With Boston Uprising’s surprisingly strong finish within Stage 1 of the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, they look ahead towards Stage 2. Just narrowly missing the Stage 1 playoffs after taking a 2-3 loss to the Houston Outlaws, Boston are on the rebound in this new environment. With new maps being added to the map pool and a new patch that will surely change the metagame, I wanted to gauge the overall atmosphere going into this second stage. This week, I am joined by Boston Uprising’s main tank Young-jin "Gamsu" Noh and breakout DPS player Jonathan "DreamKazper" Sanchez to get their survey of the Boston ecosystem and their view on their Stage 1 performance.

The Boston Uprising started the season with little to no pressure. Their team was comprised of solid players, but no one player stood out to you as an all-star. Many people, including myself, wrote them off as a bottom to middle of the pack team. It was that unified sentiment that fuels their fire.

“I like everything we've done so far. No one expected to us to do good, including me, and we are getting better and better through the matches. So I'm looking to play on every match day.” Gamsu spoke like a true veteran of esports—partially because he was a veteran. Before his time within Overwatch, Gamsu was League of Legends progamer and played on teams like Samsung Blue, Team Dignitas, and Fnatic. His tone was serious, but relieved. However, it was clear that he and his team thrived with that famous hungry, underdog mentality. Another teammate to Gamsu used a different fuel to start his bonfire of success.

DreamKazper is a name not many people knew before coming into the Overwatch League. Formerly of Spicy Boys and Tempo Storm, DreamKazper used his time wisely. He practiced hard and used his tenure in online cups and tournaments to propel his dreams forward. “The ride has been a great experience and I hope it lasts a long time. Competing in the Overwatch League was a dream of mine and getting to play in it and be a part of it is amazing.”

Week after week, the Boston Uprising proved that they too belonged within upper tier of the 12 teams that made up Stage 1, taking wins over the LA Valiant (4-0), the Philadelphia Fusion (4-0) and the eventual Stage 1 playoff winners, the London Spitfire (3-2). You can weigh and attribute many different things when you look to solve the question: how has Boston performed so well? However, the players had their own answer that is incredibly eye-opening to how the culture of teamwork impacts these band of brothers.

Quick to appreciate and thank the coaching staff, Gamsu knew that he could not do this alone. “I would say the coaching staff is the leading factor. Every time when players are in trouble, they did their best on us. I always appreciate them.” Behind each and every truly great team was a great set of coaches. Behind the Boston Uprising former Starcraft 2 progamer Chris "HuK" Loranger, former Overwatch pro player Jackson "Shake" Kaplan and South Korean Overwatch coach formerly of NC Foxes Da-hee "Crusty" Park.

However, DreamKazper took a different approach to the same question. “I think the success of our Stage 1 was how we all came from the same place pretty much and with the same goal to prove people wrong, not only as individuals but as a team.” Many of these players were not all-stars. Many of them came from quite humble beginnings, but together they are greater than the sum of their parts. Their strong teamwork married to each player's strong individual performance had lent itself to Boston Uprising surging through the standings. With these two aspects, how could the rebellion in Boston be quelled? How could their fire be doused? Leading into Stage 2, there are going to be changes to how the game is played.

First, in the break between Stage 1 and 2, Blizzard will change the tournament realm so that it reflects what is being played on the live server. This means some heavy-handed nerfs coming Mercy's way as well as a tune down for Junkrat. Second, the maps will be different. Maps like Junkertown and Horizon Lunar Colony are being rotated out in favor of maps like King’s Row and Route 66. When I ask professional players what makes up a good map, I get similar answers, but they’re never quite the same. I wondered how these players at the top of their respective fields felt about certain maps.

Gamsu spoke up first. “It doesn't really matter for me. I have to be good at everything since I am a professional gamer.” Spoken as a matter of fact, Gamsu enters the stoic realm of strict professionalism. Nothing short of victory is acceptable and there is nothing that will get in his way. I couldn't hear his voice or see his face, but I could feel the fire in his eyes.

“I think having the same maps for a stage is good since it lets teams compete at the highest level,” DreamKazper answered back. “There wouldn't be an excuse of ‘this team isn't good at this map because they don't play it as much as the other teams,’ etc. I personally enjoy having the same maps for a stage as it lets you come up with good starts and you are able to watch the best gameplay for a map.” A bit more pragmatic, DreamKazper touched on a very good point. Overwatch has a lot of maps. Having too wide of a map pool thins out the time practiced on certain maps which, like he mentions, dilutes the overall gameplay level.

Staying on the topic of maps, during the Overwatch League playoffs, there was a change that was small, but created a big impact. During the regular season, teams would have the chance to play two Control maps, while in the best of seven playoffs, teams only were allowed one chance to play Control. Coming from a professional player’s standpoint, I wondered how much would that affected the outcome and their general thoughts on this change.

DreamKazper stuck with some general concepts that many people often overlook. “I mean the format can be weird at times. I think having one of each mode is fine, but when you throw two of the same ones in playoffs it can really test a team’s ability of teamwork and staying focused.” There is a mental fatigue that goes into playing a strong Control team twice or playing a strong Escort team twice. Knowing that this is your opponents best game mode is a bit of a mind game in and of itself.

“I didn't notice that before,” Gamsu stuck his head in the sand, his one-track mind for success was all that was in front of him. “For now, everyone knows we are good at Control maps more than Escort maps. If we are in playoffs now, I would be worried, but we will be working on Escort maps before we get there.” You can really start to get a feel for who Gamsu is as a person. What only matters is what you can control. If Boston was not meant to be in the playoffs, so be it. Gamsu rallies his troops and looks ahead to what they can change leading to Stage 2. That kind of dedication and pursuit of mastery commands respect.

Before I let the two men get back to practicing for Stage 2, I had to ask them what their biggest area of improvement was in terms of performance. Stage 1 was their first foray onto the main stage and for some, it was their first taste of the spotlights. Was there anything that they might change coming into Stage 2?

“I think with Stage 2, not only for my team but for other teams as well, is seeing how fast and well you can work as a team to adapt to a meta quick.” DreamKazper echoed the importance of adaptation in this new climate. With some heroes coming and others going, with new maps being added in, things are bound to change.

And as for what Gamsu might change or work on, he would not change a thing.

“Don't stop.” he said, “Keep doing what we did.”

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLG’s of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment