Boston jersey to my collection to sit next to Gronk and Bergeron.
I was lucky enough to go to the Grand Finals last year at the Barclays Center. And let me tell you, that was the defining moment for me to really start investing myself into the Overwatch League. So I started to slowly do just that. I began playing more, started watching more highlights, and kept reading a lot of Reddit threads in hopes to improve as a player. I learned pretty quickly that I just didn’t have it to make it as a competitor. So I swapped to the next best thing and started writing about Overwatch.
I’m still very much a rookie on this front, but this is some of the most fun I have had doing “work” and I can’t wait to start a new journey here at BSE.
Overwatch Grand Finals from Bryan Rockwood
I currently live in New Jersey with my girlfriend and our puppy Maisie. Be sure to follow Brock on twitter for more breakdowns and analysis#BostonUp
New to Overwatch? Get caught up on everything Overwatch League by reading our introduction.
After a 4-3 record in Stage 1 and losing their first round playoff matchup to the Vancouver Titans, the Boston Uprising seemed to have a clear path forward. Keep on grinding, focus on scrims, and scrape by on just making playoffs. That’s what most teams would have bunkered down with. But conventional wisdom isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
In a move that surprised Overwatch League observers worldwide, the Boston Uprising traded fan favorite off tank Lucas “Note” Meissner to the Dallas Fuel for fellow off tank Richard “rCk” Kanerva. Note, one of the few holdovers from Boston’s season 1 roster, was lauded for his consistent and serviceable play. Conversely, rCk had a reputation for his ability to flex off the traditional DVa role. Importantly, the Finn could play Sombra, the very kryptonite used against the Uprising all season.
With the trade happening just days before Stage 2, rCk had little time to join the Uprising and adjust to the new surroundings. Interestingly, he had just ended Stage 2 by being reverse swept by his new teammates. That had to make the whole situation just a bit more stressful. Boston Sports Extra got the opportunity to speak to rCk about how the trade and transition happened. We also got to speak about the future of the team.
Boston Sports Extra’s LoadScr33n: What was your first reaction to hearing you were being traded to Boston?
Richard “rCk” Kanerva: My first reaction was kind of sad and confused at the beginning because I didn’t understand why I was being traded to Boston after performing well with Dallas. But after a couple of days of practicing, I felt like this was going to be good after all and I would be a good fit in Boston.
LoadScr33n: What were those few days like between being told you were traded and the start of stage 2? What did the team do to integrate you given the short period of time before the first match?
rCk: I was scared because I only had 4 days of practice with a new team in a completely different work environment. The team did a great job of welcoming me in and I felt better after a few days. Everyone was super friendly and understanding and we got along straight away.
LoadScr33n: In your first match against Atlanta, on Eichenwalde, you were left alone on the payload as overtime started. Everyone else had been picked off and the Reign were steps from pushing the cart to win the series. What went through your head as you picked off Poko and hit a 2k with the self-destruct? How do you stay focused in high pressure situations like that?
rCk: The only thing that went through my mind was that I needed a big bomb to be able to clutch the situation. I needed a new mech because I had no health left and I needed to get picks with the bomb and hope that my teammates would respawn fast enough to give support afterwards. At that point when I used Self-destruct I knew there was no place for them to hide after using all their abilities/cooldowns. To be able to stay focused in a situation like that you just have to focus on your fundamentals and how badly you want to win and find out your enemies’ weaknesses.
LoadScr33n: Boston became the first team to pull off three consecutive reverse sweeps. Having been on the receiving end of one of them, what’s it like being on the winning end of not one, but two since you joined the Uprising?
rCk: I’ve always been a competitive person and I understand the hunger of winning while you’re at a disadvantage. It’s the best feeling ever to be able to reverse sweep and win the series like that but it’s the worst feeling to lose like that. I was hoping to win both matches that we reverse swept with Boston in a clean 4-0 but reverse sweeping not once but three times is pretty exciting.
What a debut with my new team @BostonUprising. We won @ATLReign 3-2 with a reserve sweep!! Now I know how it feels like. Very proud of everyone in the team for popping off the last 3 maps! Thanks to all the fans for the support, you guys are the best!!❤️ #BostonUp
LoadScr33n: How would you describe your role on the team after the first few matches? How has the transition been?
rCk: I kept the same role that I had in Dallas that I was very comfortable in and I’m happy to bring it to Boston with me. I think my communication skills are great so I help with shot calling and making plans. Also, because I’m a really flexible off-tank player with a large hero pool, I help the team by changing my playstyle depending on what composition we play against. The transition has been very good and I’m liking the fact that I can be more of a playmaker for them.
LoadScr33n: What do you think is a realistic expectation for this team in this upcoming stage and for the season? What do you see as the biggest challenges to accomplishing those goals?
rCk: I think we are a great team and there’s tons of potential. Like every team, we have a few small issues but if we work hard and we put in the time and overcome them we could be a top-5 team for sure. Our whole team thrives to be better and continue learning. The biggest challenge is to understand that everything good comes with hard work and those who practice more in the right environment will improve greatly. #BostonUp #RiseUp
Everyone at Boston Sports Extra appreciates rCk taking the time to speak with us. At 7-7, Boston sits at 12th place in the league. Missing the Stage 2 playoffs, the team has its work cut out for them. Stage 3 begins next Friday, June 7th at 8:45pm. Uprising are hosting a free watch party at the Hard Rock cafe for fans. Get there early.
