The Overwatch League is fast-approaching. The rosters have been revealed and the dates for preseason and the regular season are set. The world is ready for the league to start in January 2018. In this series of articles, I look to give new fans a valuable and in-depth look at all the franchises and players to prepare for opening week.

In the inaugural season, the twelve teams will compete in a six-month long season and crown the eventual champion in July. The entirety of season one will be played at the Blizzard Stadium located in California. The OWL will not only be a pioneer league in the esports scene, but a centralizing force in creating the best player pool imaginable.

I wanted to start with the consensus worst team in season one of the OWL: Boston Uprising. And it’s not that this team can’t succeed, it’s that the roster is filled with unlikely heroes. A team of relatively unknown players, in a league this stacked with talent, isn’t tough. But, Overwatch is a team game. Individual names don’t win championships, teams do.

Let’s talk about the Boston Uprising

Ownership

Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group, and owner of the exceedingly successful New England Patriots franchise, was one of the first big names to show interest in the Overwatch League. Alongside some of sports’ most venturous owners, Kraft being attached gave the league some pomp and stability.

Obviously, the league is filled with sports ownership groups buying up franchises, but Kraft was undoubtedly one of the biggest names to sign on. If anything, his involvement made other potential investors seriously consider joining in. It also helped raise awareness and will continue to do so as more potential fans find the OWL.

Coaching staff

Yes, believe it or not, the OWL has coaching. It’s like any old sport; there’s a head coach and an assistant coach, and they make all the important roster and strategy decisions. It’s been proven how effective a good head coach can be in Overwatch, as teams in Korea’s Apex league have had make-or-break seasons with different head coaches.

Luckily, Boston’s lack of roster talent doesn’t transfer over to the coaching staff. Da-hee “Crusty” Park has plenty of experience coaching inexperienced (NC Foxes) teams. The original head coach, who was demoted back to assistant coach, is Jason “Shake” Kaplan. Shake spent his early playing days on Gale Force, Code 7, Complexity Gaming and eventually found his way to CLG.

It’s imperative that this coaching staff finds the right combination to make this all work. Shake and Crusty are both extremely capable of taking this team to another level this season.

Boston Uprising Roster

Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-Jin; Tank

One of the more recognizable names and leaders on this roster. A former League of Legends player turned FPS-star, and is now the main-tank on Boston Uprising. Gamsu has spent the majority of his Overwatch career playing on the Korean team CONBOX Spirit, and moving back and forth from Apex Premiere to challengers because of relegation.

However, Gamsu was a brilliant choice for this new team. A player whose experience in the esports space dates back to an entirely different game. Gamsu will help new players transition into this league. He’s also valuable for his play style. He’s known to not take bad engagements and usually has a pretty low death total.

Kwam “Striker” Nam-Joo; DPS

The best hit scan player on the team, and similar to Gamsu, a recognizable and interesting player to watch heading into the season. The former ROX Orcas player will now have to help carry the Uprising franchise with his big play potential from Soldier:76 and McCree.

Stanislov “Mistake” Danilo; DPS

In a world of good Tracer mains, Mistake will have to step up and become a reliable back-line Tracer to compete. The Russian born player, and one of the more recognizable players on the team, will have to continue to play that disruptive Tracer style we’ve seen in the past. There’s a growing consensus that Mistake is much better than people realize. He’s a player to watch this season.

Kristian “Kellex” Keller; Support

In terms of production, it’s hard to say another player on this Uprising team has done more than Kellex. He’s consistently been one of the best Lucio’s in Europe. Despite not being on any successful Overwatch teams, Kellex has found a way to stick out among the crowd of good Lucios. He’s a name that could surprise some people in season one.

Shin “Kalios” Woo-yeol; Flex

Now here’s an interesting player, one that sat on RunAway’s bench for a season and played on Afreeca Freecs Blue for a season. Most likely the Uprising’s starting D.Va player, and could be used as a flex player with his variety of hero choices.

Joseph “DreamKazper” Sanchez; DPS

The third and final DPS-main and only player with a quality pocket Genji. DreamKazper is also one of the few American-born players in the OWL. He leaves Tempo Storm to (presumably) play a backup role to Mistake and Striker, but will be handy as a projectile player with Genji for certain matchups.

Park “Neko” Se-hyeon; Support

One of the few players to play in Apex, and the only player to experience the Apex playoffs. The upstart NC Foxes, who almost took the royal road to a title, lost 4-0 to a more experienced and talented Kongdoo Panthera team (London Spitfire). Neko on Support was a big reason for their success.

Mikias “Snow” Yohannes; Support

Enter one of the two Toronto Esports signings. Snow was a Support player for Toronto Esports, which was ran by the current Uprising president, Chris “HuK” Loranger, who is mostly responsible for bringing the support main over. Snow is undoubtedly a questionable roster decision, but he’s one of the few Uprising players with plenty of Mercy experience. He should slot in as a nice bench player.

Lucas “NotE” Messier; Flex

Similarly, NotE signed from the Toronto Esports organization. NotE will be behind Kalios as the team’s flex. It’s tough for NotE, having a smaller role on this team with the D.Va slot being filled. He’s one of the bubble players, and will have to work to get some recognition and an extension moving forward.

Connor “Avast” Prince; Support

Avast is a candidate to surprise some people in year one. His ability to stay alive and turn fights was a staple on the Luminosity Gaming Evil roster. For now, Avast will have to earn his roster spot as a Lucio main over Kellex.

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Featured image courtesy of Boston Uprising