For Boston fans, it has felt like forever since the Uprising have won even a map. Back to back 3-0 losses have certainly dampened the spirits of Uprising fans, but the team looks to put those results in the past. Next up, the Uprising have to be the best blue and yellow team as they face the Los Angeles Valiant on Saturday.
Los Angeles Valiant (3-6)
The Valiant are a much better team than their record would suggest. There aren’t a lot of teams that have the misfortune of playing the old Vancouver Titans in week 1, and then San Francisco Shock three times. Their other losses were thanks to an array of 3 other strong teams – the Seoul Dynasty, the Los Angeles Gladiators, and the Dallas Fuel. In the matches against the Fuel and the Gladiators, the Valiant brought their opponents to map 5 in impressive fashion. The mental strength of this team cannot be questioned, and Boston will certainly have trouble taking advantage of mental mistakes as they will be few and far between.
Los Angeles is an incredibly tough team to face, as their deep pool of DPS players allows them to have a specialist for most roles. While Kai “KSP” Collins remains solidly in the starting lineup, the Valiant haven’t been afraid to sub in new faces when the meta dictates something a little different. As a new McCree meta looms on the horizon, Tae-hee “Jerry” Min will square-off against KSP in what could be a very entertaining hit-scan duel.
Boston Needs to Grow Week to Week
By playing the Mayhem in back-to-back weeks, Boston saw their small improvements in real time. The team in general executed a much more aggressive game plan, and looked competitive on attack. Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse and Sang-min “Myunb0ng” Seo found themselves back on more comfort picks and certainly looked the part.
The issue remained on defense, as they folded to any amount of pressure from Florida. Boston failed to put up any resistance to the Mayhem’s double-shield composition. The team needs to use this week as a way to improve their ability to play defense, to just keep the matches alive. If Boston can win a map against a streaking Valiant squad, it will certainly be a win on their end.
Prediction: Valiant 3-0
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