Things have been looking up for the Paris Eternal lately. While they still have some minor issues with positioning, overall, they are looking a lot stronger this stage. Before the stage began, the Paris Eternal appeared to have a relatively easy schedule ahead of them, but with how the Houston Outlaws and the Boston Uprising have been performing, Week 3 is looking to be a bit of a toss-up.
Week 2
While nobody was expecting the Paris Eternal to beat the New York Excelsior, fans were proud of what they were able to accomplish. The fact that they were able to take a map off one of the most dominant teams in the league is a good sign that Paris is improving. While most viewers had issues watching the last map of the series due to technical problems, Paid Chat was able to watch Paris push their way to a map victory on Dorado. Paris seems to have found a starting lineup that works for them. While fans miss seeing Terence “SoOn” Tarlier and George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha on stage, ultimately everyone wants to see the boys succeed. In their game against the Florida Mayhem, Paris started strong, but Lunar Colony was a mess on both sides. The Eternal’s positioning continues to be a consistent problem, but they were able to turn things around and take home a sweet 3-1 victory over the Mayhem.
Week 3
Houston Outlaws (2-1)
The Houston Outlaws have had an interesting season. They’ve been a middle to bottom tier team for so long that viewers often forget they were one of the first teams to make it to Stage 1 finals last season. The Outlaws started off Stage 3 with a bang by taking the New York Excelsior to a Map 5. While they did not win that series, that was the strongest the Outlaws had looked in a year. That is until they faced off against the San Francisco Shock, who they also took to a Map 5. However, this time, Houston came out on top. The Outlaws taking down the mighty San Francisco Shock was a surprise to viewers everywhere.
Houston continued their upward streak by destroying the Boston Uprising. The Outlaws are looking great, and it is mostly due to the efforts of Dante “Danteh” Cruz, Jacob “JAKE” Lyon and Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin. Houston are finally playing to their strengths; their DPS lineup has always been considered one of the strongest in the league, but with the dominance of GOATS, the trio have rarely had a chance to shine. The Outlaws have been working hard and they will be going into this series still high off their victories from last week. The Eternal are going to have to be prepared for whatever Houston throws at them, but Karol “Danye” Szcześniak will especially have to be on his toes. Danye is a great DPS player, but Danteh’s Sombra has become one of, if not the, deadliest in the league.
Prediction: Houston 3-1 Paris
Boston Uprising (0-4)
Things have been rough for the Boston Uprising. Currently, they are 0-4 in the standings alongside the Washington Justice. Boston are looking incredibly ragged and lost. They are constantly flip-flopping between their support players and the frustration of losing is getting to everyone, especially Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth. Fusions had a bit of a meltdown after losing to the Outlaws last weekend. However, he went into the Uprising’s game against the Philadelphia Fusion with a better mindset. While Boston looked a lot better on Ilios, things went downhill for them after tying with Philadelphia on Paris. The Fusion were able to make a massive comeback and take the Uprising down with a 2-1 victory.
Going into this match, the Uprising will be starving for their first stage victory. If they play their cards right, Paris can use that desperation to their advantage. Paris have been working hard, and they will want to maintain their current spot on the table. The Uprising have great players, but with how fragile their support line has been, Paris should have the advantage over them in that regard.
Harrison “Kruise” Pond and Luís “Greyy” Perestrelo have received a lot of criticism by casters and fans for their communication issues. They’ve been known to layer their support ultimates, but so far this stage both players have been very good about spacing out their ultimates for crucial moments in team fights. Greyy especially has made a name for himself after showing how flexible he can be as a player. Swapping onto Widow during the Eternal’s match against the Toronto Defiant saved that series for Paris. His flexibility and consistent Zenyatta play, alongside Kruise’s aggressiveness as a Lucio player, should provide a challenge for the Uprising.
Prediction: Boston 2-3 Paris
Player to watch: Greyy
Greyy has been popping off the past couple of weeks. He’s an excellent Zenyatta, and an even better Ana. With the Boston Uprising playing “Guess Who?” with their healing lineup, both Greyy and Kruise will have to be the backbone of the Paris Eternal as there is no idea which healing duo they’ll have to prepare for.
Greyy will also be going up against Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty; while Rawkus is a mediocre Zenyatta, his Ana play has always been excellent. Rawkus has been a big part of the Outlaws’ recent success. He popped off during the Outlaws match against the New York Excelsior, and it will be interesting to see how Greyy will fare against him.
Conclusion:
At this point, Week 3 is pretty much unpredictable. While the Eternal have been making great strides, it is impossible to guess which versions of the Houston Outlaws and Boston Uprising will show up this week. Paris will have to remain focused this week if they want a shot at beating either team.
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