Number 9 Player of Year 4: Bosco

Bosco is the glue that holds SSG together. He and his team steadily improved throughout the year before finally catching fire in the final quarter, earning the title of the best team in the world as well as world champions. Bosco was integral in each of these ever-improving finishes, playing a variety of roles in accordance with whatever his team happened to need at the time. 

SSG began the year as a solid-but-not-elite team, unable to make Pro League finals or make a deep run at a Major or Minor. The team's first show of real potential was their top-eight placement at the Raliegh Major, where they defeated Evil Geniuses to top their group and make the playoffs. They would fall to Team Secret in the quarter-finals, but the victory was prescient: the win represented a changing of the guard in North America. EG was in decline, and SSG was ascendant. This would only be further reinforced when EG's longtime captain and in-game leader Canadian jumped ship to Spacestation Gaming, a move that would prove pivotal in SSG's rise to the top. 

Bosco would finish the year with some more solid performances, highlighted by the US Nationals Finals where Bosco would earn his only medal of the year, an EVP award in SSG's victorious run. He put on another dominant 1.23-rating showing in the Six Invitational qualifiers in December, where he led the way for his team in order to secure a berth at the year's world championship. Once there, the team would go on to win the event without dropping a single match, making Bosco the first ever player to win a world championship on two platforms (Bosco was a member of the Elevate team to win the Xbox invitational in Year 1).

Here are each of Bosco's performances this year:

Tournament	Rating	K-D (+/-)	Misc.
PL S9 NA	0.96	100-101 (-1)	2 1vX Clutches
Allied Minor	1.07	49-44 (+5)	IQ/Smoke Main
Raleigh Quals	1.20	117-86 (+31)	74% KOST
Raleigh Major	1.09	49-40 (+9)	74% KOST
DH Montreal	1.22	67-50 (+17)	10-1 OK-OD
PL S10 NA	0.96	102-111 (-9)	9 Plants/Disables
OGA Quals	1.33	53-30 (+23)	88% KOST
OGA PIT	1.07	100-89 (+11)	17-9 OK-OD
USN Finals	1.18	63-49 (+14)	8 Plants/Disables
SI Quals	1.23	97-67 (+30)	76% KOST
PL S11a NA	0.96	47-52 (-5)	65% Headshots
SI 2020	1.04	138-126 (+12)	6 Plants/Disables

 

We also had a chance to speak with Bosco about his performance this year:

Famously, you’ve not played most of this year as a full-time player, finally graduating from college during the USN finals. What was it like balancing Siege and school? Do you think you’ll be able to improve now that you can fully focus on the game, and do you think this contributed to SSG's success at the Invitational? 

Balancing school and Siege was extremely difficult for me and there were a lot of road bumps along the way. There were points in time where I considered stepping away from school for a bit, but getting my degree was just something I really wanted to do for myself so I stuck with it and managed both best I could. Despite the workload I had from school, I always gave 110% to my career in Siege and I will continue to do so no matter what. I don't believe me being in school hindered me as a player because I didn't allow it to. Improvement is always the goal, and now that I have more time I can put in even more effort to do just that. I do not believe me finishing school had anything to do with our success at the Invitational. Nothing changed for me personally, I showed up to the event and played my best just like any other event. My teammates did as well and as a result, we lifted the hammer.

You’ve been known as one of the most consistently solid players in Siege, rather than making typical flashy ‘star’ plays. What draws you to this playstyle and why do you think you’ve been so successful with it? 

I've played pretty much every role there is and whatever role I'm on I try to do my job the best I can while being the best teammate I can. I focus on teamwork and use that along with the comms to make the best decisions I can in-game. I thrive off working together with my teammates and never really was one to make big solo plays other than clutch situations. I try to keep as much control over what I have to deal with in the round as possible and I believe all of that factors into my success. 

How are you feeling about the future of Siege as an esport?

I am excited and optimistic about the future of siege, as a game and as an esport. The numbers for viewership and active players speak for themselves. It's an incredibly fun and unique fps with a great community and dev team behind it. It's exciting to watch, even if you don't understand the game fully, and I think siege could be around for many years.

What are you going to work on to improve your success next year? 

In the coming year, I am going to continue to work on my gameplay as I always do, but with more focus, time, and energy than before. This includes aim training, VOD review, dry running, etc. I'll apply all of this with my team/teammates and just keep trying to grow as an individual and team. Gotta stay hungry to stay at the top. 

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans and the wider Siege community?

To my fans/supporters and the community, it's kind of hard to put my appreciation for all of you into words, but I truly do appreciate each and every one of you. I've gone through plenty of ups and downs inside and outside of siege. This game and community have always been there to lift me up and I truly would not have found the success I have without the support I've received. Thank you for supporting me and making my dream job even more worth it.

You can also watch Bosco's best plays of the year in the fragmovie below:

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Stay tuned for more of the top ten players, you can check out the full list in the awards hub and make sure to let us know what you think about each one on social media!