Mistakes - "A Lot of People Will Be Wrong About Us [Boston Uprising]"
DBLTAP – Can you tell me about your background in esports and Overwatch?
Stanislav “Mistakes” Danilov – I played Team Fortress 2 when I was around the age of 14. I would even say I was semi-pro in TF2 at the time. I also played a lot of Dota 2 but it wasn’t competitive tournaments, just matchmaking. Along with that, I played Hearthstone for a while, achieving rank 1 legend, but never played in any tournaments. Due to Overwatch being so similar to Team Fortress 2 and seeing gameplay that looked very appealing, I decided to give it a chance.
I entered the Overwatch competitive scene after receiving a trial run for a Russian team called Prets, which later became known as Tornado.RoX. After playing under that organization I moved to join 123, which was a mixed European team. After leaving 123, a few Overwatch League teams offered me a spot but I chose to join the Uprising. The decision was helped along in large part by Chris “HuK” Loranger who I’ve really liked working with since the beginning of my time in Overwatch and I am very confident in his leadership. I believe I have a lot of hidden potential, which HuK saw, along with the passion and dedication I have given to improving myself and the game.
DBLTAP – Can you elaborate on your time working with HuK and his role in the Boston Uprising?
Mistakes – HuK is really easy to work with, which is amazing. He always listens to what the players think about our individual conditions or in-game ideas. Huk fully participates in-life of the team and helps us with everything you can imagine. He understands the game quite well and is great with assisting us with strategies and what we should work on. I am very happy to be on his team.
DBLTAP – What has it been like working with the rest of the Uprising coaching staff?
Mistakes – I can safely say that we have one of, if not the best, coaching staff! Park “Crusty” Dahee, our head coach, is working mostly with the Korean players, while HuK and Jason “Shake” Kaplan are working with Western players. They all have a lot of experience in competitive Overwatch and their ability to comprehend the game is very good. Rollon “Mini” Haemlin, another one of our assistant coaches, is focusing more on specific details of strategies. Mohid “Mr. Bleeple” Asjid, is doing mostly analytics and statistics as our analyst.
DBLTAP – What are your goals for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League?
Mistakes – For now, the Uprising’s goal is to make the playoffs of the Overwatch League. I, personally, would like to become a better teammate and player in general.
DBLTAP – Since Overwatch is truly international and has so many nationalities involved, such as yourself, how have you been settling into Los Angeles and embracing the diversity of the Overwatch League?
Mistakes – It’s been really amazing so far. I have been spending a lot of time with the team and it has been a great experience. I have also met so many interesting and different people, which is very cool.
DBLTAP – What do you think will be the key to success for the Uprising this season?
Mistakes – I think the key to success will be the team’s dedication and our very strong coaching staff. We are practicing a lot, in fact, my normal schedule consists of waking up, eating, and then going to the training facility to scrimmage against other teams all day. I’m sure our passion to win games will be a huge factor in the end.
DBLTAP – A lot of analysts and people around the league have not given the Boston Uprising the best odds to compete in the Overwatch League, must less win it. What do you have to say to the doubters?
Mistakes – I would say that just because we do not have the biggest or best-known players in the scene does not mean we won’t play our best against good teams. I'm confident that we will surprise many and a lot of people will be wrong about us.
This interview has been edited for clarity