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Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 3 Week 2

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

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
  • 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).

Looking forward

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.

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

Defeating Danteh: A Player Preview of Houston’s Sombra

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For this weeks player preview, I originally wanted to discuss Philadelphia Fusion’s star DPS Carpe. I wanted to talk about how the transition from a DPS meta to the GOATS meta has drastically affected Carpe’s play making ability.

But then Houston beat San Francisco so I threw all that nonsense out to discuss Danteh and his Sombra. I was sitting at the bar when I tuned into the games on my phone, and I could not believe what I was watching.

2-2? Is it that late that I would be seeing things? And did I just see the Outlaws of all teams, smack the Shock around on Illios?

Naturally I checked Twitter to confirm that I didn’t go off the deep-end, and sure enough it was all real. The lowly 3-12 Houston Outlaws, the same team that went 0-7 last stage, had beaten the Stage 2 champs. San Francisco’s win streak had ended at 11 games.

Houston’s Turnaround

What did Houston do that gave them the opportunity to topple a much better team? They did what most winning teams do for a change: minimize their own mistakes and weaknesses. Attempting to play GOATs against one of the best GOATs teams in the league is quite the feat. Realizing the massive gap between their skill levels, Houston brought out new and interesting team comps to combat the Shock.  We even got to see the “HackFist” comp come out on Nepal. While they didn’t stick with it for the whole round, it showed how weak the Shock are to unconventional comps.

The real star of the match was Danteh on Sombra. His hack selection was incredible, starting almost all fights with a pick on a San Francisco support. In the crucial map 4, Danteh hit a 5-man EMP to relieve the pressure the Shock had at the Outlaws spawn.

Picture courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
This flank route allows Danteh to hack both Viol2t and Moth

Danteh also created openings for the Outlaws by focusing ChoiHyoBin to prevent the San Francisco D.VA from defending Super. The strength of the San Francisco Shock is their amazing tank synergy between Super, Sinatraa, and Choi. By taking one of the pieces away from that front line, Houston was able to punish the D.VA and allow Linkzr free reign on San Fran.

How Does Boston Stop This?

What does this mean for Boston? Well, in the past Boston has had some serious issues dealing with talented Sombras. A specialist like Danteh would certainly force the Uprising to play around him. The good news is that Houston is a team that makes a ton of mistakes.

In the same match against San Francisco, Houston played a DPS-centric comp that actually had the off-support Rawkus play Solider:76. While cheeky, the Shock won a single fight and took the map. The large mistake was thinking a single Mercy was enough healing to sustain against GOATs. Even though Danteh was able to kill several attackers in hopes to stop the push, the rest of the Outlaws failed to follow up on the advantage.

Boston needs to be ready to fight in these prolonged fights, because Sombra doesn’t deal nearly as much damage as other DPS characters. Even if Boston trades one or two players, fights are still winnable as long as Sombra does not have EMP.

Whats the key to defeating Danteh? A clear organized game plan, with communication that gets things done. In their back to back reverse sweeps in Stage 2, Boston was able to thwart other Sombra players, so I hope to see that same strategy come through Friday night.

Be sure to follow Brock on twitter for more breakdowns and analysis #BostonUp

Uprising Stage 3 Week 2 Preview: Outlaws and Fusion

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

Friday, June 14th @ 10:30pm: London Spitfire

Sunday, June 16th @ 6:30pm: Philadelphia Fusion

With Stage 3 in full gear, the Boston Uprising look to earn what eluded them opening week – a win. After getting swept by the London Spitfire and only winning a single map against the Paris Eternal, things couldn’t get much worse for Boston. Another week brings a new set of opponents and opportunities to get things going in the right direction. Here’s what lays in front of them.

Houston Outlaws

For those not looking at other teams across the league, let’s get the basics down of who exactly the Uprising are up against tonight. Houston is 3-12 on the year. They haven’t won a match since March 17th. As of now they are 18th in the league standings. Back in Stage 1 on February 17th, Boston slipped by with a 2-1 win on Ilios for the 3-2 match win.

All that said, Houston opened up Stage 3 last Saturday with a near win against the NYXL, losing 3-2. Last night they beat the Stage 2 champion San Francisco Shock, highlighted by a full hold on Havana. That is quite the opening start to Stage 3 and does not portend well for the Uprising.

All this amidst some chaos in their ownership group and a poor start to their season makes what the Outlaws are doing so much more impressive. Much of their success the last two matches has been due to Danteh and his use of Sombra. His ability to not just rack up the hacks, but to fatten up on the eliminations after the fact makes him dangerous. Houston has also benefited from Rawkus, who has shown a ton of versatility in support. Whether he plays the Mercy in combo with the Pharah or his pinpoint accuracy as Ana, Boston will need to focus fire on a tricky Houston backline.

Philadelphia Fusion

On the other side of the spectrum is the Fusion. Stuck in the middle of the pack like the Uprising, Philadelphia sits at 9th in the League Standings with an 8-7 record. While they are in season playoff position now, with so many teams bundled in the middle, no one can take a match off. As last year’s championship runner-up, Philadelphia has alot to prove.

In their opening week of Stage 3, Philly was swept by the Hangzhou Spark. They have seen their previously tough exterior slowly crumble throughout the season. Carpe has lost his edge on Zarya, often getting his gravs eaten. Poko, who used to have weekly highlight plays with his unpredictable Self-Destructs, doesn’t show up with those bombs like he used to.

How will Boston play them? We didn’t see much of Sombra last week – perhaps rCk will be let loose. Maybe we’ll see some more DPS heroes – blase on a Genji or Doomfist? Will we see Mei come back? Whereas last week saw almost all GOATs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go in another direction.

Outlook

What we’ll need answered right off the bat is who will be playing? Last week Uprising fans saw the premiere of Persia to the stage and Alemao play in Kellex’s usual role. Will they show up again? How about Axxiom? Or, as many fans have speculated, is this all posturing by Huk to dangle his players and increase their trade value? Is he looking to make a move?

Regardless of who plays, how will they play? Will they stick on GOATs or go off the 3-3 meta? When they play the Outlaws, will they fall prey to the Sombra? We all know their success against that comp has been mixed. Can Boston continue to pile it on to Philly? Fusions has always wanted that Fusion-Fusions matchup – will he show up in this marquee matchup? After recent losses I’ve quit the prediction game, but I’m optimistic getting shallacked opening week will motivate Boston to turn things around. They can’t be taking any matches off and need to focus. No more throw aways and no more feeding.

Lastly, is their anyone more unlikeable in Overwatch League as Jake? He’s been shipped around the press as an unofficial league spokesman of the players as if he’s the league MVP. Sorry bro, but you aren’t at that level. Granted, Houston has several Team USA members on their roster that I love (Rawkus, Muma, coolmatt) but right now they’re on the other side against Boston. After pumping up the Uprising against Washington and Paris in recent weeks and seeing that go horribly awry, I’m loathe to suggest any match is a gimme at this point.

Such a puncheable face

Also – Philly has hands down the worst new jersey. It’d be one thing to lose to the Fusion, but to lose to a squad dressed in umpire zebra-stripes would be an all time team low point. Don’t do that Boston. For all our sakes.

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

Shotcaller

Monday Shotcaller: Stage 3 Week 1

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

Well that’s not how anybody drew it up. After a month long break to think about getting reverse swept by the lowly Washington Justice, the Uprising launch Stage 3 against the London Spitfire and Paris Eternal. One pretty great team and a fellow mid-tier team. What could go wrong? Turns out, everything.

The Good

The Bad

I thought we’d turned the corner on winter, but the snowballing keeps coming. Against Paris on Paris (weird sentence) it seemed like Boston had no answer once they dropped point A. Letting Paris get on a roll like that gave them confidence it was a one point map, which doesn’t help when teams are going three laps a match.

I’ve watched that offense play on Horizon against London four times now (not hard when the whole map is 12 minutes long). Not sure what was worse – Fusions/Blase taking turns getting picked first, or Persia’s ill-timed Transcendences. Getting obliterated like that on the second map was not a good look. Alemao also got picked right as the tides were starting to turn. The two newbies need to pick it up.

Getting one point on Eichenwelde and the same on Dorado against London was soul crushing. Those offensive pushes were hard to watch. You could tell that London’s coordination and synergy were on point. Once Fury ate Colourhex’s grav after BU’s first cap, the sense of dread just filled the arena.

The Uprising

Was great to see some of the other players on the team get a start. Persia, who just landed in the US weeks ago. Alemao – who hasn’t been seen since Stage 1 Week 1. Wonder if Axxiom will get his due.

Weird observation here, but the Uprising’s social media team may have taken a nap this week – they usually post some plays from the games during the matches. All I see are score updates. Give me something!

Seeing as the Ilios was the only map the Uprising won this weekend, let’s appreciate what they did there. They focused the supports extremely well. I saw a lot of rotations from Fusions and Colourhex to pull away from the front line when their health dropped. Well timed ults. That’s what’s so frustrating – these guys know how to play – they just couldn’t do it through the course of two matches.

Boston plays Paris again in Week 3 of this stage, and has two matches against the Philadelphia Fusion. Other than Houston next week, there aren’t any gimme games. There is no time to waste if Boston wants to get it together. Making stage playoffs after opening 0-2 isn’t easy, but as I’ve written, the year end playoffs are the focus. Boston can’t get out of the top 12 or they are cooked.

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

Uprising Stage 3 Week 1 Preview: Spitfire and Eternal

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

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?

The last time we saw Boston…

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?

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!

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

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOSTON UPRISING DPS JEFFREY “BLASE” TSANG

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Imagine you’ve trained to do one specific thing. You worked yourself through the ranks. From the bottom to the the top. Now you’re in the big leagues. All that time spent grinding, practicing, and scrimming so you can show you’re the best at what you do. And then – you get asked to do something else. What would you do?

Like a first baseman asked to play outfield or a right winger put in as the goalie, blase, a dps specialist, found himself put in the brig. What is the brig? For the uninitiated, the brig is a special type of hellhole for those like blase who specialize in dispensing death to the masses. Instead of headhunting, smashing with your fist, or shooting grenades, you’re made to shieldbash. To hand out repair packs like halloween candy. Or to get all your teammates together and throw out a rally. What a miserable existence.

To have such an exceptional skill set, to be on the grandest stage, and to be told – to do something else? That has to set off an array of emotions. We got the chance to ask blase about it, how the Uprising are doing, and where he sees the team going.

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Boston Sports Extra’s LoadScr33n:We’re just about halfway through the 2019 season – what are some of the highlights for you and the team?

Jeffrey ‘blase’ Tsang: Some highlights were being able to play DPS on certain maps like Koth where I got to show my doom off. Another highlight is our three reverse sweeps in a row which was pretty cool to pull off, and also making the Stage 1 playoffs when the odds were stacked against us.

LoadScr33n: It seems the Uprising have been able to deal with major roster turnover both as the season started and as it progressed. What are some reasons why this team has so quickly developed such strong cohesion?

blase: Everyone on our team is nice and easy to approach, no one has a huge ego and we all get along. We also have a great coaching staff that keep everything in order if things ever go awry. 

LoadScr33n: Let’s talk about week 5’s two matchups. There were low expectations for the Uprising going against the then Stage 2 undefeated LA Gladiators. What did were some big things you did to prepare for the match?

blase: We knew that LA Gladiators wanted the perfect stage and to accomplish that, they needed to win one more match which was against us. We knew they were pretty nervous and the way we thought about it was the way we lost to the Hangzhou Spark and we could do the same thing against them. We could be the Spark against the Gladiators, like the hole in the road they were against us. We just played our game and tried our best. 

LoadScr33n: You guys played a lot of DPS comps on Control and Assault maps against Washington/LA – why is Boston not only willing to play that way but successful at it?

blase: After obtaining RCK, we were able to flex more to triple DPS compositions because we also have good DPS players in Colourhex and myself. We are also not perfect at goats much like the top teams so DPS comps are a good “cheese” to beat certain teams that are weak at it.

LoadScr33n: Boston is 12th in the league standings – far away from the automatic season playoffs cutoff of sixth place. What are some things the team can work on to better their position and improve as a whole?

blase: We just need to keep practicing and be more consistent with our performances and keep a certain level of skill even if we play a weaker opponent. It’s also probably going to be more goats in stage 3 so we will keep at the grind to be a better goats team.

LoadScr33n: Fans learn about the team and players from watching matches, following Twitch streams, scanning Reddit, and several other online news sources. Despite this plethora of information, what would you say are some things fans don’t know or understand about the Boston Uprising and you specifically?

blase: I don’t mind playing brig but would like to play a different meta.

Everyone at Boston Sports Extra appreciates blase 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 this Friday, June 7th at 8:45pm. Uprising are hosting a free watch party at the Hard Rock cafe for fans. Get there early.

All photos by Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

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

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOSTON UPRISING OFF TANK RICHARD “rCk” KANERVA

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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.​

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.

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

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOSTON UPRISING MAIN TANK ALL-STAR CAMERON “FUSIONS” BOSWORTH

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Boston entered the 2019 Overwatch League with a retooled roster of both new and returning players. Several of these new players came from across the globe, among them British main tank Cameron ‘Fusions’ Bosworth. Riding his energetic shotcalling, aggression, and leadership, the Uprising snuck into the Stage 1 playoffs. Receiving league-wide acclaim, the rookie has been named to the All-Star game as a starter for the Atlantic Division.

Excitement followed the team as they started Stage 2 with two reverse-sweeps against Atlanta and Toronto. Unfortunately, the Uprising would go 0-3 in their next games, including an 0-8 map score against London and Vancouver. A win against the then-undefeated Stage 2 LA Gladiators would lift the team’s spirits before getting reverse swept by the then 1-win Washington Justice. Now the Uprising are on the outside looking in on the Stage 2 playoffs.

We were fortunate to have Fusions answer a few of our questions about how Stage 1 went, the roster changes throughout the season so far, and how far this team can go.

Note: This interview was conducted just before Stage 2 week 5’s matchup against the LA Gladiators.

Boston Sports Extra’s LoadScr33n: There were a lot of questions about the Uprising headed into the 2019 season considering all the turnover with the roster. Looking back, how would you evaluate the team’s performance in Stage 1?

Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth: First I think our performance in stage 1 was really good overall, we absolutely smashed our expectations and performed really well against some good opponents, the only match I was unhappy with was the 0-4 loss against defiant because I felt like we didn’t really give our all to that match.

LoadScr33n: Boston’s Stage 1 success has been widely attributed to your addition to the roster. What are some of the influential experiences in your amateur career that have helped you perform so well at the professional level?

Fusions: Prior to being in OWL I had a lot of experience as a shotcaller in multiple teams and lots of experienced players so that helped me adjust really fast, also I’ve had plenty of LAN and match experience prior to the Overwatch League so I wasn’t that overwhelmed coming into OWL.

https://twitter.com/BostonUprising/status/1124091950695682048

LoadScr33n: Let’s talk about the Note trade. You two seemed to have a great partnership both in and out of the game. What do you think makes Note a special player?

Fusions: I think the thing that makes Note so special as a player is the fact that he’s so consistent. I’ve never played with a player who does his job as consistently as Note did and still does with the Fuel and that’s something that we will greatly miss in our team.

LoadScr33n: Where were you and what was your reaction when you heard Note was traded to Dallas? What were some of your first thoughts about having rCk as a teammate?

Fusions: I was obviously sad when I heard Note was leaving but also optimistic about the rCk trade since I knew him from playing against him and knew he was a really good player, as well as meeting him personally in Poland during contenders LAN, so I was definitely excited to have him.

2019-02-14 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

LoadScr33n: Everyone knows rCk adds flexibility to the team with his Sombra play. What are some things he brings to the team that fans may not know about?

Fusions: As well as his flexibility and Sombra play, rCk also adds another layer to our comms as well as being a smart player than can come up with ideas on the fly, it’s always good to have players that think outside the box in certain situations.

LoadScr33n: Three straight reverse sweeps. What are the coaches and players saying at halftime that helped the most with you guys pulling it off against Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto?

Fusions: During halftime on the days of our reverse sweeps most of what was being said was about how to adapt to our opponents, but also a lot of everyone hyping each other up and motivating one another, I personally always try to keep my energy high and keep my team in high spirits because I know that if I ever show that I’m upset the team will immediately notice and worry.

LoadScr33n: The meta in Stage 2 is much more fluid than it was in Stage 1. We’ve seen you flex off Rein to play Winston, Orissa, and Hammond at different times. Which of those three do you feel strongest and weakest on and why?

Fusions: I think out of the 3 main tanks other than Rein I feel like I’m definitely strongest on Winston overall and weakest on Orisa probably since I play her the least of any of the main tanks, however I’d say I’m comfortable on every main tank now, if we were talking comparatively to the rest of the league I think my Hammond would rank as my highest of the 3 since I’ve practiced him a lot more than other tanks and my Winston would be my worst since the level of Winston in OWL is so high.

LoadScr33n: Boston has leaned into the DPS compositions, particularly when you played Vancouver this past week. Generally speaking, do you think the Uprising are a better GOATs or DPS team?

Fusions: I think we’re a strong team in either meta but I think we have more potential in a dps meta, Colourhex and Blase in particular shine when they’re on their dps heroes particularly Colours’ Widow and Blase’s Pharah/Doomfist/Junkrat so given time to practice in that I think we’ll be a team to be scared of.

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

LoadScr33n: Speaking of Vancouver, they beat you in the Stage 1 playoffs when Boston played GOATs and this past weekend when the team played more DPS. What do you think it will take for the Uprising or anybody to stop the Titans?

Fusions: I think Titans are an extremely good goats team and beating them will be tough for anyone, but I think when the meta changes and they have to adapt at the same pace as other teams, coaching and player mentality/flexibility will determine the best teams in the league so we’ll see how they can adapt.

LoadScr33n: Stage 2 playoffs are going to be difficult for the Uprising to reach. What are some things the team need to work on to keep in playoff contention both this stage and for the rest of the season?

Fusions: In order to make stage 2 playoffs at this point we’d probably have to pull a miracle so I’m more focused on overall playoffs, the 2 matches this week are really important ones for our season overall so I really want to win them both. DC have improved a lot so are not to be underestimated and Gladiators are obviously a very tough opponent, hoping we can pull off 2 wins.

We’d like to thank Fusions for taking the time to answer our questions and give fans a view behind the curtain. Though eliminated from Stage 2 playoffs, you can see Fusions as a starter on the Atlantic Division in this year’s All-Star game, May 15-16. From there, he and the rest of the team will get a midseason break before reassembling on Friday, June 7th when they open Stage 3 against the London Spitfire. We wish him and the entire Boston Uprising organization good luck on the rest of the season. #BostonUp

All photos are by Robert Paul and courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

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

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 2 Week 5

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Entering the last week of Stage 2, Boston’s stage playoff chances were slim. To pull it off, they’d need nearly two sweeps against the LA Gladiators and the Washington Justice, and a whole lot of help from the rest of the league. Short of that, the team could only hope for a strong finish that they could build on going into Stage 3. How would they do against an LA Gladiators team looking for a perfect stage record, and a Washington Justice team who’d only recorded 1 win?

The Good

To be or not to be – GOATs

In my preview for the week, I said that Boston needed to decide what they were going to be – a team that stuck to GOATs comps 24/7, or one willing to spice it up with DPS comps. Well, seems like someone listened. And the answer is – they’ll do whatever it takes to win and play to their strengths. That’s why in both opening Control maps we saw rCk play – Mei!

That’s right – in both matches we saw the Uprising open on Control with a Mei. More surprising – it worked! rCk played the snow queen perfectly, raising walls on chokes, sniping with icicles, and dropping the freeze ult for cc expertly. It’s no wonder they had no problem cleaning up on Control.

Additionally, we saw Boston pull out all types of DPS heavy comps. This included Blase on Doomfist, alot of Colourhex on Widowmaker, Pharmercy, Aimgod on Ana, and Hammond let loose. Not that the Uprising didn’t play their fair share of GOATs, because they did. But seeing the team lean into their strengths a bit more and defy the meta worked more often than not. Boston was 4-0 on the weekend on Control and Assault, both of which they played heavy DPS comps. Coincidence?

LA Gladiators

Overwatch League fans were all high on the LA Gladiators – and who could blame them? Undefeated in Stage 2, the Uprising were the last notch in their belt for an undefeated record. Sadly, Boston played spoiler and ruined the fairy tale. Even better, it was a total team effort. rCk getting some great SDs, Kellex seemingly always having a sound barrier when the team needed it, and Fusions having his way with the hammer. They out GOATs’d them at every turn, as Colourhex racked up energy easily and threw several great gravitons at them.

There was a lot of clear fight from Boston throughout the match. On Blizzard World, the first several waves on attack were thwarted. Just when it looked like they’d be full-held, Fusions dropped a perfect shatter past the Gladiator’s shields, and the team mopped them. From nearly overtime on Point A, to almost getting the payload through to the end, Boston showed a lot of fortitude in the face of all that pressure.

Trash Talk

A lot of spice came out of the LA Gladiators before the match. Leave it to Huk, within seconds of the Gladiators losing, to remind them of it.

Not that the players themselves didn’t partake this weekend.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1125157201327292416

rCk

The MVP in my mind of the two matches was the Finnish master of all heroes. Besides his Mei play (which was excellent) – I thought he showed a lot of doubters just how good his DVa could be. Time and again he peeled off to the backline to bail out the Brigitte, picked off the weak support, or landed a great SD. Working with the rest of his team against LA, he hacked and EMPd them several times to score team kills effortlessly.

I will say I thought his Sombra play against the Justice was particularly poor. He threw several focused EMPs at a sole or pair of heroes throughout the match. Rarely did he hit a whole group with his ultimate. Not sure if it was symptomatic of how the whole team underestimated Washington, but his Sombra play in the weekend’s latter match was underwhelming.

The Bad

Washington Justice

Let’s not sugar coat it – if you want to claim you/re a top tier team you have to take care of business against weaker opponents. It doesn’t get any easier than the 1-11 Washington Justice. This should have been Boston’s second 4-0 of the year. Easily. Instead, they crapped their pants. After opening up with the same DPS comps on Control and Assault, they climbed to an easy 2-0 lead. Things were looking great at halftime – I think I spoke for everyone.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1125153034328211466

Then Washington came out and put on their big boy suits and went to work. How did it happen? Bad ultimate economy. Fusions getting focused. Missed pics. Out of alignment. Fusions dying. It was a mess. Boston just didn’t seem to be on the same page. Maybe Boston spent all week focusing on the LA game and took Washington for granted. Can’t say anyone would blame them. But this being their GM’s last game, the number of losses stacking up, and playing for free ice cream from their new support Sleepy, Washington went ham. And now Boston has over a month to think about how they got reverse swept to end the stage. That’s going to sting for awhile.

The Uprising

-Getting reverse swept is bad. Making it to the 3rd stage of that 5th map, up 99%-0% and blowing it is as bad as it can get. That is a horrible way to end the stage. The 5 week break is going to be a long one.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1125171382676086785

-I think Kellex was sneaky sneaky the MVP of the Justice match. Him booping people off ledges and into the drink on Rialto was great. Whenever the team got gravitoned and there was no transcendence, he always seemed ready to pop a sound barrier. Loved the Uprising OG’s play today.

-The casters called it right during the Justice map – their strategy was clear. Focus Fusions. Take him out and the shotcalling goes. And they played it to victory time and time again. Now how much of that is Fusions responsibility? There were certainly several times in the Justice-Uprising match where he didn’t help matters. Using the shatter erratically to no good effect. Being aggro where it made the Justice’s focus job easier. But on the flip side, the Uprising need to respond. Peel to your All-Star main tank! Punish the other team’s focusing solely on one of your players. It’s like Lebron playing with the Cavaliers all those years they choked in the finals. Give the man some support! PS – this is a rough look:

-Blase has to feel good being given the reigns to play Doomfist. Thought he did a great job wreaking havoc. Need more of this, please.

-Now officially eliminated from Stage 2 playoffs, Boston will have a long 5 week break before Stage 3 starts. They’ll have a chance to show if they can get back to stage playoff contention when they open up against the London Spitfire – who just swept Boston last week 4-0.

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

Uprising Stage 2 Week 5 Preview: Gladiators and Justice

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Friday, May 3 @ 8:30pm: LA Gladiators

Sunday, May 5 @ 4:45pm: Washington Justice

What’s the best thing you can hope for when you go 0-8 in week 3? A bye week – and that’s just what the boys in blue got. Not having to fly out to Dallas hopefully gave the boys time to stop, reflect, and retool. Will the layoff work in their favor? They’ll have two chances to show whether that’s the case as they play against the LA Gladiators and Washington Justice. Two very different teams. And with Stage 2 playoffs technically a mathematical possibility, it should be an interesting weekend.

LA Gladiators

Far and away the big test of the weekend comes tonight when Boston faces off against the Gladiators. At 6-0 in Stage 2, the Uprising are the only thing between the Gladiators and a perfect stage. Certainly a tall task for anybody, let alone a team that just got broomed twice in a row. LA sits atop the Stage 2 standings. Is there a path to victory for the Uprising?

Any match against LA will revolve around their All-Stars Surefour and BigGoose. Surefour is a top tier hitscan player, and Boston would be wise to prepare counter strats to his Widow and Bastion. With a meta that has shifted chaotically across the league this stage, it’s hard to predict just what we’ll see. In week 3 Boston played GOATs against London and DPS against the Titans. Who knows what they’ll throw at LA. For their part, the Gladiators has not shied from DPS, Sombra-GOATs, and bunker comps. Here’s hoping we see shifting comps between maps and offense/defense and maybe set a record for heroes picked.

2019 Map RecordBoston UprisingLA Gladiator
Oasis1-1-00-1-0
Hanamura0-1-00-1-1
Blizzard World1-0-02-0-0
Rialto2-1-02-2-0

Washington Justice

On the other end of the spectrum, the Washington Justice have been swimming in the toilet bowl since joining the league. Currently fighting with the Florida Mayhem for the #1 pick in next year’s draft, Boston has no business dropping a map here. At 13-36-1 for the year, those map wins haven’t come easy for Washington. If Boston wants to present themselves as the top tier team they think they are, here’s an opportunity to prove it.

In a stage that saw two reverse sweeps, a soul crushing map 5 loss, and being on the receiving end of two successive sweeps, a sweep would be an appropriate end to a smorgasbord of a stage. If Boston isn’t going to make it into Stage 2 playoffs, they need some punctuation on the stage to remind the league they’re still a threat. Wiping the floor with the Justice would go a long ways to do that.

Even Justice fans have to expect a shellacking. They just added San Francisco Shock’s rarely used support Sleepy to the team, while their GM just announced she’s departing the team after this match. While the team may be motivated to send her off with a win, it’s unlikely a cobbled together team, with a week to sync up with their new support, will turn things around. Washington is a juicy steak for the Uprising to pounce on. Hopefully they chew and digest quickly.

2019 Map RecordBoston UprisingWashington Justice
Lijiang Tower
0-3-00-1-0
Temple of Anubis2-3-02-3-0
Blizzard World1-0-00-1-0
Rialto2-1-00-4-0

Outlook

While there are some scenarios that could see the Uprising make Stage 2 playoffs, it doesn’t look good for Boston. More likely, they’ll be on the outside looking in. What matters is how the team performs. Can they rebound from a tough weekend and show they’re still in the mix? Will they show one of the supposed best teams in the league up? Which team comp will they throw out – GOATs, DPS, or something wild?

With no significant meta shift expected for Stage 3, Boston needs to decide who they want to be. Are they going to be the Sombra GOATs we saw against London and Hangzhou? Will they run DPS comps like when they played Vancouver? Are they going to be contextual, deploying certain comps based on map, opponent, and matchup? More importantly – can they hammer the nails lined up in front of them? Specifically, can they squash the Justice down where they belong? Will they stop the train that is the Gladiators? Strap yourself in Uprising fans – this weekend is going to be good. Let’s get to work.

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