Overwatch League, Week 3: Boston Uprising stays alive against the Dallas Fuel

Dallas Fuel notched their first win of the season Friday night. Will that momentum continue?

A gasping Dallas Fuel found their breath of fresh air in their week 3 opener against a very good San Francisco Shock team. With that vote of confidence in hand, they moved right into their second match of the week against the Boston Uprising.

If the Shock is a good team, the Uprising is a great team. They stunned the Overwatch League with an upset over the London Spitfire on Thursday, achieving the first win over a predominantly Korean team. Going into their Saturday matchup, Boston could not afford to lower their guard because the talented roster of Dallas could prove a challenge.

Map One: Numbani

Dallas started out on offense and went with a strong anti-dive composition, and immediately started biting into Boston’s defense. With Custa on Zenyatta able to sit behind the tank shields and pick people off, Effect was boldly able to come out into the open as McCree and pick off anyone else that was still alive. As the payload moved forward, he continued to pick people off. Seagull on Junkrat also made a impact, getting a key pick onto Kellex. Without stopping, the Fuel rolled onto the second checkpoint.

As the payload rounded the corner under the payload, Boston’s Note immediately got a kill on Effect. With that, the Fuel disengaged. However, Boston’s Transcendence was drawn out in that fight, which put the Uprising at a disadvantage in the next push. Seagull came up big, picking off STRIKER with a mine and then some. Effect also came up big, with two big kills. But it was DreamKazper who saved the day for Boston, slashing into the backline as Genji and eliminating Custa after drawing out the Transcendence. This caused Dallas to back off temporarily.

With the payload right on the cusp of completion, Dallas came back. With Effect and Seagull getting eliminations, including the most crucial one onto Kellex in the midst of Boston’s Valkyrie, Boston eventually ran out of manpower to contest the payload. Dallas finished the map, but it did take them all but 13 seconds to do it.

Dallas kept the same anti-dive composition on defense. Boston’s push immediately started off right, with a pick onto Custa, but soon enough kills started getting traded. A man disadvantage would not intimidate DreamKazper, however. He singlehandedly turned the tide back in the Uprising’s favor, taking out both members in the backline and on the objective with a beautiful reflect kill onto Seagull and then finally finishing up on Cocco before falling to Mickie. By that time, however, Boston respawns were able to get back to the point and would easily take it.

Similar to Dallas’s attack, Boston easily moved through the second portion of the map, with one highly effective DreamKazper Dragonblade silencing any attempt at defense. But as the payload rounded the corner, the Fuel would force the Uprising to reset. Boston’s next push was nearly enough, with three members of the Fuel falling quickly. But a Transcendence coming in for Dallas finally gave them the reinforcement they needed to push Boston back once again. The respite would be temporary. The next time Boston came up, it would be STRIKER coming up big on Tracer, disabling anyone who attempted to touch the payload. Dallas threw respawns at the payload for as long as they could before it notched home.

Going into time bank rounds, Dallas would only have a minute to attack. Boston had two minutes and 33 seconds to work with. Dallas’ first attack was incredibly successful, with Seagull taking out STRIKER and Mickie pulling Note right off the map with a Roadhog hook. As the Fuel took the point, Seagull was also able to find and eliminate Kellex for a big Boston stagger.

Boston’s attempt to contest in the second portion of the map collapsed quickly, with STRIKER falling early followed by the rest of the team. Moving into the third portion of the map, Seagull got a huge Riptire into the ranks of Boston, taking out two players. Kellex did resurrect them with the Valkyrie but was killed in the process. With the Uprising cleared out, the payload rolled forward. Boston contested one last time right in front of their spawn point, but Effect on McCree showed no mercy and took no prisoners. Dallas would finish the map once again, utilizing that overtime to its maximum effect.

Boston’s turn on attack started poorly, with DreamKazper dying early to Seagull. However, Boston kept going, pushing Dallas into the back hallway in an attempt to neutralize Orisa and Junkrat in close quarters. This did not work, and the Fuel managed to withstand two dives onto their position. But the Uprising’s last attempt in overtime was much more effective, taking out both Seagull and Chipshajen.

However, even with the point captured, Boston had very little time to push the payload forward. As it moved into the second part of the map, Dallas attacked, scattering members of Boston in an attempt to avoid damage and gain more favorable positioning. But that was a fatal mistake. With the clock in overtime and no one touching the payload, overtime burned out, handing Dallas the well-fought victory.

Map Score: Fuel 6, Uprising 4

Match Score: Fuel 1, Uprising 0

Map Two: Temple of Anubis

Boston’s defense saw them sticking to dive, which is what they do best. Dallas continued to stick to their anti-dive, which worked perfectly when Boston did jump down to engage. With three members of the Uprising dying quickly, the Fuel were able to waltz onto point A. Seagull jumping up onto the high ground to take out Kellex late was essentially Dallas adding insult to injury.

Dallas moved right onto point B, but was repelled by Boston. Dallas attempted to attack from the right, which was shut down. Then Dallas attempted to go through the rooms on the left, which ended horribly thanks to a four-kill Pulse Bomb from STRIKER. The Fuel was then stuffed even farther out thanks to a DreamKazper Genji diving into their tightly packed ranks. Even though DreamKazper falls after being trapped, STRIKER finished up with another big Pulse Bomb.

Finally, the Fuel ground their way onto the point. Once there, Effect was finally able to make use of his Reaper, whittling down Boston players one by one and holding onto his Death Blossom until the very end after Boston had used their last support ultimate. With just over a minute left on the clock, Dallas took point B.

On defense, Dallas set up on the elevated platform right in front of the entrance to the point. As Boston moved forward, STRIKER successfully snuck around the defensive set up. Narrowing missing a snipe from Effect, STRIKER took out both Dallas supports and that was the end of the Fuel’s presence on point A.

Moving right along to point B, STRIKER continued his Tracer rampage, flitting in and taking out to Dallas players before dropping his Pulse Bomb and taking out a third. With such a potent first strike, the rest of Boston just had to do some clean up to secure the point, leaving over six minutes in their time bank.

Moving into time bank rounds, Boston kept their dive defense but instead of aggressively diving onto Dallas, this time they hung back until the Fuel were in the position they wanted. Surrounded, the Fuel were immediately wiped by the Uprising. Dallas had one last push left on the clock, and this time they were able to get all the way to the objective, but once there Boston clamped their jaws shut once again. The Fuel’s time would run out without them taking a single point.

Boston’s attack was stalled as STRIKER and DreamKazper were downed very early. But the Uprising would recover nicely. After STRIKER and DreamKazper successfully snuck their way around the Fuel on both sides, they dove onto them. Custa was downed quickly, but with Chipshajen still in the fight and healing up Mickie on Roadhog, it seemed like perhaps Dallas would have a chance to hang onto the point for long enough for the respawns to come in. But DreamKazper unleashed his Dragonblade, and with one mighty dash into the sky ripped Chips right from his wings. With another kill onto Effect, DreamKazper and the rest of the Uprising took solid hold of the point. One tick was all they needed to get themselves the map win.

Map Score: Fuel 2, Uprising 3

Match Score: Fuel 1, Uprising 1

Map Three: Ilios

While DreamKazper switched onto Pharah coming into Lighthouse, Dallas’ team composition largely stayed the same. With no D.Va, Dallas had to stay generally huddled together behind Orisa’s shield and that worked very much in DreamKazper’s favor. His rockets eventually found Chips, found Seagull and the rest of the Fuel fell shortly after.

With that, Mickie switched back to the D.Va in an attempt to get something working for Dallas. But nothing would stop DreamKazper from getting his targets. With the Fuel caught out on the rooftops of the buildings surrounding the point, DreamKazper continued to rain down his rockets. Dallas really only managed to challenge the point directly once throughout the entire first map, and by losing that engagement, they gave up the point 0 to 100 percent.

Moving onto the Ruins, Boston gave up the point early with Effect catching DreamKazper and Neko early. With Boston’s Gamsu by himself in the enemy’s backline, Dallas would give chase. But because that drew the team away from the objective itself, Boston was able to get on the point to start their takeover. The Uprising was able to grab the point, but the Fuel’s next push would switch the point again. With so many ultimates in Dallas’ favor, Boston would be unable to mount another successful push and the Fuel would take the second point.

On the Well, DreamKazper was back on the Pharah. And while the Fuel had to back up at first after Cocco was felled early, they came back strong. Mickie landed a huge hook onto Neko, pulling and dropping the D.Va right into the middle pit. But after only 16 percent on the meter, Boston regained control. DreamKazper continued to have his way over Dallas as Pharah, not only landing early damage on the team clustered together but also getting a huge pick onto Chips, and finishing up kills on Seagull and Effect.

With the map in overtime, Seagull finally switched onto Soldier 76 in an attempt to put more pressure onto both DreamKazper and the rest of Boston. Both teams threw everything they had into this engagement, but it was Dallas coming out on top. Seagull would prove the switch was worth it, able to take out DreamKazper and Kellex on subsequent Boston pushes. With Dallas at 99 percent as well, Boston jumped onto the point one more time. At first, it looked as if the Fuel would get the advantage with Seagull triggering his Attack Visor, but Gamsu leapt on top of him, using a Primal Rage to knock him back again and again. With Seagull out of the picture, DreamKazper then had all the room he needed as Genji to carve up as much Dallas players he could reach. The Fuel went into desperation mode, with everyone coming onto the point in ones and twos to prevent overtime from burning out. Chips was even able to fly back onto the point and get off a couple of resurrections. But none of it was enough, and Boston took the map.

Map Score: Fuel 1, Uprising 2

Match Score: Fuel 1, Uprising 2

Map Four: El Dorado

Dallas came out on attack meaning business. With Effect on McCree driving Boston back again and again, the payload quickly reached the first checkpoint. Boston jumped back onto the payload as it moved into the second section of the map, and even though picks were traded, Mickie was still on the payload moving it forward. Soon enough, it was Boston throwing everything they had at the Fuel as the payload hovered right around the second checkpoint.

Dallas’ next push onto the payload was unsuccessful, with Custa’s Transcendence just not enough to keep the Fuel’s tanks up on the payload. With the tanks gone, Dallas withdrew to try again and this time with their damage boosted by Orisa’s Super Charger, they were able to wipe Boston clean.

Moving forward, a Riptire caught DreamKazper while Effect took out two as Tracer. Then it was Kellex falling early for Boston. The Uprising never seemed to be able to collect their thoughts, as the Fuel just had too many weapons for them to deal with. Around every corner was Effect and Seagull, and with DreamKazper and STRIKER constantly contained, Boston’s tanks were all they had to stall on the payload. Dallas would push the payload to the end, but did it with no time left in the bank.

On attack, DreamKazper went on Pharah, flying all the way around so that he could lob rockets down behind the Orisa shield. Even with that damage groundwork, Boston’s progress was slow and even with DreamKazper able to down Seagull and Effect, the rest of Boston had to patiently contend with Dallas’ tanks. With Chips able to fly back to the fight and use his Valkyrie, Boston was driven back.

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Boston’s next push was completely destroyed by a huge play Seagull. Now with only one more push remaining, DreamKazper switched to Genji. As the Uprising closed in, it was Effect on McCree ruining their plans. With overtime running out, it was Dallas standing on top of the unmoving payload, winning the map and forcing the series to a fifth map.

Map Score: Fuel 3, Uprising 0

Match Score: Fuel 2, Uprising 2

Map Five: Lijiang Tower

On the Boston side, Kalios would come in for Note. Dallas would make no changes to their roster. And with that, map five got underway. On Garden, Boston’s Neko was immediately dropped, giving Dallas the advantage and the first point take. Custa’s Lucio was able to simultaneously lock down the point and push Boston back as the Uprising commenced their next wave. It was Effect completely containing Boston, taking out anyone in his sights as McCree.

Finally, with Dallas already up 90 percent, Boston came back to contest, with Gamsu using a Primal Rage to push Effect back and off the map. Dallas first attempt to take the point back was stopped first by DreamKazper and then by STRIKER on the point. The Fuel’s next attack was also nearly stopped by STRIKER, who laid down enough damage to fell Chips and Seagull. But Dallas’ Effect stuck STRIKER with a Pulse Bomb that ended up snagging DreamKazper as well. With both Boston DPS down, the Fuel was able to get control of the point but not for long. With a Kellex resurrection, STRIKER came right back and picked up where he left off, cutting through the Fuel’s line. With that, Boston would take the first map.

On Night Market, the point flipped twice early on before finally settling on Dallas. With a tank heavy combo supported by Moira, Boston was able to swat Dallas back enough to take the point back. Dallas’ next push was immediately done in with DreamKazper on Roadhog hooking and killing Chips, then following up on a Gamsu Earthshatter and killing Custa as well. Next, the Fuel were immediately gutted by a Kalios Self Destruct that caught two for the price of one ultimate. With overtime on the board, Dallas just had Cocco on the point in an attempt to keep the dream alive. He wouldn’t last long, and Boston took the win.

Map Score: Fuel 0, Uprising 2

Final Match Score: Fuel 2, Uprising 3

Player of the Match: DreamKazper, Boston Uprising