With an 8-7 record, Vancouver Titans are locked in for the OWL 2023 Summer Stage play-ins, but they’re still playing for favourable seeding. New York Excelsior are 6-9, tied with Washington Justice and Los Angeles Gladiators, and still need to win one more game to secure a top-10 finish in the West division.

This will be much harder to do than it sounds, mainly because the current meta doesn’t suit New York Excelsior and how they like to play. On the one hand, there’s an easy solution for Excelsior’s problems, but it would require them to put Kim “FITS” Dong-eun on Illari. However, by doing so, NY would lose a lot of firepower.

Vancouver Titans are in excellent form, having won their last four games against Washington Justice (3-0), Los Angeles Gladiators (3-0), Las Vegas Eternal (3-0), and San Francisco Shock (3-1). Although not the most challenging opponents, the Titans looked great in all four wins.

Even though the Titans are known to be a bit inconsistent, they already defeated New York Excelsior in May, and they’ve recently found a bit more stability. That, combined with the fact that the current meta doesn’t suit Excelsior, makes it very tough to justify backing the outsiders.

Los Angeles Gladiators ended their skid of six consecutive losses in the OWL 2023 Summer Stage with a 3-0 win over New York Excelsior last week. They dominated the series and looked much more polished than what we’ve seen from them recently. In part, this has to do with the current meta, which allows Kevin “kevster” Persson to play Genji.

Boston Uprising are 10-5 and one of the strongest teams in the OWL West. However, while the Uprising have looked good this season, they’re also 1-3 from their last four outings, with defeats against Florida Mayhem (2-3, 2-3) and Atlanta Reign (1-3). In Boston’s defence, the Mayhem and the Reign are two of the league’s strongest teams.

The Uprising don’t need to win this match, and even if they lose, their play-in seeding doesn’t change. On the other side, anything less than a win for the Gladiators would mean they miss the postseason.

Boston Uprising are stronger than the Gladiators, but the LA team has looked much better recently. If the Gladiators can keep playing at this level, they should have a good chance of springing an upset this weekend.

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?The November 12 announcement will see the Kraft Sports and Entertainment franchise part with tank Kim “ITSAL” Chang-hee and support players Lee “MCD” Jeong-ho and Kim “Faith” Hong-gyu. The news was released via the team’s official Twitter account.? ?

“Today we part ways with @OW_Faith,” the tweet read.?

?”You brought so much passion to the Uprising, not just in-game, but outside as well. Your positive energy will be felt for seasons to come.

“We are proud to have had you as a member of our team these past few years. Good luck and thank you.

“Today we say farewell to @OWITSAL.? ?Thank you for your dedication and hard work this season, in both OWL and @UprisingAcad. You brought your passion into every match.? ?We look forward to seeing what you accomplish next! Good luck.

“Farewell and thank you, @MCD_OW.? ?You worked extremely hard this past season, and made sure you brought your all to every game.? ?We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors; wherever you go, you’ll do just fine.”

While the players listed above have been released from their contracts, other players on Boston’s roster took to their social media accounts to announce their search for a new team.

“Still in talks with Boston for 2023 but they’ve allowed me to look at all possible opportunities,” support William “Crimson” Hernandez wrote on his page.?

?”Hungrier than ever to do whatever it takes to win, I will make your team better.”?

?With fans left confused by the development, the newly recruited Boston Uprising general manager, Aaron “PRE” Heckman, quickly stepped in to shed some light on the situation.

?”Hey Uprising Fans,?I am so thankful for the hard work and perseverance the 2022 Uprising roster demonstrated and am excited to see where they go next!,” PRE wrote.?

?”For 2023 it is important to us that our (soon to be hired) coaching staff has a clean slate to work with and input on all our players.? ?

“For this reason you will see some (*) marked players who, despite expiring or declined contracts, we are still in discussions with for our 2023 competitive team pending coach input.

?��As decisions are made you will be the first to know. Keep an eye on Twitter, updates coming up soon.”

?The player statuses revealed that every man on the team’s roster is technically a free agent. It showed that while Tank Leyton “Punk” Gilchrist and DPS Kim “Valentine” Byeong-ju have had their contracts with the franchise expire, the remaining seven players have declined options on either the team’s or the player’s end.?

The Uprising’s start to the 2022 season was hampered by questionable player cycling and an uncoordinated playing style. Their eventual decision to rally around Punk, relying heavily on consistency as a team rather than solo missions, saw them attain good outcomes. They ended the season with a regular-season record of 10-14.?

?Having parted ways with their coaching staff alongside Valentin “Ascoft” Wulfman, who was recently promoted to the head coach position, the Boston Uprising are yet to fill those roles and are expected to make some announcements in that regard in the coming weeks.

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The North American franchise made the revelation of the new addition to the organization via their Twitter page.

��Join us in welcoming Aaron “@PRE_owl” Heckman as our new General Manager,�� the announcement read.

��Aaron knows what it takes to win, and is ready to elevate our organization to new heights.

Are you ready? #BostonUp��

Prior to joining the Boston Uprising, PRE was a member of the Washington Justice in the capacity of the general manager of the franchise. Having spent three years in the position, he recently transitioned into being an advisor before his exit in late October.

He started his career in the esports scene with the New York Excelsior as the organization��s analyst. After six months with the team, he joined Justice as a coach before transitioning into the manager’s role after five months with the franchise.

PRE reacted to his appointment on his Twitter page, expressing his excitement for his new challenge with the Boston Uprising.

��I am thrilled to be joining [the Boston Uprising],�� PRE wrote on Twitter.

��Their fans, city, history, and commitment to the league are truly special and I��m so happy to be part of it.��

This news of PRE��s appointment comes on the heels of the exit of the former Boston Uprising interim general manager, Vytis ��Mineral�� Lasaitis, from the organization on November 2. After his exit, Uprising also lost their head coach, Valentin ��Ascot�� Wulfman, on November 9.

Ascot had only been promoted to the head coach position on August 30, thereby spending only two months on the job. He had, however, been with the franchise since November 19, 2021.

The team have gone through several changes in 2022, making them one of the more unstable teams in the Overwatch League. Prior to Ascot��s promotion to the head coaching job, coach Kim ��Lori�� Seung-hyun was at the helm of affairs. Lori, who had been with the franchise since October 2020, parted ways with the team to make room for Ascot.

Assistant coach Dennis ��Barroi�� Matz also left the franchise in August. He went on to join the Vancouver Titans as the franchise’s general manager. The departure of long-term general manager Chris ��HuK�� Loranger, who departed in late July, can be attributed to being the starting point of what became a Domino Effect.

PRE has been an opportunity to rebuild the organization from the ground up with very few staffs currently on the franchise’s roster. From the look of things, the franchise would most likely go into the upcoming season with the same player roster as the previous season, as the roster remains unchanged. However, it is still early, as the offseason only just began.

The Boston Uprising have had quite a rough past five years in the league, trying to attain good success. In the 2022 OWL, the team finished the season with a 10-14 record in the regular season. It is the franchise’s hope that the appointment of PRE will see the franchise grow progressively and run a better campaign in the league.

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?The announcement was made via the organization��s official Twitter page, where the Uprising thanked the player for his hard work during his two-year stint and wished him well in his future endeavors.?

?Valentin “Ascoft” Wulfman, the assistant coach, is currently the only coach in the organization��s lineup and will reportedly take over Lori��s duties until the end of the 2022 season. The Boston Uprising did not make it known if they planned to sign on another coach in addition to Ascoft for the rest of the season.? ?

Lori joined Boston ahead of the 2021 season and continued in his role since the start of the 2022 season. He took the place of Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis, the team��s previous head coach, who was moved to a position in management.? ?

Lori started his coaching career with Mono Frog as far back as 2018. Prior to joining the Uprising, he had coached the Eternal Academy, which was part of the European Contenders region, and World Game Star Phoenix (WGS), a South Korean team.

?Lori was also a part of the North American Overwatch Contenders scene during his time with Bermuda, now known as Noble. The Boston Uprising were Lori��s first team in the Overwatch League.?

?The Uprising have not had the most promising season and are currently placed 10th in the West region. They have a 1-4 record in the tournament and may not qualify for the Summer Showdown main event. According to the team��s map differential, out of 13, the squad is placed 12th for the Summer Showdown.?

?The Boston Uprising��s move to reduce their players is similar to the Washington Justice��s and several other Overwatch organizations’ actions. The last few weeks have seen several esports organizations make drastic reductions to their players and coaches due to a lack of trust in the league.? ?

The uncertainty surrounding the financial prospects of OWL is a result of the league’s inability to attract new sponsors to back its fifth season. The previous backers were TeamSpeak, a VolP application, and trading card firm Upper Deck.? ?The league also has issues concerning its stagnant OWL broadcast viewership despite the move to include two Overwatch 2 PvP betas and Overwatch 2��s early build.

It also incentivized fans by promising beta access for Overwatch League stream viewers. In spite of those efforts, there was only a minor increase in the viewership numbers.

??Since the inception of the Boston Uprising in the latter half of 2017, HuK has served as the team’s general manager as well as president of gaming. Because of his time spent as both a commentator and a professional StarCraft II player, he has been deeply ingrained in the esports community for a considerable amount of time.

??In his time with the franchise, HuK has taken the Uprising through dozens of changes over the course of the five years that the Overwatch League has been in existence. He has played a role in each and every one of the team’s victories and defeats, from a historic winning streak in the first season all the way up to the current losing streak that the team is on. HuK has remained unwavering in his commitment to the Uprising despite the many scandals the franchise has experienced over the years.??

In a statement that was published on Boston Uprising’s official Twitter page, the organization made known that “competitive viability” was one of the reasons for the decision to let go of Huk. The Uprising currently have a record of 3-6 for the season and are in the bottom section of the league standings. They are, however, ranked above teams from the West Region that have only one win to their names, as well as the Vancouver Titans, who are yet to secure a win.??

The press release read: ??”Effective today the Boston Uprising have decided to part ways with President & General Manager Chris “Huk” Loranger. Chris has been the face of the Boston Uprising since inception and we are grateful for this contributions to the team. While this was a difficult decision, the Boston Uprising and Oxygen ESports hold competitive viability as our north star and believe change is best for the long-term, direction of the organization. We wish Chris all the best in his future endeavors.

“??Moving forward, Assistant General Manager Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis, will operate as Interim GM as we look to readdress our roster and build for the future.

“??To our fans, thank you for your continued supports. Boston is the city of champions and we strive to put a product on the field that makes our fans proud.”

In the statement, the management of the Uprising reassured fans that it will “readdress” its roster and “build for the future”. This may not be good news for the players who are currently employed by the organization.

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Los Angeles Valiant are a team no one expects to shine this season, which to some degree holds true for Guangzhou Charge as well. Both sides enter this match with a 0-2 record, but the Valiant hold a slightly better map differential due to their four-map series against Chengdu Hunters (1-3).

LA have not looked as bad as we thought they would, but that doesn’t mean we believe they’re a good team. The Charge are in the same boat, but they have as higher ceiling despite going 0-6 on the season.

We would have sided with the Charge at more appealing odds, but at this price, it makes more sense to take the Valiant with a map handicap.

New York Excelsior looked awful in their 0-3 loss against Chengdu Hunters, but they seemed much improved in their 3-1 win against the Spark. Seoul Dynasty, on the other side, had a solid performance against Guangzhou Charge (3-0) but disappointed in their 1-3 loss against Philadelphia Fusion.

What might make the Dynasty a more appealing pick is that they forced the Fusion to match point on all four maps. However, there is something about their playstyle that leads us to believe this one could end in favour of the Excelsior.

At the offered OWL betting odds, you have to take a shot with the outsiders.

The OWL betting odds suggest this will be an extremely one-sided affair, but we have reason to doubt that. On paper, Hangzhou Spark look extremely weak, but they did not perform too poorly in their bout with Philadelphia Fusion last week.

Even though the Spark lost 1-3, they still took the series lead and held the Fusion to match point on all maps. They followed that up with a very poor showing against New York Excelsior (1-3), so they might not be a very consistent team.

It will all depend on which version of Hangzhou we get here. Shanghai Dragons aren’t as good as last year, so there is a world where the Spark steal at least two maps.

Boston Uprising are priced as $1.53 favourites for this match, which may seem fair, but we weren’t convinced with their recent performances.

Both of these teams faced Los Angeles Gladiators last week, and they both lost 0-3. Boston won four rounds (4-7), whereas London Spitfire won only two (2-7).

Regardless of what those results might suggest, it’s the performances these two sides have shown on the final day of the week that makes us trust the Spitfire more. This could be a close one, but there is no denying London are more consistent.

Florida Mayhem are a weird team. Even though they are winning games (2-0), they are also showing weaknesses – most notably in their 3-1 win against Vancouver Titans.

San Francisco Shock are an entirely different story. They played well in their 2-3 loss against Houston Outlaws, and it was ultimately a poor coaching decision that lost them the game.

Florida might steal one map, but they seem far too shaky for us to believe they can achieve much more. Expect a straightforward win for the reigning OWL champions.

?Paris Eternal denied us a winning bet with our OWL betting predictions for Friday with a very strong performance in their 3-1 win against Vancouver Titans. They lost their next match 1-3 against Houston Outlaws, but it wasn’t like the Eternal played poorly. They lost the final two maps with minimal margins – 2-3 on Assault (Volskaya Industries) and 3-4 on Hybrid (King’s Row).

Their next opponents are Atlanta Reign, who have yet to win a single match this season. We sided against the Reign in our betting predictions for the first week of play, which proved to be the right choice, and we are very tempted to do it again here.

Atlanta look like the stronger team on paper, but they haven’t played a single match in a week. They��re also struggling with their form, so there is a strong case to be made for the outsiders to at least keep this one close.

?Along with the Titans, Boston Uprising are a strong candidates to end the season as the weakest team in the OWL. They’re 0-2 with a 0-6 map differential after two clean sweep losses against Los Angeles Gladiators and Dallas Fuel.

Washington Justice have the better form line, but they are yet to be properly tested. Their two games thus far have ended in 3-1 victories against the Fuel and the Titans, so we don’t really know at this stage how good the Justice are.

Boston looked lost last week, and unless they find a way to improve, they will struggle to win a match in the May Melee. That said, they have good enough players for us to steer clear from betting on the Justice to win 3-0.

Washington are clearly the better team, but they dropped a map against a Vancouver team that looks just as weak as the Uprising. Boston can steal a map, but we don’t expect much more. Expect a 3-1 victory for the favourites.

The announcement of the new signing surfaced Friday, November 22 on Boston Uprising’s official Twitter account, unveiling brussen as their newest member and the first Dutch player to compete in the Overwatch League.

Brussen reportedly caught the attention of Uprising’s President of Gaming, Chris ��HuK�� Loranger, with his performances at the 2019 Overwatch World Cup, where he helped the Netherlands reach a historic fifth-sixth place finish.

��Brussen had a standout performance in the recent World Cup,�� said Mr Loranger.

“We think he will synergise well with the rest of his teammates, and we��re glad to welcome him here to Boston.��

The Dutch Overwatch pro kicked off his career in March 2018 when he joined Freefall. He also played for One.PoinT, Bazooka Puppiez, and Young and Beautiful before moving to Angry Titans in the European Contenders this July.

While brussen and his teammates did not fare too well in the Contenders league, where Angry Titans were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, his performances stood out.

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His time to shine came on the international stage, where brussen played a key role as the Netherlands produced one of the biggest upsets in Overwatch history when they decimated Finland 3-0 in preliminaries en route to the knockout stage. While they ended up losing to France in the quarter-finals, the Dutch went above and beyond all expectations with their fifth-sixth finish.

Throughout the Euro Contenders and the Overwatch World Cup, brussen displayed impeccable skill on Sigma, which is one of three champions (alongside D.Va and Roadhog) he is very proficient with.

With the arrival of brussen, Boston Uprising have finalised their roster for the upcoming OWL season after undertaking a complete overhaul in the wake of their 19th-place finish last term.

It was a season to forget for the Uprising, who failed to recapture their success from season one. In the inaugural OWL season, the Boston outfit impressed by finishing third in the regular season and went on to finish fifth-sixth in playoffs after losing to eventual finalists Philadelphia Fusion (1-2) in the quarter-finals.

The 2019 season did not look all that bad from the start, as the Uprising finished the first stage in eighth place with a solid 4-3 record and went on to run fifth-eighth in the stage one playoffs.

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Once stage two started, however, Boston went into a freefall with progressively worse results. They finished stage two with a 3-4 record, further disappointed with a 1-6 record in stage three and went on to finish the fourth stage with a disastrous 0-7 record to slump to the bottom of the standings.

By finishing 19th in the league and completely missing out on the playoffs, the Uprising’s management decided it was time for a drastic change that would take them back on the top of the OWL’s food chain.

The six players who will not be wearing Boston Uprising jerseys next year are Zion ��Persia�� Yang, Richard ��rCk�� Kanerva, Renan ��alemao�� Moretto, Do-hyung ��Stellar�� Lee, Kristian ��Kellex�� Keller and Min-Seok ��AimGod�� Kwon.

With that, the Uprising are left with a four-player core of Jeffrey “blas��” Tsang, Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse, Park “Axxiom” Min-seob and Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth.

Persia and rCk both joined the Uprising in April 2019 ahead of stage two and were seen as very solid additions to the roster, but even that experienced duo couldn’t save Boston from falling flat in the three stages that followed.

Alemao joined the squad in December 2018 as the first and only South American OWL player. He is best known for his performances at Brasil Gaming House, where he won two consecutive titles in Overwatch Contenders – South America. Alemao has also made three appearances in the Overwatch World Cup as a part of the Brazilian national team.

Stellar came out of retirement in July 2019 to join Boston ahead of stage four. Prior to that, the South Korean DPS played with Toronto Defiant, a team he left in April 2019. Stellar is best known for his finals appearance in Korean Overwatch League 2018 as part of O2 Aredont.

AimGod became a member of the Uprising in April 2018, midway through the inaugural season of OWL. His career as a professional Overwatch player started in 2017 when he joined Ardeont.

Kellex is one of the original Boston Uprising members. He joined the team in October 2017 and made three appearances at the Overwatch World Cup, where he represented the Danish Overwatch national team.

There have been no announcements regarding new arrivals as yet, but more information is expected to surface soon with OWL Season 3 set to kick off on February 8, 2020.

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Stage 4 standings table

1st place: Los Angeles Valiant (9 V �C 0 D)
2nd place: Los Angeles Gladiators (8 V �C 1 D)
3rd place: New York Excelsior (6 V �C 2 D)
4th place: Philadelphia Fusion (5 V �C 3 D)
5th place: Houston Outlaws (5 V �C 3 D)
6th place: Dallas Fuel (5 V �C 4 D)
7th place: San Francisco Shock (4 V �C 5 D)
8th place: London Spitfire (3 V �C 5 D)
9th place: Seoul Dynasty (3 V �C 6 D)
10th place: Boston Uprising (2 V �C 6 D)
11th place: Florida Mayhem (1 V �C 7 D)
12th place: Shanghai Dragons (0 V �C 9 D)

Betting predictions for June 14

Houston Outlaws (5 V �C 3 D) vs. Philadelphia Fusion (5 V �C 3 D)

Houston Outlaws has had a fairly good run so far in Stage 4, defeating teams like London Spitfire and Dallas Fuel in the process. Its defeats came against the current top 3 teams in the league (Los Angeles Valiant, Los Angeles Gladiators and New York Excelsior), so no surprises there. Overall, Outlaws looked capable of holding its own against most adversaries, but still got completely crushed by the really strong teams.

Philadelphia Fusion had a fairly poor run in Stage 3, finishing 8th with a record of 5 W �C 5 L. In Stage 4, the team has had a slightly better run so far, losing against Los Angeles Gladiators, Dallas Fuel and New York Excelsior and winning against the likes of San Francisco Shock and Seoul Dynasty.

In terms of overall performance throughout the Overwatch League and recent form, these two teams are of similar strength. However, in their previous 3 direct encounters, Philadelphia Fusion won every time (score 3 �C 2).

Betway puts the odds at 2.55 �C 1.45 in favor of Philadelphia Fusion, clearly expecting a victory in their favor but still giving Houston Outlaws a lot of respect. I believe this assessment is almost precisely correct, but the odds should have been higher on Fusion��s part. That��s because the chance of a Houston Outlaws victory is higher than what these odds reflect.

Betting prediction: Philadelphia Fusion to win, paying $1.44 at GG Bet.

Florida Mayhem (1 V �C 7 D) vs. London Spitfire (3 V �C 5 D)

Apart from Dragons, Florida Mayhem is without a doubt the second weakest team in OWL. Its abysmal 7 V �C 31 D record, which is actually a 3 V �C 31 D record (because 4 of those victories were against Shanghai Dragons) clearly suggests that it has absolutely no chance against the stronger teams. And London Spitfire is definitely one of them, in spite of its poor recent form.

London Spitfire is the Stage 1 champion, but the team has lost a lot of its prowess since then. In Stage 3, Spitfire finished in 6th place with a record of 5 W �C 5 L. Stage 4 hasn��t been any easier for this team, which is now standing at number 8 with 3 victories and 5 defeats. The only important team defeated by London Spitfire in Stage 4 was San Francisco Shock. At the same time, Spitfire��s defeats came against key opponents such as New York Excelsior, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant and Los Angeles Gladiators.

Every type of indicator points towards an easy London Spitfire victory in this match.

Betway puts the odds at 7.00 �C 1.07 in favor of London Spitfire, and this is practically free money to be made.

Betting prediction: London Spitfire to win, paying $1.07 at GG Bet.

New York Excelsior (6 V �C 2 D) vs. Boston Uprising (2 V �C 6 D)

New York Excelsior is easily the best team in OWL in terms of overall performance, sitting on a record of 33 V �C 5 D. Two of those 5 losses took place in Stage 4, against Los Angeles Valiant (2 �C 3) and Los Angeles Gladiators (2 �C 3), but Excelsior is still one tier above almost every other team in the league right now. So a defeat against Boston Uprising in this match is very unlikely.

Boston Uprising has suffered the most shocking drop imaginable in the last 5 weeks, going from a 10 V �C 0 D record in Stage 3 to a current 2 V �C 6 D record in Stage 4. I��m not sure how that was even possible for a team that seemed unstoppable for the entire duration of Stage 3, but apparently the loss of its head coach has played a significant role in this.

Recent form, overall form and head to head statistics all favor New York Excelsior to win this match.

Betway puts the odds at 1.10 �C 5.75 in favor of Excelsior, giving Uprising a lot of undue respect.

Betting prediction: New York Excelsior to win, paying $1.10 at GG Bet.

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