WHEW. This stage may have been tough for the Boston Uprising so far, but Week 4 looks to be even tougher.
Coming back from a bye-week, Boston came into Week 3 looking to bounce back and rejuvenate their playoff chances. It was mentioned last week how their only match was against a surging Washington Justice, so Boston had time to prepare for one opponent. With every map making the difference, Boston needed to out-perform expectations.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and Boston lost 1-3. It didn’t feel like that bad of a loss, but in regards to making the postseason it certainly hurt their odds.
The best Boston can do now is look forward and take the season one game at a time. Every game now has the same weight of a playoff game, and Boston can no longer afford to make mistakes. This week Boston faces Florida, another team that has significantly turned the corner, and Los Angeles.
This Florida Mayhem team is not the same team from the first three stages. The moment 2-2-2 was introduced into the league, the bottom-tier teams have completely reversed course. Florida is no longer a joke. In fact, they are one of the teams playing the spoiler role for many of the bubble teams in OWL.
Photo: Stewart Volland for Blizzard Entertainment
Already racking up impressive wins against London and Toronto, Florida’s success stems from their star DPS Jeonwoo “Sayaplayer” Ha. A master Widowmaker and the Reaper player of choice for Florida, Boston will need to find a way to slow him down. Given how often Florida looks to play through Sayaplayer, don’t be surprised to see Boston burn a ton of cool downs to ensure he’s out of the fight ASAP.
One of the biggest surprises last week for Boston was the debut of Tracer specialist Dohyung “Stellar” Lee. In an interesting roster decision, Stellar stepped into the Mei role while Jeffery “blase” Tsang flexed over to off-tank. For his first onstage appearance since Stage 1, Stellar under performed quite a bit. He made questionable decisions with his wall placements, and was extremely passive with his ultimate usage. Indecision and uncertainty are ingredients for losing a team fight, and Stellar’s first two maps were loaded with them. He calmed down a bit on Blizzard World where Boston won the map and looked quite good. If Stellar is able to perform with decisiveness and without fear, Boston can see a ton of success.
But that is if he plays. Boston has shown previously rosters are never set in stone, so it is never a sure bet for someone to start.
Back when I was writing for a different site, I had predicted this game would be the first game Boston loses this stage. While I have been completely wrong on each other match so far, I have a suspicion I may be correct this time around.
Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment
The Valiant have been surging since the start of Stage 3 Playoffs, and winning eight of their past 11 games. Stage 3 saw Youngseo “Kariv” Park take center stage as the team’s play maker. In Stage 4 it has been Indy “Space” Halpern’s time to prove to be the difference. The exceptional off-tank has been a rock for the Valiant since the Inaugural Season, but rode the bench for a few stages while GOATs dominated the scene. Now able to play D.Va and Roadhog, Space is back in his rightful spot as the team’s go-to guy.
If Boston wants a shot at beating the Valiant, they will need an outstanding game from the tank line. The difference between these two teams will come down to whose tank line makes more plays. So far in the 2-2-2 lock the focus has almost solely been on each team’s DPS lineup. Look for Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth to be the focal point of Boston’s attack, as he acts as the primary shot caller for the team.
In order for the Boston tanks to play aggressive or stay in fights, the support line needs to keep them alive. Zion “Persia” Zang played relatively solid as Moira against the Justice, but it takes two to keep a map in your favor. Kristian “Kellex” Keller is the most veteran member of this Boston team. His leadership was noticeably absent in Stage 3 when he was benched for Renan “Alemao” Moretto. Now back in his starting spot, the duo have had issues finding success when playing together. Currently Boston is 0-7 with these two in the lineup. If the supports can clean up any issues they are having, Boston will have a fighting chance against a tough Valiant squad.
Now with just four games remaining, Boston has no more room for error. It’s time to see what the Boston Uprising can do in Stage 4 Week 4.
Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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