The toughest part of any off-season is losing a player that fans thought would stick around for years to come. For Boston, that player was Tae-hee “Jerry” Min, who was released on Thursday, November 5. Jerry’s absence leaves a large void in the Boston roster, as they now need to find a new hit-scan that can really hold their own in the Overwatch League.
The main issue with the Uprising is the same as its always been – their wallet. Top tier DPS players are expensive, and finding a player out of contenders will usually requiring winning a bidding war. With their track record, the Uprising will most likely try to find a new talent that will surely surprise fans. However, this year could equally be a bit different, where Boston could look to find known talent at the DPS level.
[Related: Top 3 Potential Main Support Signings for the Boston Uprising]
Boston attempted to grab a veteran presence last year with Sang-beom “Munchkin” Byeon, but it didn’t pan out as well as the Uprising would have liked. That shouldn’t stop them from trying again this year, as the DPS free agency is the deepest it has ever been. It’ll be interesting to see what the Uprising look for in a new DPS candidate, but there are at least a few players out there that would make a fine addition to the Boston roster.
Samir “Tsuna” Ikram
As one of the many instant-adds for the Vancouver Titans this past season, Tsuna was put in an awkward spot from the start. Not only was he stuck playing on high ping as he was unfortunately stuck in France, but he was transitioned to the flex DPS position. Learning a new position, on a brand new team, with an incredible disadvantage that he could not control all combine into one tough debut.
Tsuna was eventually benched in favor of Niclas “ShockWave” Jensen, and never got the starting position back.While it appears to be a random guess at first look, Tsuna and new head coach Seung-hyun “Lori” Kim have a bit of history together. Lori was the coach for the short lived Eternal Academy with Tsuna playing the majority of the hit-scan role for the roster. If Lori believes in his ability even after a horrid 2020 outing, Boston may be adding another Frenchman to the organization.
Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse
This is the surprising option, but it isn’t the most outlandish thing for Boston. Colourhex has previously shown the ability to play a very strong hit-scan role with McCree and Widowmaker, but it has been quite some time since he has needed to fill that void. With Jerry on the team, Colourhex needed to only focus on every other flex DPS character. Colourhex can learn multiple heroes, but realistically he needs to be in a position where he can start to master characters.
With Jerry now gone, this could be Chex’s chance to transition into a smaller hero-pool. Recently, Colourhex has been grinding much more Sombra and Tracer than he has in the past. This is potentially just a personal preference to play those heroes, but it could be an indication that the Uprising want Colourhex to play a much more focused role in 2021. Keep tabs on Boston’s favorite flex player, as he may be wearing a much different hat going forward.
Jin-ui “im37” Hong
The soon-to-be commissioner of the Overwatch League has been enjoying his time in Korean Contenders. After his short stint playing in NA for Uprising Academy, he joined WGS as a loan were he promptly made a huge difference. Typically an Ashe and Widowmaker player for WGS, im37 has shown he can duel with the best during his time with the Defiant.
Im37 joining the Uprising would simply make sense looking at the situation around the two. He is already a part of the organization, making his acquisition extremely easy. He is a veteran, having played in the Overwatch League back in 2019. Im37 is hungry to prove himself once again, and his play on both UA and WGS has shown how much he wants to be back on the big stage. The Uprising org speaks incredibly highly of im37, making his promotion extremely likely. Not to mention, he has fluent English as well – a perfect trait for a mixed roster.
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Featured image courtesy of the Boston Uprising
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