Something’s up with the Boston Uprising

Four games in to the Overwatch League’s fourth stage, and the Boston Uprising are still winless. The team had a stunning run in the previous stage—under the stress of losing an important team member, Boston Uprising went undefeated in the regular season, losing only to New York Excelsior in the stage finals.

But Boston’s success in stage three hasn’t translated to the Overwatch League’s stage four, and Boston is coming dangerously close to losing their season playoff spot. Boston is ranked third overall, but they’re three maps away from losing their playoff slot. It’s a scenario that almost no one saw coming after the team’s undefeated run in stage three.

Related: Los Angeles Valiant hand Boston Uprising their fourth straight loss

Something’s up with the Boston Uprising.

Boston Uprising president Chris Loranger declined to comment on the inner workings of the team. “Bottom line is for multiple reasons the team has been struggling this stage,” Loranger wrote on Discord. “Some of the factors are under our control, some of them not. My goal is and always has been to put the team in the best position possible to succeed.”

Loranger added that commenting “recent events” would “degrade” himself and the team. “Recently the team has been doing better,” he added. “Realistically, the goal is to make playoffs and be the team team by the end of the year so that we put everyone in the best position to succeed.”

Boston is often heralded for its internal structure—a structure that may have fallen apart after the team lost its head coach, Park “Crusty” Dae-hee to the San Francisco Shock. Of course, nothing’s for certain there, except that Boston has struggled since he’s left. A heavily-changed meta is also to blame for Boston’s struggles—dive isn’t entirely dead, but it’s not nearly as dominant as it was in stage three. The addition of Overwatch’s new support, Brigitte, has benefit teams that play slowly and methodically. Boston has struggled to adapt to the changing meta; their hero pools just don’t fit here.

Boston’s lost to Philadelphia Fusion, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, and Los Angeles Valiant so far. The roster will face London Spitfire and San Francisco Shock this week—the latter of which will be a serious motivator for the team.

If Boston is to keep their position in the Overwatch League playoffs, then something’s got to change. Boston must prove their adaptability is still there, even without coach Park. It’s the same team, but they’ve got to regain that structure.