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In 2020, the Boston Uprising will be betting its Overwatch League season on talented rookies instead of veteran players.
After coming in 19th place in 2019, Uprising management cleaned house, letting go of multiple players and the majority of their coaching staff. The rebuilt roster uses a number of Overwatch Contenders players from multiple regions. In the Atlantic North division, the Uprising could be a wild card that the top dogs will have to contend with.
Tank
Main tank Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth was the highlight of Boston’s 2019 roster. A stable and confident shotcaller, Fusions rose up from a two-way contract after Noh “Gamsu” Young-jin was traded to the Shanghai Dragons. He and Park “Axxiom” Min-sub will be tasked with carrying on their relative main tank success from 2019. Fusions and Axxiom are two of the three players who weren’t let go in the Uprising’s offseason purge.
To fill the off-tank role, Boston has brought in Thomas Brussen, who had an impressive showing in the 2019 Overwatch World Cup as a part of Team Netherlands. He’s played on a host of European Overwatch Contenders teams, including Angry Titans and Young and Beautiful. Joining him is Walid “Mouffin” Bassal, an off-tank from Boston’s Contenders team, Uprising Academy. Mouffin will stay on a two-way contract and provide off-tank duties for both teams.
Support
Of all the roles Boston Uprising fans should be concerned about, support may be the biggest issue. Seo “Myunbong” Sang-min, formerly of Korean Contenders teams O2 Blast and Armament, will fill the flex support role. The all-important role of main support will be solely held by Gabriel “Swimmer” Levy of Uprising Academy.
While both players are immensely talented, a support line with no backups is concerning for any team. They’ll have to dig deep to provide all the heroes necessary after Hero Pools begin in the league.
DPS
The Uprising decided to hold on to New Zealand DPS Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse after he showed incredible promise during the 2019 season. Despite a lack of team coordination or support, he was routinely able to fight it out with other superstar hitscan DPS players.
He’ll be joined by Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, formerly of the Seoul Dynasty. Munchkin didn’t have an inordinate amount of play time on the Dynasty, but he’s been in the Overwatch scene long enough to bring a level of veteran expertise to the DPS line.
Boston’s third DPS is Min “Jerry” Tae-Hui, who previously played for Meta Athena in Overwatch Contenders Korea. Meta Athena’s results weren’t stellar during his time on the team, but as a former off-tank player, Jerry may bring enhanced knowledge of the game.
2020 outlook
A radically different roster isn’t too out of place for the Uprising, which has prided itself on using relatively unknown talent each year in the Overwatch League. This time around, Boston has to focus on its veteran players while training its rookie additions. While success is possible, that’s a lot of pressure to put on management in addition to travel and scheduling.
Boston’s best bet is to prioritize its knowledgeable, veteran players like Fusions and Colourhex. Fusions has shown himself to be a star even without team support, thanks to his strategic abilities. Beyond this, Boston could look to pick up a few extra players during the season to provide much-needed backup and Hero Pool options for its support line.
To start off their season, the Boston Uprising will be playing the New York Excelsior on Feb. 9 at 2pm CT.
