Boston Uprising (8-12) vs Paris Eternal (8-12)
This rematch of the Boston Uprising vs Paris Eternal gave the Boston boys a shot at redemption. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Uprising fell to the Eternal in a 1-3 loss. Paris has also been a team on the rise this past stage, with enough wins coming through to give them a shot at Stage 3 playoffs. Though Boston is out of the running, they still made this series worth a watch, and gave fans a show in true Uprising fashion.
Oasis (Boston 0-2 Paris)
The game started at the Gardens, where Boston tried to implement their Sombra and Doomfist composition. Against the Eternal and their GOATs composition, Boston’s DPS tactics didn’t fair very well. Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait was hungry on Reinhardt, and Karol “Danye” Szcześniak had more chances to build a Graviton Surge much faster than his Uprising counterpart, Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse. Despite a brief flip in Boston’s favor, the point went in favor of Paris. Boston lost the point, 35-100%.
The City Center told more of the same story. Boston tried to flex onto other DPS heroes, with Colourhex playing Pharah and Kristian “Kellex” Kellar following him on Mercy. The initial engagement for the point was long lasting, but Paris ended up claiming it in the end. The Uprising were nearly full held, but managed to flip at 95% to Paris due to Colourhex getting the necessary picks. Sadly, rCk was eliminated before he could use his EMP, and the team fell. Boston lost the map, 0-2.
Volskaya Industries (Boston 1-2 Paris)
Boston got a chance to attack first, though things were slow to start. They chose a poke composition, with Colourhex on Widowmaker, and Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang on Pharah. One tick of progress was gained through a good Rocket Barrage, but the team had to retreat. Paris and their GOATs composition countered the damage coming through too heavily. It wasn’t until an EMP from Richard “rCk” Kanerva hit just the right people that Boston saw more progress. The first point was taken in overtime, off of a triple kill from Colourhex on Hanzo. From there, Boston was able to snowball the first two ticks on the second point. They were pushed back, and sadly, never recovered enough to gain the last tick.
The Uprising’s defense was hard to watch, as it quickly crumbled at the hands of Tracer. Finnbjörn “Finnsi” Jónasson flexed onto Widowmaker as well, sweeping away the team after Danye secured the hacks. As the Eternal charged to steam roll, there was an all out brawl in the small room with the mega healthpack. Both teams lost key players, with two supports from Paris surviving against Minseok “AimGod” “Jeff” Kwon.
He couldn’t contest at first, giving up a tick for free until he could stall with a use of Transcendence. Things looked to swing in the Uprising’s favor when AimGod, now on Ana, slept BenBest in the middle of his Earth Shatter. Off of that, Colourhex secured a nice Graviton, and a hefty team wipe. Sadly, with little progress to make, Paris only needed to win one fight to secure it. Despite a nice EMP and attempted stall from rCk, the Eternal succeeded, and Boston lost the map, 1-2.
Eichenwalde (Boston 5-4 Paris)
Down at the half, Boston wasn’t out of the game just yet. Attacking first, Boston chose another DPS heavy composition. With blasé on his signature Doomfist, and Colourhex in the skies as Pharah, the point was free range. Without a D.Va on the Eternal side, Colourhex was free to reign justice from above. Three kills later, they secured the point, and the payload began to move. The second point came quickly as well. Off of a failed EMP from Danye, Boston got better picks, and Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth cleaned up house at the castle gates with a well placed Mine Field.
Paris found their footing when Danye landed a well timed EMP, and Boston was sent back to the drawing board. Switching to a more GOATs like composition, rCk and blasé combined their EMP and Meteor Strike. The necessary kills came through for them to just barely finish the map. Another attack came in on the heels of an EMP, Graviton, and Earth Shatter combination. In overtime, Boston met the checkpoint, and completed the map.
Boston’s defense started off strong, it seemed, with a DPS centered composition. However, Paris knew how to skirt around them, and the first point was picked up with ease. The Eternal pushed through the second point quickly, and despite a good Rocket Barrage from blasé, they got the second checkpoint. A last minute switch to GOATs helped slightly, but the fight at the end of the map was scrappy until the end. Boston kept trickling out, with last minute stall picks draining the Eternal’s time bank. In the end, Paris finished with just under two minutes left.
The Uprising’s stall worked in their favor, since they then gained a minute of attack time in their own bank. Quickly, Boston switched from GOATs to a DPS comp, and charged forward. The push was long and messy, and in overtime, Boston pulled out all the stops. A Nanoboost from AimGod onto Kellex kept him alive, and blasé was free to get picks on Doomfist that cleared the point. As many members as possible had to stay on the cart, since overtime had engaged. With just one fight, however, Paris pushed the Uprising away. The cart stopped just beyond the gates, and Boston’s push was finished.
Once more, Boston chose a GOATs centric defense. Things seemed strong at first, but the Eternal pushed in with aggression to secure the point as quickly as they could. When the Uprising returned, they fought on the payload, trying as hard as possible to keep Paris at bay. Colourhex used a well placed Graviton to isolate the team, while rCk used Self Destruct on top of the payload to zone Paris. Boston dominated the kill feed, and Paris had no answer. Boston won the map, 4-3.
Dorado (Boston 3-2 Paris)
With their heads back in the game, Boston attacked first with a vengeance. The Eternal tried an interesting strategy, with Nico flexing onto Mei. Continuously, he would switch between Ice Wall and Ice Block to contest the point from a side room. The payload didn’t move, despite bodies being on it.
Fusions could only watch for so long before he used his Pile Driver to wipe Nico away. Colourhex followed up with a Rocket Barrage, and blasé did the same with his Riptire. From there, the Uprising were free to progress to the first checkpoint. Through the second point, blasé continued to pop off, switching over to his Doomfist. The second checkpoint came with ease, and Boston only lost the fight once before coming back. Completing the map in overtime, the Uprising found success in blase and his damage plays.
On their defense, Boston chose to play more of the same DPS centric composition. They managed to stall out Paris just shy of the first checkpoint with a well timed EMP and Rocket Barrage from rCk and blasé. Colourhex was also able to click heads on Widowmaker, shutting down Luís “Greyy” Perestrelo and his Coalescence
Despite their good hold, Paris still got the first checkpoint in overtime. Danye then flexed onto Widowmaker to challenge Colourhex, and his success earned Paris the second checkpoint. Switching to a GOATs composition, Boston found more success, and stalled out the Eternal as they turned the first corner. Fusions landed a game changing Earth Shatter in overtime, and Boston managed to deny their map completion. The Uprising won the map, 3-2.
Nepal (Boston 2-0 Paris)
It’s not a Boston game if there’s no map five. On the edges of another reverse sweep, the Uprising chose to start a strange DPS composition at the Sanctum. After a swift team fight, Boston switched to a standard GOATs instead. It took a while of poking and prodding, but Boston flipped the point, with 85% already in the Eternal’s favor. The fights on the point were scrappy, and both teams pushed hungrily for their win. In the end, Colourhex got more success out of his Graviton Surge. Fusions using his Primal Rage to boop Paris away from the map locked it down, and Boston won the first round.
It all came down to the Temple. Choosing their Sombra and Doomfist composition, Boston fell first, letting Paris have the first claim. The Uprising then waited until they had enough ultimates to swing things in their favor. By hacking Harrison “Kruise” Pond first to deny his Sound Barrier, rCk Translocated onto the point and landed a massive EMP.
The team wiped, and Boston gained control. Paris managed to take it back at 49% to Boston off of a massive Earth Shatter from BenBest. However, Colourhex came back into the fight with a well timed Graviton. At 99% to Paris, Boston took the point as their own. The overtime meter began to tick down as both teams clashed for their lives. rCk managed to land a six man EMP, and Fusions led the charge to wipe the Eternal. The wicked burned, and Boston won the map, 2-0.
Conclusion
Boston have put a win up on the board for Stage 3. Though some might call this achievement late, since they’re already out of Stage 3 playoff contention, this win gives hope to all Boston Uprising fans. Watching them struggle has been heart breaking, and seeing the look on the players faces after their losses have set a somber tone for the team. However, this win ties them with the Paris Eternal in the overall League standings. Season playoffs are not out of the realm of possibility. After their rematch against Philadelphia next week, the Uprising and their fans should look ahead to Stage 4. The only way to go is up, #BostonUp.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Overwatch League.
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