It has been two weeks since Boston’s rough outing down at the Washington Justice homestand, but they are eager to get back into action. With the cancellation of their match against Florida, the Uprising have had plenty of time to work out a strategy with the current hero pools. This is the true test for the Uprising coaches and players, as they have had the opportunity to fully develop the most optimal composition for the team. Boston needs to show some signs of improvement as they head into a fully-online weekend.
Toronto Defiant (1-4)
The first match coming off of the break is the Toronto Defiant –Â a team that has quickly become one of the strangest groups to gauge. After their impressive week 1 victory of the Paris Eternal, Toronto has lost 4 straight matches. The loss against Philadelphia came at the hands of a reverse sweep. The following match against Atlanta the Defiant appeared severely outclassed, and the losses against Florida and Houston seemed out of character.
Boston, at a glance, has an opportunity to steal a win against the Defiant. Toronto overall has been streaky as a team, having some incredibly impressive moments be left inconsequential as they fail to convert those moments into meaningful results. If Boston is able to take advantage of Toronto’s missed opportunities, they can turn close rounds into map victories.
For Kristian “Kellex” Keller, Toronto’s main-support, it will be a bittersweet match against his old team. Kellex survived as one of the few players to avoid Boston’s initial roster revamp from Season 1. He proved to be a much-needed calm and collected presence throughout 2019. Now on the Defiant, Kellex finds himself surrounded by star power rather than scrappy, unproven players. Min-seok “AimGod” Kwon has already gotten the best of the Uprising in his grudge match, and it will be fun to watch if Boston can stop Kellex from doing the same.
Prediction: Boston 3-2
New York Excelsior (5-1)
This rematch will be quite the herculean task for the Uprising. New York proved to viewers that their first few games were simply just for Seung-jung “WhoRU” Lee and Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park to get some stage time. Entering this weekend, it will likely be the DPS duo of Hae-seong “Libero” Kim and Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong facing the Uprising. The Boston roster can not compete with the star-studded lineup of New York. But that hasn’t stopped Boston from at least scaring the Excelsior, as they had at the end of 2019.
The key takeaway for Boston in this match is to look at least competitive. Against Atlanta, Boston looked lost and unprepared. The compositions were easily defeated, and the team looked hesitant to even think about swapping something around. Now is the time for the Uprising to show improvement. Even though they are likely to lose against New York, it is important to show growth in this game. Both coaches and players need to showcase what they can do with plenty of prep time.
Prediction: NYXL 3-0
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