Boston Uprising (3-3) vs Florida Mayhem (1-5)
The Boston Uprising vs Florida Mayhem was a game with high stakes. If Boston could manage to sweep the Mayhem, it would keep their playoff chances alive and well. Florida isn’t a team to count out so easily, and the Uprising would be silly to dismiss their growing power. However, the Uprising were ready for the challenge, and showed the League why they’re never to be counted out.Â
Busan Boston 2-0 Florida
The game started at the MEKA base, with the Uprising choosing a more tentative approach to the first fight. Despite gaining control of the point first, they lost their percentage quickly. Luckily, it only took one team fight and a massive triple kill from Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth for Boston to gain control back. By forcing out enemy ultimates, Boston came into the next fight ready to go. Lucas “NotE” Meissner managed to eat Jae-mo “xepheR” Koo’s graviton at the end of the round, giving them the upper edge. They managed to cap completely, and win the first round.
Traveling to downtown Busan, the Uprising displayed nothing less than dominance. Playing towards ultimate control allowed them to constantly win in team fights. NotE and Fusions especially worked well in that aspect, and allowed their team to collect kills with combinations. With Florida unable to answer, the Uprising won the map, 2-0.
Numbani Boston 3-2 Florida
With Boston attacking first, the game got moving very quickly. A near instantaneous first point cap allowed the Uprising to start payload progression immediately. The second point was smooth sailing as well, with a well placed bomb from NotE to clutch a double kill. The third point proved a little tougher than the others, though the Uprising were quick to regroup. Despite being held back, last minute plays from Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse and Minseok “AimGod” “Jeff” Kwon enabled a team kill for the Mayhem. They were then free to complete the map.
When the roles reversed, Florida had a hard time breaking through the stronghold that Boston set up. However, with just under a minute left, the Mayhem found a way to succeed. A shatter and bomb combination by xepheR and Seong-won “Swon” Yoon secured a double kill, and a first point cap. Though they were held again around the bend of the second point, the Mayhem pulled through once more.
With Florida inching towards the finish line, Colourhex decided he’d had enough. With another graviton and bomb combination, they secured two kills. From there, cleaning up the rest of the Mayhem was easy. The Uprising managed to hold Florida, winning the map 3-2.
Horizon Boston 5-4 Florida
Up two at the half, the Uprising came in ready to win this map, and the series. The first push went extremely well, with Boston pushing in and taking control immediately. The second point push went a little slower, however, the wait was worth it. Wasted ultimates from the Mayhem let Boston take the stage. Kills trickled through, and a push back from Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang allowed the Uprising to complete the second point capture.
In a strange turn of events, the Mayhem were quick to return the favor. In a near instant, the Mayhem had taken the first point. xepheR managed to use space control to keep the Uprising at bay as well, allowing them to complete a second point capture. With six minutes remaining, that left Boston to attack first once more.
The second time around, it took the Uprising a little longer to push through. It wasn’t until Fusions scored a double kill that they found some success. On the heels of a power play, the Uprising managed to complete the first point capture. The second point came on the heels of a snowball, with NotE and Colourhex leading the way, they finished their second point capture.
Florida had a larger time bank, but despite their advantage, Boston held a good defense. Playing around Sang-bum “BQB” Lee’s Sombra play, they managed to waste a minute of time in letting the Mayhem capture the first point. From there, another four minutes were drawn out, with big plays from Fusions and Kristian “Kellex” Keller to keep the Uprising standing. However, in the end, they couldn’t full hold,and the Mayhem completed their second point capture as well.
With less time, the Uprising had one more chance to take Horizon. Pushed into overtime, they managed to pull out a complete capture of the first point. However, with just 30 seconds to get the second point, they were held back and denied any capture. When Florida got their chance, the Uprising was ready. Paying careful attention to Sombra gave them a stronger ground, and in the end, they managed to fend them off. The Uprising won the map, 5-4.
Dorado Boston 2-1 Florida
With the series clinched, the Boston Uprising went into this game ready to sweep. Dorado proved a little more difficult than others, however, with their initial pushes after the first point being stalled out. BQB on Sombra gave them some troubles, causing NotE to stay by the point on guard. Both pushes came about in last minute plays, particularly off of some amazing zoning from Fusions.
A triple kill and double flame strike kill held Mayhem back, allowing the Uprising to continue their progression. As they approached the end of the map, however, they fell to the power of Sombra. With AimGod being separated from the team, they were unable to finish the map.
The Mayhem were tentative on their first attack, deciding again to bring out the Sombra play. However, after rounds of facing this oppressive play, the Uprising were ready. Despite giving up the first and second point, they kept the Mayhem back until the very end. A huge transcendence from AimGod kept the Uprising up in overtime, and their focus of BQB allowed them to play more aggressively. At the buzzer, the Mayhem were unable to push past the Uprising. Boston won the map, 2-1.
Conclusion
This game was important for the Uprising if they wanted a shot at making it into the stage playoffs. By successfully sweeping the Florida Mayhem, they’ve skyrocketed to ninth place overall, putting them just one team away from touching playoff territory. However, some of these matches were a little too close for comfort, and the Uprising certainly have some tidying up to do before they face a big challenge in the Dallas Fuel. Overall, this victory is exactly the encouragement they need to push forward.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Overwatch League.
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