Overwatch League Quarterfinals Preview and predictions: Can Boston Uprising turn their season around?

With their backs against the wall in a classic east coast matchup, Boston Uprising are one series away from elimination after going down 3-1 in the Quarterfinals opener this week. After a perfect 10-0 Stage run just two months ago, things have gone bad to worse for an organization that was once the best kept secret of the Overwatch League. Does Boston Uprising have what it takes to turn their season around against the Philadelphia Fusion?

Struggles in form

It’s been a rollercoaster season for both Philadelphia Fusion and the Boston Uprising as their seasons have seen peak highs and dismal lows with the changing of the meta across Stages. Philadelphia Fusion enjoyed a cinderella run in Stage Two where they were able to take two games off of New York Excelsior in a nail biter series, but the ensuing tide of NYXL blue was too much to overcome as they were bested 3-2 in the finals.

Boston Uprising came back in the next immediate Stage as they captivated the OWL league with their stellar play behind Striker’s Tracer play and their impeccable teamwork. The run of form was short lived, though. New York Excelsior did well to quell the flame of Boston Uprising in the Finals as NYXL took a comfortable 3-0 lead. That shellacking in the Finals carried over into a tough meta for Boston going into Stage Four as they had their most shaky Stage yet.

The lack of Tracer in the meta and the focus on Widowmaker has been a boon to the success of Boston Uprising as Striker’s playstyle hasn’t taken to the meta. As a whole, Boston Uprising’s play style seems outdated with the vast amount of changes taking place in the meta and the new heroes to play such as Brigitte and Hanzo are not being utilized effectively by the entire roster.

Pushing the pace

In contrast, Philadelphia have steadily picked up steam and coordination as the Stages have progressed excelling behind the flair and finesse of Carpe and Eqo at the Damage positions. With Hanzo becoming such a threat in team compositions, his use as a damage dealer has become the norm if you want to succeed with your team and Eqo has done a stellar job of relearning such a pivotal hero for his team.

Not only that, but the rest of Philadelphia Fusion have done such a good job of constantly updating their playstyle and utilizing their weaknesses as strengths as they work together as a unit.

Poko’s re emergence as a solid D.Va main after her nerfs were pivotal to this team’s success. Hotba and Neko continue to stay consistent alongside their star player Carpe. As the season progresses and some teams dwindle under the burnout and pressure of the league, Philadelphia Fusion have taken the right steps to regroup and reinforce just in time for playoffs.

All is not lost for Boston Uprising and their fanbase. HuK has been a pivotal President of the organization and there is no doubt his influence will be felt on this team as they look to bounce back from their disappointing first match on Wednesday. The meta as is hasn’t been in favor of Boston but if there is any team that can maneuver through the troubled waters of playoffs and develop a strategy to succeed, the ingenuity of Boston will get them through.

Boston Uprising and Philadelphia will commence their series tonight as they conclude their best of three series.

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