At this point, a bit of disappointment isn't much of a surprise. Boston is winless in the final stage of the season. Clearly, going up against two of the top six teams in the league isn't quite a recipe for success. But, with that said, there was hope that could be rationally justified. New York had a losing record since role lock had been introduced, including two seperate 0-4 sweep losses. Additionally, Boston had been getting progressively better as each game passed. Could the boys in blue string together a performance to save their season?

Oh, and Boston had to play Atlanta. That's something that happened.

The Good

Boston still shows that they're the best team in the league coming out of halftime down 0-2. Clearly winning Hybrid against NYXL and narrowly losing Escort was the highlight, but they played well on the third map against Atlanta, too. Not sure what's driving it, but after four reverse sweeps this season it's clear they have some half time ju-ju working.

We all thought the reverse sweep was on the table against NYXL, right? Talk about close - that last teamfight on Junkertown was as tight as it gets. Kudos to Boston to showing they had some fight in them. After playing the Atlantic Division winners close in both their head to head matches this year, I can't wait until next season's opener against them.

https://twitter.com/BostonUprising/status/1165739479065346048

Colourhex! Is there any question who leads this team? Who our best player is? Showing no signs of giving in to the pressure, the New Zealand dps specialist showed the Widow skills he's made his name on. What a stage for this kid whose come from obscurity to a top tier talent in this league.

The Bad

It's hard to narrow down a concise list of all that went wrong on an 0-2 weekend. Certainly, there are widespread issues that need to be addressed. Blase was hit-or-miss in both matches, which is what you'd expect for a dps filling in on off-tank. Persia still resides in the shadow of his predecessor, Aimgod. Stellar, the team's newest player, still hasn't wiped away the rust from his three month 'retirement.'

One issue that frustrated me was seeing the Sombra come out repeatedly against the NYXL. After tying it up 1-1 on Control, Boston surprised everyone by throwing the hacker out there. It didn't work. While you could forgive a team trying to see if they could shake things up and win, there's something about knowing your limits. Why did the Uprising insist on throwing Sombra out there again on Assault? It was just as bad and, frankly, upsetting to watch.

https://twitter.com/NYXL/status/1165401230899843073

Not sure if it's completely Boston's fault, but I was just annoyed watching Junkertown against Atlanta. Sure, the match was already decided. Clearly the Reign thought it was a throw away map, seeing as half their bench players came out to play. But the zany team comps and the league's first official Orissa-Rein mirror was irksome to see. Time and again, the casters just giggled like school girls. It's just not the way you draw up the end of a season.

Stellar didn't have his best game against Atlanta. On King's Row, the former Defiant player was feeding like the Red Cross. In one sequence, he rounded a corner to throw his Blizzard as Mei, sees the DVa, and tucks his tail in and flips around. His next Blizzard got eaten by the mech. It was an ugly sequence that showed there was some definite rust for him.

In his defense, Boston didn't put up a fight against Atlanta. On Volskaya, Atlanta all but did a speed run on offense, taking both points in not a snowball, but an avalanche from Point A to B. Just ugly.

The Uprising

There's going to be alot of talk about this roster in the offseason. Of course, that's what happens when you go 8-20 on the season. Heads will roll. Boston just didn't hit on all those diamonds in the rough like they did last year. I'll do a season retrospective soon, but there is a laundry list of chaos that got thrown at this team's direction.

If there is one player above suspect and should be the foundation of this team going forward, it's Colourhex. Talk about catching fire off a meta switch. The 2-2-2 role lock has lit the young kiwi's engine on fire.

https://twitter.com/BostonUprising/status/1165415823126749184

It sure seemed the boys were loose all weekend. Maybe it was the wacky homestand arena in LA, or the cringe worthy fan dunk tanks. Regardless, they came off a lot more chipper than I'd expected. If it were me, I'm not sure I could hold my head as high going into a weekend where there wasn't anything but pride on the line.

Outlook

That's it for the 2019 season. One that saw a few highs and a lot of lows. A new cast of characters brought us plenty of memories and drama. They were a team we always kept thinking would hit their stride. Granted, you saw what they were capable of in spurts. Fusions as a top tier main tank. Blase with a few good turns on Doomfist. Colourhex right clicking heads like a madman. Aimgod lining his wall with player of the match trophies.

But it just never happened consistently enough. The stars never aligned. As fans, we were strung along. Offered false promises. But alas, that's the joys of being a fan. Always thinking your team could be great. Arguing with everyone about what this team could be but never seeing it materialize. It was a hell of a ride. Now we go into an offseason of questions, finger pointing, whispers, and drama. Here's hoping Boston comes back stronger next year and can keep us believing that the corner has been turned and the pieces will finally align.