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The Boston Uprising have added a former Washington Justice General Manager to their ranks. The front office of the Overwatch esports franchise will now include Aaron “PRE” Heckman as the organization’s General Manager ahead of the 2023 season.
The North American franchise made the revelation of the new addition to the organization via their Twitter page.
“Join us in welcoming Aaron “@PRE_owl” Heckman as our new General Manager,” the announcement read.
“Aaron knows what it takes to win, and is ready to elevate our organization to new heights.
Are you ready? #BostonUp”
Prior to joining the Boston Uprising, PRE was a member of the Washington Justice in the capacity of the general manager of the franchise. Having spent three years in the position, he recently transitioned into being an advisor before his exit in late October.
He started his career in the esports scene with the New York Excelsior as the organization’s analyst. After six months with the team, he joined Justice as a coach before transitioning into the manager’s role after five months with the franchise.
PRE reacted to his appointment on his Twitter page, expressing his excitement for his new challenge with the Boston Uprising.
“I am thrilled to be joining [the Boston Uprising],” PRE wrote on Twitter.
“Their fans, city, history, and commitment to the league are truly special and I’m so happy to be part of it.”
This news of PRE’s appointment comes on the heels of the exit of the former Boston Uprising interim general manager, Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis, from the organization on November 2. After his exit, Uprising also lost their head coach, Valentin “Ascot” Wulfman, on November 9.
Ascot had only been promoted to the head coach position on August 30, thereby spending only two months on the job. He had, however, been with the franchise since November 19, 2021.
The team have gone through several changes in 2022, making them one of the more unstable teams in the Overwatch League. Prior to Ascot’s promotion to the head coaching job, coach Kim “Lori” Seung-hyun was at the helm of affairs. Lori, who had been with the franchise since October 2020, parted ways with the team to make room for Ascot.
Assistant coach Dennis “Barroi” Matz also left the franchise in August. He went on to join the Vancouver Titans as the franchise’s general manager. The departure of long-term general manager Chris “HuK” Loranger, who departed in late July, can be attributed to being the starting point of what became a Domino Effect.
PRE has been an opportunity to rebuild the organization from the ground up with very few staffs currently on the franchise’s roster. From the look of things, the franchise would most likely go into the upcoming season with the same player roster as the previous season, as the roster remains unchanged. However, it is still early, as the offseason only just began.
The Boston Uprising have had quite a rough past five years in the league, trying to attain good success. In the 2022 OWL, the team finished the season with a 10-14 record in the regular season. It is the franchise’s hope that the appointment of PRE will see the franchise grow progressively and run a better campaign in the league.
