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What OWL could learn from the Uprising’s Collegiate Cup

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Boston Uprising’s second annual Collegiate Cup was held this past Sunday at the Back Bay Events Center in Boston. Defending champion Northeastern University found themselves in the semifinals along with Boston University, UMass Amherst, and Emerson College. A different type of venue, crowd, and competitors brought a different experience than the typical Overwatch League match. I think the league could learn from the good and bad that the college tournament showed.

Good: Hype Videos

While some Overwatch League matches have short vignettes that try to establish some personality to the players, I haven’t seen one that could hold the Collegiate Cup’s jockstraps. Each team got to make a quick hype video where players talked trash, made awkward poses, and made their case for why they’ll win. First, filming them on scene at each school added legit authenticity to the proceedings. Second, you could tell these guys put the videos together themselves. There is some real bravado in some of them. Giving the players the freedom to strut their creativity and let their personalities shine is much better than the pretentious, forced hype that OWL struts out for some of the teams.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1123037393676902401

Bad: Venue

I won’t sugar coat it for you – this place was a notch above your typical senior center bingo hall. I didn’t go last year, but I heard Laugh Boston was a dumpster fire. Well, this place was certainly serviceable. They had enough TVs so everyone could see the action. But the seats were cramped on top of each other, it was extremely dark, and the venue just seemed forced into this esports format. Now granted, there wasn’t much of a crowd. I can’t imagine more than 100 people were there. So I don’t expect the Uprising to host this thing at the Ritz. But maybe one of the schools should host on a rotating basis – say the defending champs? Hosting the event at a school would certainly draw a bigger crowd.

Good: Saltiness

In my post-match interview with Northeastern’s captain Matthew Lucido, he said:

“…the captain of BU he’s trying to get at me, he’s trying to assert his dominance. But, like, I know he’s coming. Once you figure him out he only does one thing. He holds W at you and then dies. So, like, I’ll save my cool down, save my shift for his hook and then after that he’s dead in the water.”

Matthew Lucido, Northeastern captain

That type of direct, aggressive call-out is exactly the type of rivalry and heat that Overwatch League lacks. Oftentimes teams have cringeworthy call outs to each other that are overly sanitized and harmless. These college players have no problem hyping them and their teams up. That includes putting the other team and their players down. And that’s what makes the event more electric. You can hear the fire coming out of him:

Good: Championship Cup

Unlike that ugly ass Reinhardt trophy you get for winning the Overwatch League, the Boston Uprising hand out some sick hardware. Take a look at that cup. Who wouldn’t want to raise that thing up? Not to mention all the things you can do with it. Drink. Eat. Beer pong. Mini golf. Did I mention eat? That is one piece of hardware that’s a party unto itself.

Bad: Timing

As I mentioned the venue didn’t help get anyone to show up to support their team, but the time didn’t help either. Starting at 10am and finishing at about 2pm on a Sunday, most college students aren’t even up by then. I don’t see early afternoon as the best time for this target demographic. A mid afternoon Saturday game that serves as a pregame for their weekend antics seems more appropriate. I did spot one kid wearing shower sandals and a bathrobe. Hey, not all heroes wear capes.

Good: Schools

What’s great about doing college sports is they have one thing already built in – deep seated hatred for each other. Sure, Boston and New York will never like each other, and you can try to ham that into an Uprising – NYXL rivalry. But the Boston area colleges already genuinely hate each other. There’s no world where BU and Northeastern aren’t going to fire up the crowd. From the US News rankings to the Beanpot, students are going to be fired up to see their schools at each other’s throats. While UMass’ run to the title despite no institutional support gave them a rags-to-riches storyline, you could hear the whispers of ‘safety-school’ and looking down at the sole public school from its wealthier peers. Only colleges can give you this type of built-in drama.

Good: Pro level support

You can’t say the Uprising didn’t go all in on this event. From having Avast (former Uprising player) and ZP cast on-site to the Twitch stream, the Uprising put a lot of investment on this event. They clearly care about the college scene. There were dozens of Kraft Group employees at the venue to help organize and run the operations that makes an event like this go smoothly. Whereas you had Dallas, the first non-Blizzard Arena homestand, get hit with a power outage. This event went off without a hitch. Also getting Huk on site to speak to the crowd, be interviewed by the casters, award the championship cup, and talk to the players was a treat. The moneyball recruiting-savant of the Overwatch League rarely comes out from his command HQ, so to see him at an event like this shows how much the team wants it to go well.


Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 2 Week 3

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Admit it. Down 2-0 at halftime against both the London Spitfire and Vancouver Titans, you thought Boston could come back and reverse sweep. You thought there was some magic left down in the well. That the spark that lit the fire against Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto was still burning. It’s ok, I did too.

We know how that worked out.

For the second time in team history, Boston’s weekend comes up empty as they get swept off the stage in both matches. It was ugly. While there were flashes of brilliance, it’s hard to draw something positive out of a double-zero on map wins in the span of two matches. Let’s break it all down.

The Good

There’s a good argument to be made that in a weekend where Boston doesn’t win a single map this space should be blank. But we look on the bright side around here on Boston Sports Extra – let’s go!

Fusions

What’s it say about you when the other team considers you prime target number one? Against London, the Uprising’s main tank was the clear go-to for focus fire. Conversely, the Brit didn’t get as much help from supports. Against London, where rCk played a good amount of DVa, his sustain seemed to be the team’s focus. That combination seemed fatal. Looks like Fusion’s notoriety from Stage 1 has made him many team’s go-to focus fire target.

He had his moments all weekend. Slaying Vancouver’s Lucio and Brigitte on Paris’s Point B on offense as Rein. His Rein was very good in both matches. It’s clearly still his strong suit. I also thought his Winston was much better. He still had a few times where he’d charge with no backup and get focus killed quick, but he also used his Primal Rages alot better.

I’m not as convinced his play on Wrecking Ball is as legit. Too many times we saw him get picked first and early on the hamster. That may just be because the character’s kit isn’t meant to be played as the Uprising deploy him. But to my eyes, Fusions isn’t S-tier on him. Also – I thought his play on Orissa on both Paris and Gibralta, against Vancouver, was admirable. Those shields were right where they needed to be and his firing was well done.

DPS Comps – Against Vancouver?

In my weekend preview, I said that Boston should ditch GOATs and go DPS heavy. They didn’t do that against London, but they certainly did against Vancouver. Opening on Leijing Tower with Pharah-Hammond-Sombra-Widow-Ana-Mercy, Boston consistently played DPS comps. Bunker comps on Paris defense. A pirate ship on Gibraltar that got the third highest time on attack. They looked great! While they couldn’t get a win against Vancouver, they were clearly much better running DPS against Vancouver than when they did GOATs a few weeks ago.

Which makes you wonder why they didn’t play these comps against London. Why wouldn’t they use that as a formal practice for the Vancouver game? Heck, they could have won against an inferior GOATs team like the Spitfire! Why they felt restricted to the GOATs meta in that game is beyond me.

Blase

DPS trained, American born, Blase has been in the Brig all season. While he’s a good Birgitte player, you know he’s pining to get back on DPS where he’s comfortable. Didn’t happen against London, but he was let loose on Vancouver. And we were better for it! On Pharah, he was pog champ. For example, his ult on stage 1 of Leijing saved the team in OT against Vancouver. His Roadhog on Gibraltar against the Titans was even more pog champ. He even whipped out Doomfist. You have to wonder what it’d be like to see him play DPS full time.

Aimgod

I should put the flex support first. Far and away the most consistent player all weekend, Aimgod faired well against both teams. Playing primarily Ana and Zen in both matches, and had some great moments. His snipe on King’s Row Point A on London’s Bdosin single-handedly got London to flee the point both on offense (1st lap) and defense (2nd lap). While he didn’t have to dodge any EMPs like the Spitfire and Titans had to, he certainly held his own. Also camping the Titans after the rest of the team got wiped took balls. Especially with an emote.

The Bad

(This is an abridged version. A full itinerary of all the bad things that happened this weekend will be submitted for publication in the case we don’t make Stage 2 playoffs).

Ultimate Economy

All weekend it seemed like Boston couldn’t maximize the value of their ultimates. Now, that’s hard to separate from the myriad of other issues that were going on in the debacle of a weekend they had. But, time and again we saw London and Vancouver either make due with less, save ults intelligently, or counter what Boston threw at them.

We saw this on Busan against London. Up 77%-28%, London having control, and Boston with all 6 ults, the Uprising’s win condition was clear. Draw out any of the Spitfire’s 4 ults in one or two fights using as little of their own as possible. Swoop the point and win. How’d it play out? To start, rallies on both sides. Gesture Shatters and Fury’s Self-Destruct picks a demeched rCk whose own SD does nothing. Colourhex wakes up from the Shatter and shoots his Grav, but rCk’s SD isn’t in position or timed well enough to do anything. Profit hits his Grav which forces Kellex to drop his Sound Barrier to save the team. Now it’s 77%-48% and both teams are wiped of Ults. Would anyone say that was the best use of ults?

Boston also gambled playing strats that required post-point switches. We saw all weekend that London and Vancouver stuck with 3-3 all match while Boston switched. This gives the other team ult advantage from the start. Boston would play from behind, needing two team fights just to farm enough ult to compete. It’s a hard decision – go all in with a comp you know you’re going to switch off of, but do so knowing it gives you the best chance. It’s a bit of an all or nothing stat. Something for the coaches to chew on.

rCk

I do think every player had good moments and great plays at some point this weekend. But on the sum, if I’m putting one player in the bad category, it goes to the freshmen team member. While the Finn played a mix of Sombra/DVa against London, we saw him play almost exclusively the hacker against Vancouver. And the hacker didn’t do what we needed.

For example, on King’s Row against London, the payload is just about to hit the end when he tosses the Translocator. Then, he immediately EMPs – but he doesn’t hit Bdosin’s Zenyata. The Transcendence hits and he immediately gets picked and the team gets wiped. That should have rolled the Spitfire for a map win. Then again, in overtime, he clearly learned and stalked the back line to pick off Bdosin and Nus’ Lucio without dropping an EMP. But after holding onto it, he jumped at Bdosin and dropped the EMP. Except, there was a wall between them. Transcendence dropped. Boston wiped. Overtime over. Map – London.

This happened with Vancouver, too. You could tell what a difference the enemy team’s comp had on him. On King’s Row, his Sombra ruthlessly shredded Vancouver when they played the Ana. Fight after fight, he had no trouble dropping an EMP and having his team roll. Once the Titans switched to the Zen, he had trouble connecting to the omnic healer. At the final hour, he was unable to hit Twilight who immediately used his Transcendence. Boston’s attack was stimmied and Vancouver won the map.

As Uber said, you can hack the entire team but if you don’t get the Zen whose got a Transcendence ready to launch, what’s the point? If rCk is going to be as great as we know he can be, he has to focus his ult much more effectively in the matches to come.

Paris defense – Vancouver

Is the last minute choke defending Point A on Paris against Vancouver the worst ever? I’m not saying it is, but I’m not not saying that, either. Because with Overtime looming, the bunker defense running in high gear, the Titans took an unorthodox attack. Switching to a Sombra and Wrecking Ball, Vancouver got a last minute miracle capture. They snowballed it into an easy win. I think Boston will be watching tape of that whole exchange for a long time to come.

Colourhex

It was a mixed back for the kiwi on Zarya this weekend. His Graviton getting fed to Fury on Busan and King’s Row in critical moments didn’t help. I don’t think his Zarya is bad, but the lack of consistent team cohesion and synergy puts him at a disadvantage.

Of course, when he played against Vancouver and got to switch to a Bastion or Widowmaker, he proved himself again. He had some great kills on nearly all the maps as a DPS. Makes you excited for when the meta shifts more into his wheelhouse.

The Uprising

  • Valskyia Industries may be Boston’s official home base, King’s Row is their ninth circle of hell. The boys are now 0-5 this year on the hybrid map.
  • Vancouver opening their Paris offense with a pretty Symmetra teleport onto the point play was delicious. Seeing them run it was fun – especially when Colourhex shredded them all into oblivion.
  • That time on King’s Row against Vancouver rCk saw the Zen use Transcendence. You knew he was thinking, THIS IS MY MOMENT – LETS EMP AND ROLL THESE JERKS. He hits the EMP… but there is Lucio with a Sound Barrier. Vancouver gets the sustain, team wipe, point capture. Every Uprising fan had to be thinking – what is it going to take?
  • It may have been short lived, but I loved the Symmetra, Bastion, Baptiste, Orissa, Mercy comp to open Junkertown against London. Seeing them teleport the bunker comp around the map was neat. Except when they switched to 3-3 it was too late. The Junkertown curse continues.
  • Kellex got quite a few kills on Bumper. We see you Uprising OG.
  • Hexagrams called Boston a “resilient cockroach of a team” which he meant in “the nicest way possible.” Hmmmmm.
  • Love the tbag by Aimgod on Bumper – just down the street where Bumper did the same last time these two played. These two are getting quite salty against each other.
  • Hearing the overtime music refereed to as Hans Zimmer (from Inception) blew my mind.
  • What was with Junkertown starting with Blase on Sombra and Aimgod on Moira? Did they quit on the last map?
  • I really hate Bumper. This didn’t help.

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

Uprising Stage 2 Week 3 Preview: Spitfire and Titans

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Saturday, April 20th @ 3pm: London Spitfire

Sunday, April 21st @ 3pm: Vancouver Titans

After a frustrating week which saw Boston narrowly lose against the Hangzhou Spark on the match’s fifth map, the Uprising are back at it. This week they face off against the London Spitfire and Vancouver Titans. Last year’s champions, the Spitfire, started off a surprising 3-4 in Stage 1. They’re off to a hot start 3-0 in Stage 2. Meanwhile, the Titans remain undefeated at 10-0. What can fans expect to see from the Uprising this week?

Ready Player One

Boston needs to go into this week forgetting the mistakes made against Hangzhou. Does the Uprising have to keep playing GOATs? Last week they certainly seemed to think so – and look how that worked out. This week they’ll be going up against the Titans – easily the best GOATs team in the league. They’ve been playing the 3-3 team comp since season 3 of Contenders last year. Why should Boston try to play a mirror? The boys need look no further than week 1 of the stage to see what works for them. Using DPS comps, playing surprise tactics, and playing to their strengths seem the clear path to victory.

For DPS comps, will Boston gamble and let Blase out of the Brig? We saw him on Hammond, Soldier 76, and Pharah back in week 1. Colourhex also put everyone on notice. The kiwi, he of 41% critical hit accuracy, showed he’s an elite Widowmaker. Will Huk and the coaching staff let the DPS players loose, or will they be fixed to their Brigitte and Zarya roles as they were last week?

Can Boston continue to deliver the set plays, unorthodox strats, and strong off-meta comps they have in weeks past? It will be fascinating to see which tank Fusions gets put onto. We’ve seen him stick to Rein when the team went GOATs, but have also seen him play considerable time on Winston and Hammond. Then there’s rCk – how much Sombra will we see? Boston could lean into Sombra GOATs or continue to play her intermittently? These small decisions will have major consequences.

London

A lot of people are buying low on Spitfire stock, and for good reason. A 3-0 start to a stage is nothing to smirk at, and their level of play has picked up considerably. While Stage 1 saw the defending champions of the inaugural season look sloppy, the Spitfire seem to be returning to form. But look how they got that record. They barely squeaked by the Florida Mayhem, winning 2-1, and then swept the Atlanta Reign, who seem to be in free fall this stage. London also won 2-1 against the Philadelphia Fusion last week. Needless to say, they haven’t played high tier competition this stage. Boston will be their first real measuring stick of where they stand.

Looking at the maps helps inform what we can expect to see. London are 3-0 this stage on Control, 2-1 on Assault, 1-1-1 on Hybrid, and 3-0 on Escort maps. In all those games, they haven’t played any of the maps they’ll play Saturday.

Boston, on the other hand, has played a few of these maps. They played Control maps 6 times in 3 matches, thanks to each going to a 5th map. They have a 2-6 record, winning only when it was the last map. This includes winning Busan against Atlanta to end a match, and losing it against Toronto to start a match. They have a 1-2 record on Assault and 3-0 on Hybrid maps, but have yet to play Paris or King’s Row. Lastly, the Uprising are 2-1 on Escort maps, including that horrible Junkertown they played against Hangzhou last week where they were full held before the first point. If Boston can’t fix the complete embarrassment they showed there last week, it’ll be a long night for the Uprising.

Prediction

You have to think London has an edge on Control and Boston has it on Hybrid. Boston thrives off of Hybrid/Escort maps because they operate in a highly coached, set-play driven style. They scrim with specific comps on different pieces of maps with well rehearsed strats. If Boston can hold their edge on Hybrid maps and split the Assault/Escort with London, I like their chances in a sudden death Control. They just barely lost last week on Leijing Tower against the Spark, and are well versed in playing under the pressure of a 5th map. London, meanwhile, has only played a 5th map two times this season. They beat the Washington Justice but lost to the Shanghai Dragons. There are clear paths to victory for Boston.

Vancouver

Stage 1 champion seems to be just the beginning for the accolades Vancouver may amass by the end of the season. They’ve looked even better in Stage 2, dropping no more than a single map in any of their first 3 matches. After rolling Boston 3-0 in the Stage 1 playoffs, does the Uprising have a prayer?

I think we’re going to see just how stubborn the Uprising coaches are in this match. No one is equipped to out GOATs the GOATs masters. If Boston runs something off-meta that Vancouver isn’t prepared to counter, they may have a prayer against them. Even if it’s swapping in a Moira or Ana if the map geometry accommodates it, that may throw off the Titans.

Prediction

Will that be enough? Probably not. Vancouver have shown they are a juggernaut that will need a complete meta shift if they’re to lose. Boston can either run GOATs to see how their 3-3 can hold up in a mirror, or throw some crazy DPS comp out there to catch them off guard. Either way, Boston is going to struggle to avoid the sweep. Hopefully they can keep the maps tight and steal one somewhere in the match.

Outlook

After week 1, Boston was the talk of the league. Three straight reverse sweeps will do that. But now we’ve seen that Atlanta and Toronto are dumpster fires. Then they narrowly lost on another 5th map against Hangzhou. Now the Uprising face a tougher path to Stage 2 playoffs. They likely won’t win against Vancouver, but have every reason to think they can meet the challenge of the surging Spitfire. Boston gets a bye next week then has a double header against the Gladiators and Justice. There aren’t any freebies. Time to clock some wins and pave a road to Stage 2 playoffs. It’s now or never.

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

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 2 Week 2

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Happy Marathon Monday Uprising fans. Many New Englanders see the first pitch at Fenway as the first sign of Spring. Personally, it’s always been runners headed down Boylston that does it for me. Just as the warm weather erases all memory of the months of snow shoveling and cold weather, so must a new stage erase our memories of what’s come before. A new patch means a new meta. Teams will rise and teams will fall. And I clearly didn’t give the 3-5 Hangzhou Spark enough credit.

This new world looks different. Two weeks in and we see stage 1 playoff teams Toronto and Atlanta already falling to 1-3 stage 2 records. Suddenly those 2 reverse sweeps from last week don’t look so impressive. Where teams line up in the pecking order is in disarray. And though I thought this match would be a cakewalk for Boston, the Spark proved they were anything but.

The Good

rCk

Huk’s stunning trade before stage 2 continues to prove prophetic. Boston’s new off-tank rCk displayed his signature flexibility throughout the match. On DVa, we saw the Fin eat ultimates like on Anubis when Mei’s blizzard was tossed right into the Defense Matrix. How fun is it when you see the icon for devoured ultimates? Conversely, he lived up to his reputation as a great Sombra player. At Blizzard World, he hit a great EMP on offense that pushed the Point A cap, and seemingly within minutes started a steamroll through Point B. You could tell how paranoid the Spark were getting of him. Sitting on his EMP, he hacked just one player near Point C that spooked the Spark out of position. Boston got a team wipe from it without burning an EMP.

It’s safe to say that rCk was the bright spot in a sea of darkness this night. Boston continues to run most of their team play around him. The question is how do they decide to go DVa or Sombra? There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. While I believe he’s just as good a DVa as Sombra, Boston’s efficacy when he was on the DVa is suspect. Hopefully they can turn it around going forward.

Assault Strategy

As Sideshow pointed out at Halftime, Boston ran a fantastic offense around rCk on Anubis. Using his hacks on the off-tank Ria, Boston would dive the squishy targets knowing the Spark couldn’t peel to defend on Point A. On Point B, Boston did a great job coordinating onto the point and never letting go. After two matches in a row of futile assault maps, it was nice to see the Uprising come out and execute their game plan.

The Bad

GOATs

After a week of two matches that saw a mix of Winston/Hammond dive, Pharmercy, and DPS comps, Boston oddly decided that GOATs would be their approach. With little exception, Boston played the 3-3 all night. To little effect. I’m not sure the mentality here. Did they outthink themselves? Were they expecting Hangzhou to prepare for a mix of comps and then get leveled by GOATs? Did they think the Spark’s record suggested they’d get rolled by a simple GOATs comp? Regardless, it was disappointing to see, in a new patch/meta, such a fixation on GOATs. In their defense, we did see several teams go back to the well here so they’re not alone. But Hangzhou didn’t show such timidness, switching to a bunker comp on Oasis to great effect. Hopefully Boston loosens up next match and tries to switch it up.

Junkertown

What an absolute disaster. While I appreciate Boston not defaulting to the 3-3 and trying out the pirate ship, the Spark were ready. Again, Hangzhou showed superior coordination and synergy. Playing a triple DPS on defense, they made quick work of Boston once they got through the second turn on Point A. Offensively, they switched to GOATs once the payload got past the last turn on Point A. Boston strangely played a Roadhog/Moira comp on defense that did not work at all. Needless to say, I think the coaching staff need to go back to the drawing board when they play this escort map again.

Krystal

Known for leading China’s Overwatch World Cup team to the finals this year, Hangzhou’s unused DPS Krystal certainly sparked the team when he hit the stage. Why did they ever substitute him out? They won every map he played on. Apparently he speaks Mandarin while everyone else speaks Korean. No matter. His Bastion on Oasis’ stage 3 was devastating. Between getting Nano Boosted and his tank ultimate, Boston had no response to their bunker defense.

Funny thing is, Boston has been rumored to be seeking a trade for Krystal all season. You almost could see a twisted irony in him being used against the Uprising. At this point the GMs across the league have to take Huk showing interest in a player as them having a diamond in the rough. Would Hangzhou have played the DPS stud had Huk not called? We’ll never know.

Colourhex

No one suffered more from going back to the GOATs well as Colourhex. After his unbelievable 41% critical accuracy last week, the sniper was stuck on Zarya almost the entire match. There were some low points there. A Graviton sucked up by a Defense Matrix on Oasis. Some bubbles that seemed untimed with teammates. But it didn’t get much better for the kiwi when he got on DPS. His Genji on Anubis wasn’t anything to write home about. Undoubtedly the low point came at the most crucial moment. Up 99% on Leijing Tower, Colourhex got spawn camped by IDK and booped off the map while sitting on his Graviton. To make matters worse, the very next life saw him Whip Shotted off the map by Brigitte. Not pretty.

The Uprising

You have to feel for BlasĂ© being stuck in the Brig as I’ve seen it called. While he’s a serviceable Briggitte, he showed last week he has a wide enough DPS pool to warrant being let loose.

Even at the very end Boston was in it. On Leijing Tower’s third stage, Boston coughed up the point two times while at 99%. Still, you felt that this was just the type of pressure Boston had proven themselves adept at. What a disappointment.

Also about Leijing Tower – how do you have 5 ults after getting up 99%-0% and lose? I think Huk and company will be watching the film on that for awhile. The hubris to burn through those ults and lose the stage like they did was nothing short of embarrassing.

I threw a bit of shade at Fusions last week, wondering if he could stay as relevant in this new meta. I don’t think we have a definitive answer this week, especially because he stuck on the Rein so long. However, I do think he played well tonight, and had some great moments throughout the match.

I’m convinced Kellex is the best stall Lucio in the league. You saw him hopping around on Oasis and Leijing Tower several times. It’s always funny to see the other team have to track him down and kill him like having a fly in your food.

Was it me or did Hangzhou come out to some rap music entrance? Can we get on that bandwagon? Let’s get some Dropkick Murphys or something. Whatever it is we come out to just isn’t cutting it. There are some cool themes out there.

We see you Aimgod. He may not get the attention like Jjonak or get put on replay, but the flex support had some great picks this match. I also though he was brilliant in deploying his Transcendences tonight. He never got anxious and waited patiently to use it.

Looking Forward

After an exciting start to Stage 2, Boston took a step backward this week. They can’t take any of their matches for granted. Next week they face London and Vancouver. Obviously the still unbeaten Vancouver will be a tough match, but London shouldn’t be taken lightly. Last year’s champions are 3-0 this stage. I’m just as guilty as anyone as reading too much into the Stage 1 results. Boston needs a win to keep pace with everyone else if they’re going to make Stage 2 playoffs. Here’s hoping this was just a small misstep on a long road to bigger winnings.

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

Uprising Stage 2 Week 2 Preview: Hangzhou Spark

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Friday, April 12th @ 8:45pm

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

It’s week 2 of stage 2 and for some reason Boston has to play a game against the Hangzhou Spark. Hard to expect the Uprising to put on a show that lives up to the double reverse sweep they pulled against Atlanta and Toronto. I suppose we’ll have to settle for a stomping of the fun but unfortunately pink clad expansion team.

Yes, this should be a sweep. I don’t make predictions often but anything less than a sweep would be an upset. I said in my stage preview that Boston had to take care of business against the non Stage 1 playoff teams. That’s Hangzhou, LA Gladiators, London, and Washington. Do that, and Stage 2 playoffs is in the bag. Now that Atlanta and Toronto have run away licking their wounds, Stage 2 playoffs should be assumed. 

In fact, we need to look at what we can build from these near throw matchups. Let’s throw some crazy new comps out there. Let’s stick Blase on Baptiste in new and exciting ways. We can be the ones to show what this new hero can do. How about we drop Sombra for a week and let rCk pop off and show just how good a DVa he is. Colourhex should get perma locked on Widow just to put a nail on the whole ‘one match fluke’ fake news I’ve seen percolate around Reddit. Also, Fusions should roll, literally, Wrecking Ball all day. Give him some stage experience and show how good he can be in a post-GOATs meta. The Brit ain’t no one trick.

Basically this week should be nothing more than an exhibition showcase. Those trolls putting Boston outside the top 5 in their power rankings need to be put on blast. Never mind we’re 5th in the overall league standings. Forget how we just made the biggest in season trade in OWL history with Note/rCk. Don’t think about how we just body bagged two Stage 1 playoff teams. That when the pressure is highest, three times in a row now Boston has sacked up and laid waste to the other team

No, this match is about confidence building. About showing who runs this place. Building a reputation as the bad boys of Overwatch. And if three reverse sweeps in a row won’t do it, stuffing the pink colored Spark in a locker is a good start. 

Looking forward to the artwork though.

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

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 2 Week 1

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You have to give it to the Uprising – they do everything they can to make it interesting. Because after opening Stage 2 with a pair of reverse sweeps (3rd in a row in stage play) the entire league is catching on to the interesting story of of the Uprising. A team whose GM will make any roster change he can to better the team, fans be damned. A team full of players perceived to be ‘unknown’ or ‘unproven’ or ‘inexperienced.’ And a group who never says die and can’t be counted out till the last fuse of overtime burns out.

For a team whose mantra going into the season was Prove Them Wrong – they keep giving themselves plenty to prove. Fan favorite off tank Note was traded away for Dallas’ rCk days before Stage 2 started. How would the shakeup play out amidst a new meta? Had the team licked their wounds from having their Stage 1 playoff existence destroyed by the Vancouver Titans? Let’s take a look.

The Good

rCk

Before Stage 1 we traded fan-favorite Gamsu and brought up Fusions from Contenders. Uprising skeptics and haters had a field day. Boston dropped to the bottom of everyone’s power rankings. Then they make the playoffs and silence the critics. Well, can we do it again? Boston trades fan-favorite Note for Dallas Fuel’s rCk before Stage 2. Again, the skeptics and haters hold a vigil for Boston’s season. rCk – not as good a DVa as Note, they say. The team won’t be able to sync up in time for Atlanta and Toronto, they say. Could Boston possibly live up to the expectations they set in Stage 1?

With all that pressure on his shoulders, rCk delivered. Against Atlanta, he made himself a vacume all match against BabyBay’s Zarya, sucking up Gravitons left and right. Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be a subpar DVa? But there he was on Eichenwalde, just as the Reign were about to push the cart to victory. With Overtime on, his pick on Pokpo and a 2K Self-Destruct (when the rest of the Uprising were dead) that pushed the series to a 4th map. Note who?

Of course the Finn brought it on his Sombra. Against Atlanta and Toronto, rCk constantly harassed the backline players, dropped massive EMPs, and was the Sombra the Uprising always needed. With him on the team, Boston could afford a variety of team comps they never could have with Note. And it paid off. Farming EMP off health hacks and shooting down supports before Translocating, rCk seemingly always had an EMP when the Uprising needed it.

rCk’s stats against Atlanta

Against Atlanta, rCk made mincemeat of the Reign. If anything, I don’t think the rest of the Uprising are on the same wave length on capitalizing on the EMPs. They can get better with that given more time scrimming. rCk landed several EMPs that didn’t get the immediate team wipes you’d have expected. Look for this to become a more prominent weapon in the Uprising’s toolbox.

Colourhex

We knew the meta would get shaken up going into Stage 2, but we didn’t know how it’d play out. Turns out Boston had a smorgasbord of team comps ready to deploy. And none proved as effective as the different combinations that featured Colourhex on the Widowmaker. Now, this is a player many have been wondering about. His hitscan abilities were completely unknown as he’d been stuck on Zarya for Stage 1. The Australian region’s Overwatch scene has been a meme up to now, and many questioned the Uprising’s pickup of the Kiwi. With a DPS friendly meta – how would he do?

Well, turns out the guy can play. From his first switch onto Widow and picking off Atlanta’s sniper nlaaers (see above), we knew we were in for something special. In fact, especially against Toronto, Colourhex shoved that long-ass sniper rifle right down the Defiant’s throat. Clutch after clutch after clutch. Too many times we saw Atlanta and Toronto’s snipers lose their Widow duels, with Colourhex having free reign to pick off the other heroes.

Take a look back at Oasis against the Defiant. Boston had just forced a map 5 and were hungry for a third straight reverse sweep. With their vocal leader Fusions, and their new superstar stud rCk, it was Colourhex who popped off when it mattered the most. First, his 3k on Widow makes Toronto cower out of position. Then he switches over to Soldier 76 and picks off enough of the Defiant to help capture the stage. He showed his flexibility and hits can make him another in a long line of out-of-nowhere superstar pickups by Boston’s Huk.

Not that Colourhex was a one-trick. His Tracer’s Pule Bomb on Pokpo on Gibraltar clutched the win to force a 5th map. Same with his use of Pharah’s Barrage on Rialto, flanking Toronto’s Amplification Matrix on Rialto and forcing a 5th map. If Colourhex can keep up this level of play, the Overwatch League is about to get rolled by New Zealand’s only pro player.

The Bad

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. You can’t get reverse sweeps without losing two maps straight, and Boston certainly handed them out to Atlanta and Toronto. How did it happen? For the first half against Atlanta, I saw a lot of ineffective GOATs play. Teams were still trying to feel out the meta change, and I think Boston wasn’t willing to stretch into unknown territory at first. The apprehension caught them against Atlanta. With Toronto, especially on Hanamura, they couldn’t deploy the set plays they should have had. A bunker comp of Bastion and Orissa held them too long on Point A on both laps through on offense. Boston is usually better at preparing against set defenses than this.

It’s also worth noting that Overwatch League changed the order of map types going into Stage 2. Hybrid maps go from the second map played to the third, swapping with assault. You can’t say that Boston is just better at hybrid/escort because they had to win a 2CP in sudden death. But it’s reasonable to say that the assault maps may not be Boston’s greatest strength.

Fusions

We all knew the Disney movie story going into Stage 2. Last minute Contenders call up turns into a top tank player. Leads the team to many victories. Last minute reverse sweep to make Stage 1 playoffs. Hero rides off into the sunset. Roll the credits. But would the sequel be a bomb or could it live up to the original?

I think we have to give it a push. Throughout the matches against the Defiant and Reign, it seemed Boston forced themselves back to the Rein-GOATs well, and the well was dry. Trying to recapture the magic was commendable, but ineffective. There weren’t any great Earthshatters, and his hammer swings didn’t push back the other teams. Atlanta especially seemed to focus on him, going so far as to play a Mei on Temple to split him from the rest of Boston. He didn’t respond well to that type of pressure.

Instead, I think we saw he did much better on Hammond. Getting timely swings to push players off the points, helping snowball Point B on Hanamura, dropping the mines to stall the defenses. A new meta forces new strategies. Though he was passable in both series, I think it will be an adjustment for the Brit to get to the level he was at in Stage 1.

The Uprising

There are other performances that have to get their due in a week that saw two reverse sweeps. BlasĂ© was clutch on a variety of heroes in both games. He pulled out a Roadhog, Pharaoh, Tracer, and Brigitte, amongst others, when the team needed it. Him pushing Point B with Fusion’s Hammond after an Overtime cap on Point A on Hanamura was key to the snowball. His hero pool seems wider than anyone ever expected.

Babybay pumping up the crowd after Atlanta went up 1-0 has got to be a meme somewhere. The Shock’s former bench player seemed a bit premature in his celebration – you hate to see that.

Don’t sleep on Aimgod. No, he didn’t need to play back to avoid the EMPs like he did on Stage 1, but his Ana/Zen play was crucial. On Oasis (and really throughout the Toronto match) he seemed to get the sleep darts at the most clutch times. When Toronto’s Solider 76 had his Attack Visor and it looked like Boston would get wiped from the point, Aimgod’s sleep dart put that dream to bed.

Boston is the first team to get three straight reverse sweeps. These boys know how to play under pressure. Toronto, specifically, looked absolutely devastated when they got stomped on Rialto and realized they were going to sudden death. That ability to play when the pressure is the highest will go a long way for the Uprising. With so many weapons on their roster, Boston is going to be a dangerous team moving forward. Never say die. And don’t ever turn off the TV until the final tick.

Player of the Week

Absolutely no way you can split up rCk and Colourhex. They both were pog champ in the Atlanta and Toronto matches. The Overwatch League is on notice.

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

Boston Uprising’s Watch Party in Worcester, MA:

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Going into Thursday night’s matchup against the Atlanta Reign, the Boston Uprising looked to come out strong in the first week of stage 2. On the other side of the country, Boston Uprising’s staff were similarly looking to come out strong with their first watch party in Worcester, MA. While the team had hosted two standing room only watch parties in downtown Boston (and one in Foxboro) – Worcester was the team’s first foray outside of the Boston metropolitan area. Would Uprising fans come out hyped to support their team outside of Boston?

Their was certainly an eclectic mix of characters at the Compass Tavern in Worcester, MA. College students rubbed shoulders with a dad and his teenage son. A young man, clearly dragging his girlfriend to the event, donned a custom Uprising jersey for the night’s festivities. A young woman, clad in a bright DVa sweatshirt, sat awestruck as the broadcast began. But why does the Uprising organize these events and try to get fans to come out for something they can watch at home?

I spoke with Julia Pagliarulo, Media Relations Coordinator for the Kraft Group (owners of the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, and Boston Uprising). For the organization, these watch parties serve as both marketing and community development. “We’re a new team and we’re trying to spread brand awareness and let people know about the team” she said. Watch parties have an added benefit of getting fans more engaged with the team. Looking at the fans that had turned out, Julia said, “fans having the opportunity to come out and support the team fosters a strong fan community and means a lot to the team themselves.” Nearly every attendee sported an Uprising hat, shirt, or other apparel. The night had clearly drawn fans that were all dialed in.

Fans got plenty for themselves coming out for the event, too. A banner being sent straight to the team was available for fans to sign. Plenty of posters, sunglasses, and stickers were free for attendees. Lastly, fans had a diverse array of standees and cutouts to use at a free selfie station. If that wasn’t enough, the night’s national broadcast cut to the party just before halftime.

So why did the Kraft Group pick Worcester to host an event?

“We thought having several colleges in the area – WPI, Worcester State, Clark, and being easily accessible made it a great spot” Julia said. While New England is rife with college towns, expanding into western MA was the Uprising’s first priority. Not that the Kraft Group isn’t interested in towns outside Massachusetts. “We don’t want anyone to be too far from a watch party” she said.

What role do watch parties play in fostering a fan base that the Kraft group hopes will turn out for a 14-game regular season home schedule?

“We really want to support the fan’s engagement and hope by giving opportunities like this more and more fans will commit to supporting the team” Julia said. Boston, like every other team in the league, has to foster a fan base they hope will fill whatever arena the Uprising play in. Getting the fans out, meeting each other, and interacting with the players and staff is a great start.

Fans who came out Thursday night were treated with an exciting match against the Atlanta Reign. After going down 0-2, the Uprising came out of halftime and pushed it to a fifth map. Coming out to meet up with other fans, with the rest of the place emptied out, on a weekday night, and the clock hitting 10:30pm, the Uprising faithful were rewarded. Boston completed the reverse sweep and started Stage 2 with a perfect record. With that type of momentum, the future looks bright for both the Uprising and their fan community.

On the way out, I spoke with a father I had seen all night having the game thoroughly explained to him by his teenage son. I asked him – what did you think of the night?

“I don’t completely understand everything that happened, but it was exciting. [My son] had a great time and it was nice being a part of it with him” he told me.

Would you come out again?

“Oh yeah. He wants to go to a home game next year and after tonight, I told him I’d go with him” he replied.

After Boston’s fans turned out for a well-received watch party, it’s hard not to think something special is happening. The team has the fan community to do something special, especially once home matches start.

You could even call it an Uprising.

Uprising Stage 2 Week 1 Preview: Reign and Defiant

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Thursday, April 4th @ 11 P.M. – Boston Uprising vs. Atlanta Reign

After a whirlwind Tuesday it’s become even more unclear what to expect this opening week of Stage 2. First, Persia becomes the team’s fourth support player. Second, Note has been shipped off to Dallas in exchange for rCk. Lastly, Overwatch’s next balance patch continues to distort what the meta will be. In short, the tea leaves ain’t any easier to read. Here’s a shot in the dark.

Roster moves

Persia

The first roster change this week that Boston pulled off was signing off-support Persia. A peculiar move. Boston already has Kellex, Aimgod, and Alemao. Aimgod has earned several player of the matches (or at least been in the running). Kellex has mained Lucio nearly all Stage 1. Lastly, Alemao has had little stage time. It’s a bit strange to pick up another support. Not out of line – many teams have a full compliment of two whole 6 player squads on their roster. But knowing Huk, you see a move like this and start counting the days till some former diamond in the rough he bought low on gets sold high at top dollar.

Note

One of the Uprising’s few remaining OGs, Note was having by all accounts a great season. His nose for sniffing out supports amidst team fights has been mentioned by many casters. While I’ve taken issue a bit with the zoning and pick off efficacy of his Self Destructs, the Canadien has proven he play at a pro level.  Sure, his inability to flex to a Sombra like other DVa players league wide may have limited Boston’s team comps. But, his coordination with Fusions and peeling for the back line made him an effective player.

Trying to read into Huk’s thinking on this move is a fool’s errand. Clearly, the man has some balls. Note is probably the biggest fan favorite outside of Fusions. After trading away Gamsu earlier this season, Huk is showing no one is indispensable. It seems to me Note’s inability to flex onto Sombra limited Boston throughout Stage 1 and that was enough to force a move.

Note’s one-note hero useage in Stage 1 (I know, horrible pun)

Personally, I’ll miss Note. You could tell the kid had such an upbeat energy to him. Boston seemed to be a great fit for the off-tank. Thinking back, his leadership was a big part of the Uprising’s undefeated stage last year as the dive comps played around him. I hope to see him continue to pop off down in Dallas.

rCk

Well, what did we get for everyone’s favorite Canuck? Enter rCk, last seen hitting Uprising players with EMPs like fish in a barrel. Huk must be thinking if you can’t beat em, join em. I imagine the week 5 contest that went to a fifth map impressed Huk enough to seek a trade. 

rCk’s stats headed into his match against BU in week 5

Obviously we should all expect some Sombra comps this stage and beyond. rCk is an impressive Sombra player and a more than serviceable DVa. Boston may have gotten the better end of the deal if he can play as effectively in both roles.

rCk nearly split time perfectly between DVa & Sombra in Stage 1

Meta changes

No one knows for sure what teams comps we’ll see in Stage 2 until it starts. But, the news of GOATs death is greatly exaggerated. Lucio’s speed nerf may reduce Rein to specific map comps, but there’s no reason to think Winston 3-3 comps won’t pick up the slack. Additionally, none of the dps nerfs make them more viable than a high hp, shield boosting, stun disbursing Brigitte.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t see some exciting team comps out there. Everyone loved it when we saw a Widow or Tracwr last stage, and expect to see a more diverse array of heroes picked. I just think metas die slow in the face of small buffs, and nerfs handed out across all heroes. Players and coaches are risk averse and more likely to stick with what they’re comfortable with. Boston hasn’t been known for their experimentation either – so expect some 3-3 from the Uprising.

But let’s not forget the new hero Baptiste. His Immortality Field is a potential game changer. Will we see him deployed early or will he be a map and situational dependent hero? Look for the teams eager to experiment and shake up the meta to give the new hero his first pro level appearance. 

Matchups

Thursday – Atlanta Reign

While Boston has arguably the most last minute roster moves of anyone, don’t ignore what’s happening with Atlanta. Famous Overwatch streamer turned pro Dafran…. is returning to streaming. Despite being the top seller in player jerseys, and making the most pog play of the season, it’s likely the stress of the pro life that drove him away.

Well, Atlanta didn’t waste anytime. They picked up Baby Bay from SF. Shock’s former stud DPS player has been riding the bench all season, so predicting what he can do given his time off and the new meta is difficult enough. Additionally, just as this column was going to print Atlanta tweeted out they signing frd, a tank player from the LA Gladiator’s Contenders team. Why not have even more last minute changes? What could go wrong!

Sunday – Toronto Defiant

Boston’s second matchup of the week is against Toronto. You’ll recall the last time these two played, Neko, Boston’s former off-support, was spraying the Uprising logo every pick he got. He and Bumper – archvillains of the Uprising. Well, nothing would be more satisfying than seeing Boston steamroll the fellow Stage 1 playoff team.

Public enemy #1

Last time Boston was trounced 3-1. There were some bright spots. Boston pulled a C9 on Anubis. They pushed it to a map 4 down 2-0 at halftime. Toronto got full held on offense. That was fun. But generally, Toronto had their way with the Uprising that match. That was then and this is now. There’s a new meta out there. New players. New stage. The past is not the present.

Also, Toronto didn’t want to be left behind in the last second roster changes. On Tuesday, Toronto’s coach Don left the team and on Wednesday their DPS starter Stellar retired. Hey if everyone’s doing, why not them? Of course, Stellar was the Defiant’s Brigitte main, posting a 27/28 KD in his match against Boston. That leaves Toronto with just 7 active players on the roster – good luck with that.

Thoughts

We’re not sure where Persia fits into the team, so let’s just pretend that didn’t happen for now eh? But let’s look at the Note and rCk trade. First, let’s look at the data. Note played on DVa nearly twice as long as rCk, but many of the per 10 minute stats are close. You can see some symmetry in that Note has the edge in FK (First Kills – 12% vs. 10%) but drops in FD (First Deaths – 3% vs. 2.8%). That slight discrepancy gets a bit more spread out when you look at F3K (First Three Kills) and F3D (First Three Deaths). Note may be getting more of those first 3 kills, but he pays for it in dying in one of the first 3 spots.

What the data shows to me is these two are comprable DVas. There’s no case to be made that one is supremely better than the other. But, one can swap to the Sombra and the other can’t. That is an entirely different weapon in the arsenal of the Uprising. Why wouldn’t Boston want to equip themselves with as many tools as possible?

Not that the rCk and Note switch is all that there is to worry about. Given the rumors that have swirled the last few weeks about Fusions, it’s likely we’re going to see a change in the tank line. Axxiom, better known as a Winston main, is likely to get some additional playtime this Stage. Whether he’ll trade off/on with Fusions/Rein based on matchup or map remains to be seen. It’ll be an interesting storyline going into the first week.

There are roster changes across the league, with Boston, and both their opponents this week. A meta change will shift the landscape of the league. Questions abound again whether Huk just traded away the team’s best player. Sounds familiar. And so we have a familiar response.

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

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

Shotcaller

Monday Morning Shotcaller: Stage 1 Review

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Finally, the Overwatch League resumes after a week long break between stages. We saw the Vancouver Titans complete their Stage 1 undefeated streak and win the stage title. Will anyone be able to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable expansion team?

To answer that, we have to look at how Overwatch will be played in Stage 2. We saw in Stage 1 a dominance of the meta by the 3-3 composition (known as GOATs). Players, fans, and casters all seemingly disliked this high health, teamwork, and ultimate focused gameplay. Fortunately, Blizzard’s latest patch is an all-out assault on the GOATs meta. Handing out buffs and nerfs like candy on Halloween, predicting the meta going forward is challenging given the plethora of changes. Additionally, the introduction of the new support character, Baptiste, will contribute to a new meta for Stage 2.

Could a drastic meta change shakeup the league? Yes and no. While we may see some changes in the middle and lower tiers, let’s not fool ourselves about how the league is stacked. Last season we saw little change at the top tier when Mercy was nerfed and the dive meta became prominent. It’s unlikely we’ll see top tier teams (NYXL, Vancouver, SF) dramatically drop in the standings. But that’s not to say that any other team’s strengths/weaknesses won’t be exposed. What can we expect for the Boston Uprising?

The Good

After a tumultuous offseason and start of the year, Boston’s roster seems to have settled down. Gamsu’s last minute trade to Shanghai may have seemed earthshattering (no pun intended) – but Boston’s main tank position seems secure. Fusions has broken into the Overwatch League and garnered universal acclaim. Between him and off-tank veteran Note, Boston has every reason to feel confident about their tank line.

Fusion’s contract fiasco (and Boston’s subsequent loss to Shanghai) notwithstanding, Boston’s management has proven adept at plugging holes in the roster. Though they’ve been doubted at the start of each season, Boston consistently finds undervalued and capable players. We may not know how the meta will play out in Stage 2 and beyond. What we do know is if Boston finds itself unequipped for a new meta, the management knows where to look. Huk, President of Gaming for the Uprising, is an unmatched scout. Time and time again he’s been able to find the right player for this team. There’s no legitimate reason to doubt him now.

The Bad

A reasonable take going into Stage 2 is there are a lot of unknowns. We haven’t seen Blase or Colourhex play DPS. They’ve been stuck on Birgitte and Zarya, respectively, during Stage 1. We can look at their past performances to get a hint. Blase, at least on Twitter, has professed his love for Doomfist and other twitch centered heroes. Colourhex is known as a projectile focused DPS with a hero pool centered on Genji and Pharah. Without a clear hitscan gifted DPS, it is possible Boston could find themselves without a central cog of the new meta. There are already plenty of rumors that Boston is addressing this. Expect this to be the main storyline of Stage 2 for the team.

The Uprising

Landing in the Stage 1 playoffs was a notable achievement for a team seemingly scrutinized by everyone. But let’s not get complacent. A new meta is a new opportunity for teams to reinvent themselves. Teams that did poorly Stage 1 (London, LA Gladiators) will be hungry to upset a Stage 1 playoff team like Boston. Conversely, Boston gets an opportunity for revenge against Toronto and Vancouver this stage. Plenty of reasons to tune in week-to-week.

Another reason to be excited by Stage 2 is the schedule. Of the 7 teams Boston plays, only 3 were in the Stage 1 playoffs. Only 1 team over .500 didn’t make the playoffs last stage (sorry not sorry Dallas). If Boston can take care of business against the likes of Hangzhou, London, LAG, and Washington, they will be comfortably in the running for Stage 2 playoffs. They’ll have an opportunity to prove their gusto with matches against Atlanta, Toronto, and a redemption shot with Vancouver. Any win against one of those three will go a long way towards moving Uprising into the upper tier of the league.

Week 1’s matchup will be interesting. With Atlanta’s fan-favorite Dafran announcing his retirement, the Reign may be ripe for the feasting. Hopefully Atlanta feeds and Boston can start Stage 2 with a strong rebound from their loss to Vancouver.

We also should hope to see a bit of the Uprising’s bench players – Alemao and Axxiom. Both players are known in the community as more than capable in their roles (Lucio and Winston, respectively). If we see Boston want to changeup their team comps and strategy, hopefully both players will receive an opportunity to shine.

New meta. New teams to play against. A clean slate to work towards a Stage 2 title. Season standings still up in the air. Questions at the DPS position. There is plenty going on for the Uprising. Which is to say they still have that opportunity to PROVE. THEM. WRONG.

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

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

Shotcaller

MONDAY MORNING SHOTCALLER: STAGE 1 PLAYOFFS

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After a difficult Stage 1, the Boston Uprising showed they are in the top tier of the Overwatch League and surprised everyone by making it into the Stage 1 playoffs. Let’s start with some hype.

https://twitter.com/LoadScr33n/status/1107855199396392960

As teams came out the hype was at a fever pitch. Titans marched in to a sea of boos from the Blizzard Arena crowd. After Seoul had just made the year’s biggest upset yet by taking down the NYXL, anything seemed possible. What did Boston have to do to take this match?

As outlined in my preview, the fight would come down to the Bumper/Fusions match. Both teams mirror each other in how they live or die off the success of their main tank. If you look at the stats, the biggest difference is that win rate after first death. Boston only wins 10% of their team fights when Fusions got picked first compared to 25% for Vancouver. That’s an astronomical difference. Clearly Boston would have to prevent the focus on Fusions, rebuff Bumper’s aggression, and work their other advantages.

Additionally, Boston had other win conditions they’d need to meet. Note would have to keep finding those backline support players to pick off. Taking a Zen or Lucio out was key to many of the Uprising’s success this stage. Also, Boston would need to keep their own supports alive. Lastly, would Boston change up their team comps? Would they play like Gengzhou or Chengdu did and play off the 3-3 comp to catch Vancouver off guard? We’d find out pretty quickly about all of these.

Ilios

Boston’s Stage 1 playoffs began with Aimgod getting picked off to start a snowball just outside their spawn. That initial exchange would portend the match’s dynamics. Fusions goes down first the next fight, leading Vancouver to snowball. In their third push, Boston picked off Bumper first, giving them their first cap. Boston did their own spawn camp, holding Vancouver back for some valuable point time. After giving back the point, Boston had one last push. Holding an ultimate advantage, Boston seemed poised for a round 1 upset. Instead, Kellex ran past the team fight to back-cap. While it was effective, the rest of the Uprising couldn’t hold Vancouver. After an Uprising team wipe, Vancouver returned to the point, capped, and won the round 100% – 99%.

Overwatch League fans all were put on alert that the Uprising weren’t going down without a fight. On the next round, Lighthouse, Boston came out with – a Junkrat? Wrecking Ball? Ana and Sombra? Now in my preview I said that Boston had to break the popular 3-3 if they wanted to emulate the Gengzhou and Chengdu strats that worked against Vancouver. Well, sounds like someone over there is listening. With Blase spamming grenades as Junkrat, Boston got a first pick off Bumper and caught the Titans off guard. Boston was unable to keep Vancouver on their heels and switched off when down 29% – 66%. Sadly, it was too late. Having to reset their ultimates cost them dearly, as Vancouver popped off to win the round and map 29% – 100%.

Kings Row

Boston came out on KR unafraid of Vancouver

In the first team fight, Fusions and Bumper both die first – but Titans are the ones able to roll Boston and push back to spawn on Point A. It’s almost like that stat I mentioned (team win rate after tank’s death) would matter. Unfortunately, Boston couldn’t get anything out of their next push as Vancouver picked off Fusions first and wiped Boston. Fortunately, Aimgod had his blinders on in the next push as he spotted Bumper camping with a sneaky Earthshatter loaded up. From there, Fusions ran a great charge into Colourhex’s Graviton that not only picked the Birgitte, but left space for Note to pick off two with his Self Destruct. Point A for Boston.

Vancouver again attempted a stealthy trick play, but Boston responded with a complete team wipe. Boston was unable to turn the final corner to Point B after several fights of dumping ultimates and not getting any picks. Things didn’t look good for Boston.

Back on defense, Boston had a tall task. Vancouver barely had to get over halfway through Point B. Unfortunately, the Titans roll Point A. This whole push was caused by JJanu mimicking Note by going for a backline pick off of Aimgod’s Zenyatta. With that, Boston backs off and cedes Point A to Vancouver. It didn’t get much better. Uprising couldn’t withstand the well-timed support ults of Vancouver. Additionally, Bumper took some time to let the Uprising know just what he thought of them. Not that Boston had anything to respond with. Vancouver continued their push and easily won the second map.

Ouch

Temple of Anubis

Going into halftime, Boston was down 2-0. Would the coaches push the off 3-3 team comp? Could Note be coached into finding Twilight in the backline? Would Boston stop getting the first death so often in team fights? They wouldn’t have long to turn it around.

Offense

Bumper started with the Winston on defense, likely expecting some strange comp from Boston. They don’t oblige, though. Boston runs the 3-3 but with the pounces and Zarya bubbles, Bumper farms his ultimate and unleashes a Primal Rage that wipes the Uprising out during their first push. Next, Boston pushed with the ultimate advantage against Vancouver, but to no effect. Again, Aimgod gets picked first and Vancouver gets the snowball. How about a third try? Sadly, Boston gets wiped after Fusions falls to a Self Destruct and Graviton snowballs the rest of the squad. Perhaps the pressure got to Boston at this point, as the next push ended early with Kellex falling first and the team getting rolled.

The night is darkest just before the dawn, and that’s what we saw with Boston’s offense. With a quick pick on Seominsoo, Kellex went for a backcap that split the Titans. Colourhex, on Widow, gets a nice snipe kill, and Boston prevented what would have been an embarrassing full hold. Colourhex switched back onto Zarya and Boston charged forward, looking for a snowball. They got on the point and started getting picks and time on the point, but not enough. Vancouver was able to keep a stagger long enough to stop the cap. A second push went the same way. Lastly, on a third try, Boston spotted Bumper trying to get the sneaky shatter again and made him pay. Unfortunately, they couldn’t snowball the Titans from being shorthanded and were repelled. Vancouver gave up two ticks but were able to hold.

Defense

On defense, Boston was at least able to hold off the first push from Vancouver. Next, Bumper was picked first, causing another Uprising team kill. Keeping up the momentum, Boston was able to win a team fight highlighted by both team’s Rallies, Self-Destructs, and Graviton Surges. That was it for Point A though. Boston used all their support ults a bit too early and Vancouver pushed aggressively enough with their Sound Barrier to get the first cap.

Boston prevented a quick snowball on Point B and was actually able to hold off a few pushes from Vancouver. Unfortunately, with the spector of the 3 map sweep hanging over them and the Titan’s aggression, Boston eventually ceded. Round, map, and match – Vancouver.

Analysis

The Good

You have to love the tenacity of the Uprising. Down 2-0 in the match and knocking on the door of being full held on Anubis, most teams may have folded. Colourhex flexing onto Widow, Boston using their ults strategically, and Boston gets Point A. Next, the snowball attempts and subsequent pushes were pretty great. No, they didn’t get Point B. But the pushes were some of their best of the whole match and you just have to tip your cap to Vancouver. While the results of the map may not have been what you wanted, Boston fans have to know this is not a team that collapses under the worst pressure.

I respect that the coaches were willing to go off the 3-3 for at least a single stage. Using a Junkrat, Pharah, Wrecking Ball, and Ana comp in Stage playoffs is a bold move. If anything, I wish they’d have experimented more. Vancouver is clearly the kings of 3-3 and trying to win in a mirror matchup may have been shortsighted. Perhaps getting repelled so hard made Boston over correct too much.

The Bad

Why did Boston pick King’s Row when they’re 0-2 going into it? How did you not go with Dorado (2-1), Rialto (1-1), or Route 66 (1-1-0)? There’s no excuse for this poor decision making.

Bumper’s greatest strength is not just shot calling, coordinating his shields, and getting his charge, swing, and shot picks, but helping his team. We saw a lot of the Titans getting the first pick and Bumper dropping the Earth Shatter. Not because they needed it, but to set up his teammates to farm ultimate off the vulnerable Uprising and be set for the next fight. Boston had no answer for him.

However, Bumper’s arrogance on King’s Row with this taunt has put him on a short list of Uprising enemies. His aggressive attempts at getting sneaky Earthshatters shows a level of disrespect.

Without the detailed stats I’m trusting my own observations to confirm Note couldn’t kill Twilight’s Zenyatta all day long. That is not only uncharacteristic, but lethal. With Vancouver having discords at their dispense, that sneaky level of health and nerfs didn’t help Boston’s cause. Seeing as Aimgod got picked off first several times throughout the match, Twilight’s near immortality may have been the motor that fueled Vancouver’s win.

The Uprising

What can we take away from this? It’s been an up-and-down Stage 1 for Boston. Despite all their issues though, they snuck into the Stage 1 playoffs. Most teams would be happy with that. But they came up against the strongest 3-3 team in the league. Vancouver has been playing this comp since last year’s Contender season 3. Losing to them was nothing if not unexpected.

Stage 2 is a new world. So many new buffs, nerfs, changes, and a new hero (Baptiste) will change the way the game is played. No one (especially Vancouver) will have the advantage of playing in the new meta. It’ll be a wild wild west. We saw plenty off great DPS play from Boston throughout the stage and even in this match. Uprising fans should be excited for what’s coming. You can tell the players are:


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