The 2018 Boston Uprising season was the first season of Boston Uprising's existence in the Overwatch League. In Stage 3, Boston became the first team to go undefeated in a stage, posting a perfect 10–0 record; however, the team lost in the Stage 3 semifinals to New York Excelsior. The team finished with a regular season record of 26–14 — the third best of all teams in the 2018 Overwatch League season. Boston lost to Philadelphia Fusion in the quarterfinals of the season playoffs.
Boston Uprising's first-ever regular season OWL match was a 1–3 loss to the New York Excelsior on January 11, 2018.[3] Boston found their franchise's first-ever regular season win a day later, after defeating the Florida Mayhem, 4–0.[4] The Uprising needed a win over the Houston Outlaws in their final regular season match of Stage 1 to qualify for the Stage 1 playoffs; however, they lost the match, 2–3, and did not make the playoffs.[5]
Through the first half of the season, Boston had a 12–8 record.[6] On April 3, prior to the start of Stage 3, Boston picked up support player Kwon "AimGod" Min-seok, although he would not be able to play until Stage 4, once his visa process had completed.[7] A few days later, Uprising player Jonathan "DreamKazper" Sanchez was indefinitely suspended from the Overwatch League following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Shortly after, on April 9, Boston Uprising terminated his contract.[8] Following, Kwon "Striker" Nam-joo took over DreamKazper's starting position – a move that ultimately benefited the team. Throughout Stage 3 of the season, the Striker-led Uprising did not lose a single match, going 10–0, to become the first team to go undefeated in a stage.[9] Boston reached the Stage 3 finals; however, they lost the finals match against the New York Excelsior.[10] The team advanced to the Stage 3 playoff finals, but they lost to the New York Excelsior.[6]
Prior to the start of Stage 4, Overwatch underwent a balancing update, as well as the introduction of a new hero, which would significantly reduced Striker's effectiveness. Additionally, head coach Park "Crusty" Dae-hee left the team to join the San Francisco Shock.[9] The team went 0–6 through the first six matches of Stage 4.[6] The Uprising finished the regular season in third place with a 26–14 record.[11]
As the third seed in the season playoffs, Boston faced the Philadelphia Fusion in the quarterfinals in a best-of-three series. The Fusion won the first match, 3–1 on July 11, closing it out by defeating Boston on the map Volskaya Industries — a map that Boston had never lost on before.[12] Boston evened the series the following day with a 3–1 win,[13] but their season ended on July 13, after the Fusion took the final match, 3–1.[14]
Source: The Overwatch League Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head map differential; 4) head-to-head record
