The Boston Uprising season started not with a bang, but with a whimper. While fans got the chance to see the new lineup play, the Uprising left a lot of spectators wanting more. Boston does get another shot at proving themselves as the team heads to Washington for their second match of the season.
Week 1 Review
New York Excelsior (0-0)
Boston’s 2020 season started on a rough note, losing a quick 3-0 match against the New York Excelsior. The New York Excelsior gave their fans at home a show, making short work of the opposition. Boston did have a few bright spots, namely in returning DPSÂ Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse and rookie support Sang-min “Myunbong” Seo.
Boston couldn’t handle the much more aggressive New York lineup. New York’s off-tank Hong-jun “HOTBA” Choi made it a point to disrupts Boston’s set plays as soon as possible, even if it meant putting himself in harm’s way. Luckily for him, he was never in danger thanks to stellar play from his support line. Boston’s failture to capitalize on picks and over-aggressive New York players created numerous problems that lead to their 0-1 start.
Player of the Match: Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang
Photo: Stewart Volland for Blizzard Entertainment
In the team’s home opener, it’s only fitting the Inaugural season MVP would shine. JJoNak proved every bit worthy of the patch on his sleeve against Boston, providing a stellar performance on Ana. Boston had no answers for JJoNak, and New York rolled over the Uprising.
Week 3 Preview
Opponent: Houston Outlaws (0-2)
The Uprising have had a week to prepare for their match against Houston, putting a lot of spotlight onto the coaching staff. Through the 2019 season, Boston failed to adjust properly to the ever-evolving GOATs meta. Now with a new coaching staff and new players to utilize, the Uprising have an exciting opportunity to show the rest of the league that Boston is ready to compete.
If there is one other team trying to make a good second impression, it’s the Houston Outlaws. The Outlaws did not have a great time in their 2020 debut, losing both matches in horrible 0-3 fashion. Their struggles began early, losing against the new-look Florida Mayhem in a match that was anticipated to be much closer. Losing to the Washington Justice in an one-sided affair only made critics more doubtful about the rebuilt Houston roster. Both teams are looking at each other as a “must-win” matchup. Hopefully, Houston is at full strength and full health for this bout as all eyes are on the bottom-two teams.
The difference maker in this matchup will be the DPS lines of each team. While Boston’s DPS struggled against a tough New York team, Houston’s DPS players failed to really make any meaningful opportunities for the team. Team fights are much less coordinated and scripted as they were back in GOATs, giving the team that can adjust the edge in drawn out battles. Boston has already shown fans that they have the potential to save lost fights thanks to a few clutch kills from Colourhex, so it’ll be up to the Outlaws to be ready for quick, turn-around fights.
Prediction: 3-1 Boston Uprising
Player to Watch: Sang-beom “Munchkin” Byeon
Looking back at the replay of their first match, Munchkin was unfortunately one of the few players that made some questionable decisions for the Uprising. Munchkin found himself holding onto ultimates much longer than his counterpart on New York. Potentially worried about the next fight, Munchkin often didn’t see the need to commit more resources into a winning fight as though the team was playing in a different meta. As it stands, Boston needs to commit more cooldowns to win fights than some other teams may see necessary. If Munchkin can manage his cooldowns a bit better, his mechanical skill will see the Uprising to a win.
Catch the Uprising’s game against Houston Saturday, February 22 on YouTube!
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