2020 Boston Uprising season

The 2020 Boston Uprising season was the third season of Boston Uprising's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis. Boston planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season at Citizens Bank Opera House in Boston,[1] but all homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 Boston Uprising season
Head coachVytis "Mineral" Lasaitis
OwnerRobert Kraft
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionNorth
RegionNorth America
Results
Record2–19 (.095)
Place
May MeleeDid not qualifty
Summer ShowdownKnockouts
Countdown CupDid not qualify
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$0

The Uprising qualified for one midseason tournament, the Summer Showdown, in the 2020 season but were eliminated by the Washington Justice in the knockouts round.[2] The Uprising ended the season with 2 wins and 19 losses in the regular season and were eliminated from postseason contention after losing to the Atlanta Reign in the North America Play-in tournament.[3]

Preceding offseason

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Organizational changes

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In September 2019, Boston announced that former Florida Mayhem head coach Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis would be the fill the team's head coach vacancy, which had been empty for over a year.[4] A month later, the Uprising released assistant coaches Jordan "Gunba" Graham and Jackson "Shake" Kaplan; the team signed Ilias "iLka" Kaskanetas, who had most recently been the head coach of European Overwatch Contenders team Angry Titans, as an assistant coach.[5] On December 9, the team signed former HSL Esports support player Valentin "Ascoft" Wulfman as an assistant coach.[6]

Roster changes

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Free agents
Role Player Contract
status
Date signed 2020 team
Handle Name
Support Aimgod Min-Seok Kwon Free agent November 8 Washington Justice[7]
Support Kellex Kristian Keller Free agent November 5 Toronto Defiant[8]
Legend
  Re-signed/Retained by the Uprising.
  Departed from the Uprising.

The Uprising enter the new season with two free agents, four players which they have the option to retain for another year, and four players under contract.[9] The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.[10]

Acquisitions

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Boston made their first offseason acquisitions on October 28, when they signed support Seo "Myunbong" Sang-min and DPS Min "Jerry" Tae-hui from Korean Contenders teams from O2 Blast and Meta Athena, respectively.[11] On November 7, Boston promoted support Gabriel "Swimmer" Levy and off-tank Walid "Mouffin" Bassal from their academy team, Uprising Academy. While Swimmer was promoted to play strictly for Boston, Mouffin was put on a two-way contract.[12] On November 21, Uprising signed former Seoul Dynasty DPS Sang-Beom "Munchkin" Byun,[13] and a day later, they signed tank Thomas "brussen" Brussen.[14]

Departures

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The Uprising announced on October 21 that they would not elect to retain all four of their players with a team option – support Yang "Persia" Zion, support Renan "alemao" Moretto, off-tank Richard "rCk" Kanerva, and DPS Lee "Stellar" Do-hyung. Additionally, they also announced the same day that they would not re-sign either of their free agents – Kwon "AimGod" Min-seok and Kristian "Kellex" Keller.[15] The following day, the team transferred DPS Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang to the Houston Outlaws.[16]

Roster

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2020 Boston Uprising roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 17 Colourhex Birse, Kelsey New Zealand
Damage 1 Jerry Min Tae-hui South Korea
Tank 10 Axxiom (I) Park Min-seob South Korea
Tank 25 Fusions Bosworth, Cameron United Kingdom
Tank 3 mikeyy Konicki, Michael United States
Tank 5 Punk Gilchrist, Leyton Australia
Support 24 Halo Hamand, Haley United States
Support 13 Myunbong Seo Sang-min South Korea
Head coach
  • Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  •   Substitute
  •   Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: May 21, 2020.

Transactions

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Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season:

  • On March 2, the Uprising released DPS Byun "Munchkin" Sang-beom.[17]
  • On March 3, the Uprising signed support Haley "Halo" Hamand.[18]
  • On April 4, the Uprising released tank Walid "Mouffin" Bassal.[19]
  • On April 14, the Uprising released support Gabriel "Swimmer" Levy.[20]
  • On May 11, the Uprising signed tank Leyton "Punk" Gilchrist.[21]
  • On May 12, tank Thomas "brussen" Brussen retired.[22]
  • On May 21, the Uprising signed tank Michael "mikey" Konicki.[23]

Standings

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Pos Con Team Pld W BW L PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 ATL Philadelphia Fusion 21 19 5 2 0.905 59 19 0 +40 Advance to playoffs
2 PAC San Francisco Shock 21 18 7 3 0.857 56 17 2 +39
3 ATL Paris Eternal 21 15 4 6 0.714 50 31 0 +19
4 ATL Florida Mayhem 21 14 3 7 0.667 48 30 0 +18
5 PAC Los Angeles Valiant 21 11 1 10 0.524 41 41 0 0
6 PAC Los Angeles Gladiators 21 11 0 10 0.524 43 39 5 +4 Advance to play-ins
7 ATL Atlanta Reign 21 10 0 11 0.476 43 35 0 +8
8 PAC Dallas Fuel 21 9 0 12 0.429 35 44 0 −9
9 ATL Toronto Defiant 21 7 1 14 0.333 32 48 0 −16
10 ATL Houston Outlaws 21 6 0 15 0.286 32 50 3 −18
11 PAC Vancouver Titans 21 6 0 15 0.286 23 48 0 −25
12 ATL Washington Justice 21 4 0 17 0.190 21 54 1 −33
13 ATL Boston Uprising 21 2 0 19 0.095 14 61 4 −47
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) Wins plus bonus wins 2) winning percentage (excluding bonus wins); 3) map differential; 4) head-to-head record; 5) head-to-head map differential


Game log

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Regular season

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2020 game log (Regular season record: 2–19)
February–April: 1–8
1 February 09 Boston Uprising 0 3 New York Excelsior New York City, NY
3:00 pm EST     Hammerstein Ballroom
Hosted by New York Excelsior
0 Oasis 2
1 Blizzard World 2
2 Temple of Anubis 3
2 February 22 Boston Uprising 3 2 Houston Outlaws Washington, DC
5:00 pm EST     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2 Ilios 0
2 Temple of Anubis 2
3 Dorado 1
3 Blizzard World 3
0 Oasis 2
1 Nepal 2
2 Lijiang Tower 0
3 March 01 Boston Uprising 0 3 Philadelphia Fusion Houston, TX
1:00 pm EST     Revention Music Center
Hosted by Houston Outlaws
0 Lijiang Tower 2
1 King's Row 2
1 Hanamura 2
4 March 07 Boston Uprising 1 3 Washington Justice Washington, DC
7:00 pm EST     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2 Busan 0
1 Havana 2
2 Eichenwalde 3
1 Horizon Lunar Colony 2
5 March 08 Boston Uprising 0 3 Atlanta Reign Washington, DC
7:00 pm EDT     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
0 Oasis 2
1 Havana 2
2 Eichenwalde 3
6 March 28 Boston Uprising 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
8:00 pm UTC    
7 April 11 Boston Uprising 1 3 Houston Outlaws Online
10:00 pm UTC    
8 April 18 Boston Uprising 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
1:00 am UTC    
9 April 26 Boston Uprising 0 3 Florida Mayhem Online
8:00 pm UTC    

May Melee qualifiers: 1–2
10 May 03 Boston Uprising 0 3 Florida Mayhem Online
9:00 pm UTC    
11 May 10 Boston Uprising 0 3 Los Angeles Valiant Online
1:00 am UTC    
12 May 16 Boston Uprising 3 2 Los Angeles Gladiators Online
10:30 pm UTC    

Summer Showdown qualifiers: 0–3
13 June 13 Boston Uprising 2 3 Paris Eternal Online
7:00 pm UTC    
14 June 21 Boston Uprising 0 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
7:00 pm UTC    
15 June 27 Boston Uprising 0 3 Vancouver Titans Online
11:00 pm UTC    

Countdown Cup qualifiers: 0–4
16 July 18 Boston Uprising 0 3 San Francisco Shock Online
10:00 pm UTC    
17 July 19 Boston Uprising 0 3 Los Angeles Valiant Online
10:00 pm UTC    
18 July 24 Boston Uprising 1 3 Atlanta Reign Online
7:00 pm UTC    
19 July 25 Boston Uprising 1 3 Dallas Fuel Online
11:00 pm UTC    

August: 0–2
20 August 15 Boston Uprising 0 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Online
11:00 pm UTC    
21 August 21 Boston Uprising 0 3 Vancouver Titans Online
7:00 pm UTC    

Midseason tournaments

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2020 midseason tournaments game log
May Melee: 0–1
Qualifying match May 23 Boston Uprising 2 3 Paris Eternal Online
1:00 am UTC    

Summer Showdown: 0–1
Knockouts June 28 Boston Uprising 1 3 Washington Justice Online
11:30 pm UTC    

Countdown Cup: 0–1
Qualifying match August 02 Boston Uprising 0 3 Vancouver Titans Online
11:30 pm UTC    

Bonus wins awarded: 0

Postseason

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2020 playoff game log
North America Play-ins: 1–1
Round 1 September 03 Boston Uprising 3 1 Houston Outlaws Online
7:00 pm UTC    
Round 2 September 04 Boston Uprising 1 3 Atlanta Reign Online
9:00 pm UTC    

References

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  1. ^ Silverman, Michael (December 23, 2019). "Boston Overwatch team to hold two matches at Opera House". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Rockwood, Bryan (June 30, 2020). "The Uprising's Summer Showdown is Cut Short by the Justice". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Alford, Aaron (September 5, 2020). "Gladiators Narrowly Advance; Excelsior Slide By at OWL Playoffs". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Howard, Brandon (September 5, 2019). "Boston Uprising Find Their Head Coach For The 2020 Season". TheGamer. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  5. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Boston Uprising remove 2 assistant coaches, add more staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Staff; Boston Uprising (December 9, 2019). "Boston Uprising hire Assistant Coach Valentin "Ascoft" Wulfman". The Overwatch League. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Justice round out Overwatch League roster with AimGod". ESPN. Reuters. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  8. ^ "Overwatch League moves: Defiant add Kellex". ESPN. Reuters. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  11. ^ Scrubasaurus (October 28, 2019). "Uprising sign Myunbong and Jerry". Over.gg. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  12. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 7, 2019). "Boston Uprising promote Swimmer and Mouffin". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. ^ "Boston Uprising sign DPS player Munchkin". ESPN. Reuters. November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  14. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 22, 2019). "Boston Uprising sign Brussen". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 21, 2019). "Boston Uprising release 6 players". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  16. ^ "Boston Uprising trade Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang to Houston Outlaws". GamingLyfe. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  17. ^ Richardson, Liz (March 2, 2020). "Munchkin leaves the Boston Uprising". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  18. ^ Castelot, Ophelie (March 4, 2020). "Halo joins Boston Uprising". ESTNN. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "Boston Uprising release Mouffin following allegations of sexual misconduct". ESPN. April 4, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  20. ^ Samples, Rachel (April 14, 2020). "Swimmer steps away from competitive Overwatch, parts ways with Boston Uprising". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  21. ^ Linhares, Nádia (May 11, 2020). "Boston Uprising adds Punk to Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  22. ^ Richardson, Liz (May 12, 2020). "Brussen leaves Boston Uprising, retires from Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  23. ^ O'Dwyer, Samuel (May 21, 2020). "Boston Uprising signs new main tank player, mikeyy". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.