Boston Uprising Go Undefeated in OWL Stage 3, Pick Playoff Opponent

Sydney Olmstead 6 years ago
Mistakes
Mistakes
Sydney Olmstead 6 years ago

Yesterday, the Boston Uprising became the first and only team to go undefeated for an entire stage in the Overwatch League after it defeated the Los Angeles Gladiators, 3-1.

The Uprising boasts a bit of an underdog story because back when the team’s Stage Three lineup was announced, most analysts predicted they’d be a bottom-tier team. Though their roster had potential, few players had ever been on high level competitive teams.

Yet, Uprising has come out on top on the road to playoffs, going 10-0 on stage and winning 14 games in a row.

But the battle wasn’t easily won for Boston on Friday. It was an important match for the Gladiators, who needed every map win they could get in order to put some space between them and the Philadelphia Fusion and Seoul Dynasty for that sweet stage playoff spot.

The Uprising had a dominant start given that the first map of the series was Volskaya, on which the team has never been defeated. Boston also stayed strong on Numbani, fully holding the Gladiators on the first point and then securing the one tick they needed on attack on their first push.

But the Gladiators weren’t going down without a fight and struck back on Nepal, even after a rocky start. Finally, the series ended on Route 66 after a hard-earned, clutch-play victory for Boston.

Boston’s Kwon “Striker” Nam Joo, the best Tracer player in the league, credited his teammates as well as the team’s entire staff in making the team’s win streak possible. The Uprising had famously selected players for their ability to be coached prior to the season. Because of this, it has cultured a team-first environment that’s proven to be quite successful.

Friday’s win secured Boston’s top seed in Sunday’s Stage Three playoffs, meaning they had the chance to pick their first playoff opponent.

In previous stages, only three teams reached the stage playoffs and before this stage the Uprising would have received a bye into the final match. But stage three features a new playoff format. Four teams reach the playoffs and the top-seeded team gets to pick their opening round challenger.

Boston got to choose between the New York Excelsior, the Los Angeles Valiant and the Los Angeles Gladiators. They went with the fourth-seeded Gladiators, who finished Stage Three with a 6-4 record.

Boston is pretty confident going into Sunday’s opening playoff match-up, but the Gladiators are sure to put up a solid fight and will be eager to bounce back after Friday’s loss.

The Los Angeles Valiant will be facing the 27-3 New York Excelsior on Sunday as well. The fight for the $100,000 top prize starts at 1:00 p.m. PDT tomorrow.