Uprising Academy

Uprising Academy is an American esports team for the video game Overwatch competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) and an academy team for the Boston Uprising of the Overwatch League (OWL). The franchise played its first four seasons as Toronto Esports; shortly after being purchased by the Kraft Group, the team rebranded as Uprising Academy due to a naming rights issue with Toronto Defiant. The team is based in Boston, Massachusetts and recently played in the North American region of OWC.

Uprising Academy

Founded	2016
League	Overwatch Contenders
Division	America
Region	North America
Team history	Toronto Esports 2016–2018 Uprising Academy 2018–present
Based in	Boston, Massachusetts
Colors	Blue, yellow, white
Owner	Robert Kraft
Head coach	Amir "Amir" Ahmed
Affiliation(s)	Boston Uprising

Franchise history

2016–2018: Toronto Esports

Toronto Esports Club, a multi-game esports organization, announced their intention to enter the competitive Overwatch scene under the name Toronto Esports on August 6 with the hiring of Chris "HuK" Loranger as the team's Overwatch consultant manager;^[1] a month later, the club announced their first professional Overwatch roster.^[2] Toronto Esports competed in North America Contenders 2017 Season 0,^[3] but failed to qualify for 2017 Season 1.^[4]

On February 19, 2018, Uprising announced that Toronto Esports would be competing as Boston's academy team in Contenders for 2018 Season 1.^[5] In their first season as an affiliate team, Toronto made it to the North America Grand Finals, where the team fell 1–4 to Fusion University.^[6] The team again qualified for the playoffs in 2018 Season 2, where they faced Fusion University in the quarterfinals; although the match was closer than their Grand Finals match the previous season, Toronto lost 2–3.^[7]

In November 2018, Blizzard Entertainment informed Toronto Esports Club that the team must drop the word "Toronto" from its Overwatch team brand, as the new Overwatch League expansion team Toronto Defiant had "exclusive naming rights" in the city.^[8] The club responded by attempting to disband their Overwatch team altogether, posting on Twitter,

We have been informed by Blizzard that we will be forced to remove 'Toronto' from our brand in only 6 weeks. Mid Contenders season 3. The reason cited: @TorontoDefiant have purchased 'exclusive naming rights.' We will be leaving Overwatch effective immediately. Good riddance.

However, Loranger clarified that the Kraft organization still owned all the rights to the players, coaches, and the Contenders slot held by the team and would continue to compete in Contenders, albeit under a new brand.^[9]

2018–present: Uprising Academy

On November 28, 2018, the team officially announced that they would be competing under the name Uprising Academy.^[10] In 2018 Season 3, Uprising qualified for the playoffs, but fell to XL2 Academy in the quarterfinals.^[11] The team did not qualify for the playoffs the following season, posting a 1–6 record, and marking the first time they failed to qualify for the playoffs since becoming an OWL affiliate team.^[12] In 2019 Season 2, Uprising Academy finished the regular season with a 5–2 record to qualify for the NA East regional playoffs.^[13] However, the team fell to the Gladiators Legion in the NA East quarterfinals match.

In 2021, Uprising Academy announced it would be playing in OWC Korea for 2021 season 1.^[14]

In May 2021, Uprising Academy announced its return to North America for Contenders Trials Season 2.^[15]

In October 2022, Uprising Academy announced that it would no longer be competing in Overwatch Contenders 2022.^[16]

Seasons overview

Year	Season	Region	OWC regular season				Regional playoffs	Interregional events
			Finish[lower-alpha 1]	Wins	Losses	Win %
Toronto Esports
2017	0	North America	3rd	1	3	.250		None held
	1	North America	Did not qualify
2018	1	North America	1st	4	1	.800	Runners-up
	2	North America	4th	2	3	.400	Quarterfinals	None held
Uprising Academy
2018	3	North America	4th	2	3	.400	Quarterfinals	None held
2019	1	North America East	8th	1	6	.143
	2	North America East	3rd	5	2	.714	Quarterfinals
2020	1	North America	8th	1	2	.333		None held
	2	North America	–	0	1	.000	None held	The Gauntlet: NA – Lower Round 4
Regular season record				16	21	.432
Playoff record				2	4	.333

1. Placements in 2017 Season 0 and all of 2018 reflect standings in the team's respective group and not the entire region.

Current roster

Uprising Academy roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Damage Arrow Park Min-seok South Korea Damage Yoppin Song Yu-bin South Korea Tank ITSAL (2W) Kim Chang-hee South Korea Tank Cowha Jang Hyeong-seok South Korea Tank BONO Kang Yeong-seo South Korea Support Aiden Lee Seung-jun South Korea Support Simple Kim Ji-Sung South Korea	Head coach Lee “P1ko” Youn-seok
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (2W) Two-way player Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: August 15, 2022.

OWL buyouts and promotions

All Overwatch Contenders players are eligible to be promoted by their affiliated Overwatch League team or signed to any other Overwatch League during specified non-blackout periods.^[17]

2018

• Support Harrison "Kruise" Pond was signed by new expansion franchise Paris Eternal on October 23.^[18]
• Tank Park "Axxiom" Min-seob and DPS Kelsey "Colourhex" Birse were promoted to Boston Uprising on October 30.^[19]
• DPS Charlie "nero" Zwarg and support Kim "Shu" Jin-seo were signed to Guangzhou Charge on November 22.^[20]

2019

• Tank Cameron "Fusions" Bosworth was promoted to Boston Uprising on February 12.^[21]
• Support Gabriel "Swimmer" Levy and tank Walid "Mouffin" Bassal were promoted to Boston Uprising on November 7, with Mouffin on a two-way contract.^[22]
• DPS Chris "MirroR" Trinh was signed to the Los Angeles Gladiators on November 12.^[23]

2021

• Tank Yun "GaeBullSsi" Young-sun was promoted to Boston Uprising on April 16.^[24]
• DPS Lim "Finale" Jung-woo was signed to the Toronto Defiant on December 12.^[25]
• DPS Oh "Victoria" Gi-hun was promoted to Boston Uprising on December 22.^[26]

2022

• Tank Kim "ITSAL" Chang-hee was promoted to Boston Uprising on March 23.^[27]

OWL affiliates

Uprising Academy

• Boston Uprising (2018–present)

Toronto Esports

• Boston Uprising (2018)

References

1. "Chris 'HuK' Loranger joins as Toronto Esports Overwatch consultant manager". Toronto Esports Club. August 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016.
2. "Toronto Esports announces Overwatch Pro Roster". Toronto Esports Club. September 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016.
3. Golsin, Austen (June 16, 2017). "Overwatch Contenders NA Preview: Big orgs, amateur squads clash in Group Stage". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
4. Carpenter, Nicole (February 20, 2018). "Toronto Esports' Overwatch squad join Contenders in partnership with Boston Uprising". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
5. Tahan, Chelsey (February 19, 2018). "Toronto Esports aligns with the Boston Uprising for Overwatch Contenders 2018". Overwatch Wire. USA Today. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018.
6. Meyer, Guilherme (May 14, 2018). "In Case you Missed Anything: Esports Weekend + Monday News Recap". Inven Global. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
7. O'Brien, Joe (August 9, 2018). "WhoRU Slaughters Toronto Esports in Overwatch Contenders NA Playoffs". Dexerto. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
8. Chalk, Andy (November 14, 2018). "Toronto Esports Club quits Overwatch after being told it has to change its name". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
9. Mudhar, Raju (November 16, 2018). "An esports battle erupts in Toronto over the use of the city in a team name". The Star. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
10. @UprisingAcad (November 28, 2018). "Meet the Uprising Academy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. O'Brien, Joe (February 4, 2019). "Overwatch pro pulls off insanely clutch long-distance Graviton Surge". Dexerto. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
12. April, Olivia (April 19, 2019). "Overwatch Contenders announce three live events coming in May". Win.gg. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
13. Rockwood, Bryan (August 13, 2019). "Uprising Academy Quarterfinal Preview". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
14. Lyons, Ben (March 3, 2021). "Uprising Academy announces its new roster". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
15. @UprisingAcad (May 23, 2021). "Please welcome your 2021 Contenders Trials Roster!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. @UprisingAcad (September 30, 2022). "Uprising Academy will no longer be competing in Overwatch Contenders 2022" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-01-25 – via Twitter.
17. Olmstead, Sydney (June 14, 2018). "Blizzard Reveals Information About Overwatch League Offseason". VGR. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
18. Mary-Justice, Amelia (October 23, 2018). "New Paris OWL roster includes SoOn, ShaDowBurn, more fan favorites". Inven Global. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
19. Mallow, Max (October 30, 2018). "Boston Uprising Adds ColourHex and Axxiom to Overwatch League Roster". DBLTAP. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
20. Mary-Justice, Amelia (November 23, 2018). "Guangzhou Charge Reveals Full Roster Incl. Kyb, Eileen, Happy". Inven Global. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
21. Sacco, Dom (February 13, 2019). "UK Player Fusions Called Up to Overwatch League Side Boston Uprising". Esports News UK. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
22. Richardson, Liz (November 7, 2019). "Boston Uprising promote Swimmer and Mouffin". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
23. Richardson, Liz (November 12, 2019). "Los Angeles Gladiators sign MirroR". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
24. "Boston Uprising promote 'GaeBullSsi' to starting roster". Reuters. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
25. Kennedy, Matthew (December 12, 2021). "Uprising Academy DPS Finale signs with Toronto Defiant". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
26. "The Boston Uprising announced today the signing of DPS player Gihun "Victoria" Oh". Overwatch League. December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
27. Richardson, Liz (March 23, 2022). "Boston Uprising adds tank ITSAL from Uprising Academy". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 3, 2022.