Boston Uprising vs Atlanta Reign

Atlanta Reign vs. Boston Uprising doesn't really get the blood pumping. And, well, it's easy to understand why. On the one hand, we have a fairly solid, well-rounded contender in Atlanta, and on the other, a mid-tier gatekeeper who's on the up-and-up — that's not exactly the most hype-inducing of set-ups. Still, we'll surely witness an entertaining scrap, so make sure to tune in regardless of your allegiance!

Moreover, there's quite a lot on the line. The winner will go on to face the San Francisco Shock for a shot at competing in the June Joust tournament. While neither of the two is expected to survive the aforementioned skirmish, they'd nonetheless build up a bit of hype coming into the Summer Showdown. So, in other words, there's definitely a reason to tryhard.

The Reign are heavily favored in this one, but don't let the odds fool you: they're a flawed challenger, one that is still not ready to compete at the highest of levels. They've gotten to this point at the expense of the London Spitfire, the Vancouver Titans, and the Houston Outlaws. Only the last of the three is a win worthy of mentioning — the first two were both foregone conclusions. They're good but far from great, so temper your expectations. They have a fair bit of potential but whether or not they'll realize it in time for it to matter still remains to be seen.

Fortunately for Atlanta, Boston are even worse. Their two clean sweeps over the Toronto Defiant and the Washington Justice made them look better than they actually are. And, naturally, they were unable to carry that momentum into their matches with the Paris Eternal and the Los Angeles Gladiators. Still, they've earned a bit of praise and commendation for their improvement — they're still not expected to leave much of a mark in the grand scheme of things, but they're obviously working around the clock to shore up their weaknesses and actually compete at the highest of levels.

In the end, though, we simply have to side with Altanta on this one. They might not blow Boston out of the water, but they should still be able to emerge victorious.