Boston Uprising

Boston Uprising is an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's Atlantic North Division. Founded in 2017, Boston is one of the league's twelve founding teams. The team is owned by Robert Kraft of the Kraft Group, who also own Uprising Academy, an academy team for the Uprising that compete in Overwatch Contenders.

Boston Uprising
FoundedJuly 12, 2017
LeagueOverwatch League
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionNorth
Team historyBoston Uprising
(2017–present)
ArenaCitizens Bank Opera House[1]
Colors     
OwnerRobert Kraft
Head coachKim "Lori" Seung-hyun
Affiliation(s)Uprising Academy
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms

Boston in 2018 became the first team in the history of the Overwatch League to go undefeated during a regular season stage, after going 10–0 in Stage 3; while the team qualified for the season playoffs the same season, they were eliminated in the first round.

Franchise history

Beginnings

On July 12, 2017, Blizzard Entertainment officially announced that the Kraft Group had acquired the Boston-based franchise of the Overwatch League. On the decision to purchase the Esports franchise, Robert Kraft said in a statement, "We have been exploring the esports market for a number of years and have been waiting for the right opportunity to enter. The incredible global success of Overwatch since its launch, coupled with the League’s meticulous focus on a structure and strategy that clearly represents the future of esports made this the obvious entry point for the Kraft Group."[2] In August 2017, the Kraft Group announced Chris "HuK" Loranger would be serving as and president of gaming for the franchise, where he would "oversee player acquisition, training, and daily operations".[3] On October 25, 2017, the Uprising announced their full roster, consisting of eight players.[4]

Early years: 2018–present

Boston Uprising's first regular season OWL match was a 1–3 loss to the New York Excelsior on January 11, 2018.[5] After defeating the Los Angeles Gladiators on May 4, Boston became the first team to go undefeated in a stage, posting a perfect 10–0 record in Stage 3.[6] However, the team lost in the Stage 3 finals to the New York Excelsior.[7] The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, but lost to the Philadelphia Fusion in the quarterfinals.[6]

The team finished their 2019 season with an 8–20 record – a far cry from their 26–14 record from 2018. A 3–2 victory over the Dallas Fuel in the final match of Stage 1 gave the Uprising a 4–3 record and qualified them for the Stage 1 Playoffs.[8] However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 0–3 loss to the Vancouver Titans.[9] Boston struggled to repeat the success they found in Stage 1, only winning four of their next fourteen matches before the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league. The Uprising did not perform well under the new format, as a 0–4 loss to the Atlanta Reign on August 25 gave Boston a winless 0–7 Stage 4 record.[10]

In their 2020 season, the Uprising qualified for one midseason tournament, the Summer Showdown, but were eliminated by the Washington Justice in the knockouts round.[11] Boston 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.[12]

Team identity

On October 25, 2017, the franchise name was revealed as the Boston Uprising; the name "Uprising" was selected in honor of Boston's resilient forefathers and their legacy in the American Revolution which laid the foundation of the city. They also unveiled the team's logo and blue-yellow-black color scheme, with the latter drawing inspiration from the colors found in Boston's city flag. The logo is a shield surrounding a bold "B"—a letter that is synonymous with the city of Boston.[13]

Sponsors

In late April 2018, the team revealed their first partnership, a shaving product sponsor, with Boston-based Gillette. The deal included a number of digital and social content initiatives, as well as having the Gillette logo featured on the team's practice jerseys and training facility.[14][15]

On October 31, 2018, the team added Bose as a sponsor, joining other Kraft-owned sports franchises and Boston teams supported by the Boston-based audio company.[16]

Personnel

Current roster
Boston Uprising roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 37 im37  Hong Jin-ui  South Korea 
Damage 17 Colourhex  Birse, Kelsey   New Zealand 
Damage 99 SoOn  Tarlier, Terence   France 
Damage Valentine  Kim Byeong-ju  South Korea 
Tank 25 Fusions  Bosworth, Cameron   United Kingdom 
Tank 17 Stand1  Seo Ji-won  South Korea 
Tank 5 Punk  Gilchrist, Leyton   Australia 
Support 13 Myunbong  Seo Sang-min  South Korea 
Support Faith  Kim Hong-gyu  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Kim "Lori" Seung-hyun
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: February 3, 2021.

Head coaches
Boston Uprising head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
Crusty Park Dae-hee October 26, 2017 May 7, 2018 193 days [17][18]
Mineral Vytis Lasaitis September 4, 2019 October 5, 2020 1 year, 31 days [19][20]
Lori Kim Seung-hyun October 5, 2020 - 126 days [20]

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% MW ML MT MD Pos. (league) Pos. (conf.) Playoffs Earnings
2018 402614.65099713+283rd2ndQuarterfinals$225,000
2019 28820.28641782-3719th9thNot eligible$25,000
2020 21219.09514614-4720th10thNot eligible$0
Total893653.4041542109-56–––$250,000

Individual accomplishments

All-Star Game selections

Academy team
Main article: Uprising Academy

On February 19, 2018, the Uprising announced a partnership with Toronto Esports Club's Overwatch Contenders team.[21] In November 2018, following the unveiling of the Toronto Defiant in the Overwatch League, the league informed the Uprising they needed to change their name. Rather than change their name, the Toronto Esports team decided to pull out of Contenders completely, citing not only issues with the naming request but new changes in the Contenders format.[22] According to their president Ryan Pallet, the organization was given a six-week notice to change their name. The Kraft organization still owns the rights to the players, coaches and the Contenders slot held by the team, which is officially competing under the name "Uprising Academy."[23]

References
  1. Silverman, Michael (December 23, 2019). "Boston Overwatch team to hold two matches at Opera House". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. Yee, Erica (July 13, 2017). "Robert Kraft is bringing an esports team to Boston". Boston.com. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  3. Carpenter, Nicole (August 22, 2017). "Former StarCraft 2 pro HuK named president of gaming for Boston's Overwatch League franchise". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  4. Carpenter, Nicole (October 26, 2017). "Boston Uprising just announced its Overwatch League roster—will they prevail?". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  5. Waltzer, Noah (January 15, 2018). "Fusion, Spitfire, Excelsior snag wins on Day 2 of Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  6. Woolums, Kenneth (July 14, 2018). "Explaining Boston Uprising's fall from grace". ESPN.
  7. "New York Excelsior earns back-to-back stage titles". ESPN. May 6, 2018.
  8. Linscott, Gillian (March 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Season 2 Stage 1 Quarterfinals Results". Hotspawn. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  9. August, Charlotte (March 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Stage 1 Playoffs Day 1 Recap and Upset Alert". ESTNN. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  10. "Reign cap perfect Stage 4, clinch top-six playoff spot". ESPN. Reuters. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  11. Rockwood, Bryan (June 30, 2020). "The Uprising's Summer Showdown is Cut Short by the Justice". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  12. Alford, Aaron (September 5, 2020). "Gladiators Narrowly Advance; Excelsior Slide By at OWL Playoffs". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  13. Randall, Dakota (October 25, 2017). "Here's Official Name, Logo For Boston's New Overwatch League Team". NESN. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  14. Tahan, Chelsey (April 30, 2018). "Gillette is now an official partner of the Boston Uprising". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  15. Murray, Trent (April 30, 2018). "Gillette Finalizes Partnership With Boston Uprising". The Esports Observer. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  16. https://esportsobserver.com/boston-uprising-bose-sponsor/
  17. Mersel, Matt (October 26, 2019). "Boston Uprising Brand and Roster Announced for Overwatch League". mxdwn.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  18. Mejia, Ozzie (May 7, 2018). "Overwatch League: Boston Uprising Head Coach Crusty Departs for San Francisco". ShackNews. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  19. Knudsen, Connor (September 4, 2019). "Boston Uprising to Sign Former Florida Mayhem Coach Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  20. Richardson, Liz (October 5, 2020). "Boston Uprising adds Lori as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  21. Tahan, Chelsey (February 19, 2018). "Toronto Esports aligns with the Boston Uprising for Overwatch Contenders 2018". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  22. Grayson, Nathan (November 13, 2018). "Toronto Esports Team Pulls Out Of Overwatch Because It Couldn't Use 'Toronto' Anymore". Kotaku. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  23. "The sudden end of Toronto's first pro Overwatch team - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
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