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Kellex talks about how the Uprising came together in Stage 2 and looks ahead to Stage 3

by - 6 years ago

The Boston Uprising ended Stage 2 of the Overwatch League in 6th place with a 6-4 record and a 4 game winning streak. I got the chance to talk to Boston Support player Kristian “Kellex” Keller earlier in the week about how the Uprising did in Stage 2, the team’s goals going into Stage 3, who he’s looking to take down in the upcoming weeks and more.


2018-02-02 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

RedRhino: The Uprising went 4-0 in the final two weeks of Stage 2, how was the team feeling after that?

Kellex: We were satisfied, but we still have things we can work on. We’re trying to get more clean games, rather then the 3-2 games we had. Finishing with four straight wins feels good, but as our coach said, it feels good to get them clean, 4-0 instead of those close 3-2 games.

R: Your last match of Stage 2 was against the Los Angeles Gladiators, was it your guys  goal to keep them out of the playoffs?

K: For me, at least, I wanted Philly to go to the playoffs since most of their players are from Europe, and so am I. I wanted to get a win, of course, but it also felt great to make sure Philly got into the playoffs instead of the Gladiators. But that’s maybe just me.

R: How did the team feel after the win over the Gladiators?

K: We were very happy, because I don’t think any of us like, expected to win because they have Fissure and he’s been looking really great lately. So, we didn’t really have too many expectations on how the game would go, but we’re happy we managed to secure a win against them.

R: How did Stage 2 see the Uprising and you as an individual player adapt to changes in the meta?

K: When [The Uprising] got together the Mercy meta came out so we started making comps around Mercy, since she was really strong and she had instant rezzes, we built strategies around that. Then when Stage 2 came we weren’t sure what to do, since we didn’t have the insta-rez anymore and Mercy was changed, so we had to adapt as a team and learn new heroes.

I struggled a bit, because I basically played Mercy for like five months straight. Then, in Stage 2, I had to get back on Lucio and Ana, so it was rough for me in the beginning. But at the end I kind of picked it up again.

Credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment.

R: Is there anything the Uprising are focused on headed into Stage 3?

K: In the next stage Sombra will be very strong, so it’s not as big of a change as it was from Stage one to two, since we learned how to play without Mercy. Now we have to learn Sombra and built comps around her. I think the game will be kind of the same as in Stage 2, but with Sombra we’ll have to worry about some new strats.

Hopefully things don’t get as rough for us as they were in the beginning of Stage 2, maybe get some cleans win to start off with.

R: How do you think the Uprising will perform in Stage 3?

K: I think we ended on a strong note. I think we’ll keep playing with the momentum we had from the end of Stage 2, we’re very confident we can play better now. I think we’ll do better than we did in Stage 2 and with the right amount of practice, we can get into the Stage 3 playoffs.

R: Is there anything you, as a player, are focused on specifically going into Stage 3?

K: Um, I think I’m going to practice with all the support heroes, so I have a good knowledge on how to play them. Same thing I did with stage 2 – keep practicing every hero and get better at them.

R: Are there any teams you’d really like to beat next stage?

K: I really want to beat on of the Korean teams again. We managed to beat London in Stage 1, so I’d like for that to happen again since I think all the teams are closer now, in terms of skill level. So, I want to beat the Korean teams and Philly, since they’re Europeans and so am I. That would be a pretty good win.

R: When did you really start to notice Overwatch League teams catching up to each other in terms of skill level?

K: I think some teams had trouble playing the Mercy meta. In Stage 2 every team became closer in terms of level and I think teams will be even closer in Stage 3, especially with all of the mid-season pickups.

R: From preseason up to the end of Stage 2, what’s the one thing you think the Uprising have improved upon the most?

K: Communication, we play with three Korean players and Three non-Korean players In the beginning, we had a lot of trouble with how to make game plans, since not everyone would understand what we were going to try. It’s still an issue and we’re working on it and so far it’s the biggest improvement we’ve made.

R: What do you think you’ve gotten better at over the same period?

K: For me, I’ve become a better team player, and I think everyone on the team has become a better team player. In the beginning we were all from different teams, whereas some teams like Florida Mayhem had been together since Contenders and now Overwatch League. We were a completely new team, so we’ve all come together more to play as a team.

R: Overall, how has the Overwatch League experience been for you?

K: It’s a new experience for me. Before Overwatch League I was in school and bouncing between school stuff and playing in Contenders. Since moving to L.A. it’s been a lot easier for me to just focus on one thing.

It’s really exciting just to be in the same room as your team and practice, it’s really nice.

R: Favorite Overwatch hero?

K: My favorite hero is Lucio and he will and is always my favorite hero. Before Overwatch League I played him every single season, and if you look at my profile it’s just ‘Lucio, Lucio, Lucio, Lucio’. He has a little bit of everything, that’s why he’s my favorite.


The Uprising will start Stage 3 when they face off against the Philadelphia Fusion on Thursday, April 5.


JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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