2018 Houston Outlaws season

The 2018 Houston Outlaws season was the first season of the Houston Outlaws's existence in the Overwatch League. Outlaws qualified for the Stage 1 playoffs but fell to the London Spitfire in the semifinals. The team did not qualify finished with a regular season record of 22–18, missing the season playoffs.

2018 Houston Outlaws season
Head coach	Kim Tae-yeong
General manager	Matt Rodriguez
Owner	Hector Rodriguez
Results
Record	22–18 (.550)
Place	Atlantic: 5th League: 7th
Stage 1 Playoffs	Semifinals
Stage 2 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 3 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 4 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Season Playoffs	Did not qualify
OWL All-Stars	1 Muma (Austin Wilmot)
Total Earnings	$75,000

Preceding offseason

On October 31, 2017, Houston Outlaws announced their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:[1]

• Matthew "Clockwork" Dias
• Lucas "Mendokusaii" Håkansson
• Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin
• Jake "Jake" Lyon
• Austin "Muma" Wilmot
• Matt "Coolmatt" Iorio
• Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty
• Christopher "Bani" Benell
• Daniel "Boink" Pence
• Alexandre "SPREE" Vanhomwegen

Regular season

Review

On January 11, the Outlaws played their first regular season Overwatch League match, a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Fusion.[2] One week later, on January 17, Houston claimed their first victory after sweeping the Shanghai Dragons 4–0.[3] Houston went on to qualify for the Stage 1 playoffs but fell to the London Spitfire in the semifinals.[4]

Houston entered their last regular season match against the New York Excelsior needing a win to keep their season playoff hopes alive. The Outlaws had a 2–1 lead after three matches, but New York won the next three straight to take the win 3–2.[5] The team finished with a regular season record of 22–18.

Final roster

2018 Houston Outlaws roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Previous team Damage 11 Clockwork  Dias, Matthew   United States  FNRGFE  Damage 12 Mendokusaii  Håkansson, Lucas   Sweden  Cloud9  Damage 49 LiNkzr  Masalin, Jiri   Finland  Team Gigantti  Damage 76 JAKE  Lyon, Jacob   United States  LG Evil  Tank 2 FCTFCTN  Campbell, Russell   United States  FaZe Clan  Tank 17 Muma  Wilmot, Austin   United States  FNRGFE  Tank 69 Coolmatt  Iorio, Matt   United States  FNRGFE  Support 1 Rawkus  Flaherty, Shane   United States  FaZe Clan  Support 3 Bani  Benell, Christopher   Canada  FNRGFE  Support 13 Boink  Pence, Daniel   United States  FNRGFE  Flex 7 SPREE  Vanhomwegen, Alexandre   Belgium  FaZe Clan  Flex 57 ArHaN  Jung Won-hyeop  South Korea  Meta Athena	Head coach Kim Tae-yeong Legend (C) Team captain (2W) Two-way player (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Injury/Illness Latest roster transaction: March 30, 2018.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:

• On February 16, Outlaws signed Russell "FCTFCTN" Campbell.[6]
• On March 30, Outlaws signed Jung "ArHaN" Won-hyeop.[7]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	10	7	3	.700	30	13	0	+17	2
2	10	5	5	.500	22	22	0	±0	7
3	10	4	6	.400	20	24	1	-4	9
4	10	6	4	.600	22	18	1	+4	8
Overall	40	22	18	.550	94	77	2	+17	7
Qualified for playoffs

League

2018 Overwatch League standings
#	Team	Division	W	L	PCT	P	MR	MD	STK
Division leaders
1	New York Excelsior	ATL	34	6	.850	40	126–43–4	+83	W1
2	Los Angeles Valiant	PAC	27	13	.675	40	100–64–7	+36	L1
Wild cards
3	Boston Uprising	ATL	26	14	.650	40	99–71–3	+28	W4
4	Los Angeles Gladiators	PAC	25	15	.625	40	96–72–3	+24	W5
5[lower-alpha 1]	London Spitfire	ATL	24	16	.600	40	102–69–3	+33	L1
6[lower-alpha 1]	Philadelphia Fusion	ATL	24	16	.600	40	93–80–2	+13	W1
Did not qualify for playoffs
7[lower-alpha 2]	Houston Outlaws	ATL	22	18	.550	40	94–77–2	+17	L1
8[lower-alpha 2]	Seoul Dynasty	PAC	22	18	.550	40	91–78–3	+13	L1
9	San Francisco Shock	PAC	17	23	.425	40	77–84–5	-7	W1
10	Dallas Fuel	PAC	12	28	.300	40	58–100–7	-42	W1
11	Florida Mayhem	ATL	7	33	.175	40	42–120–5	-78	L3
12	Shanghai Dragons	PAC	0	40	.000	40	21–141–2	-120	L40
Tiebreakers
London placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential. Houston placed ahead of Seoul based on map differential.

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Preseason (0–2) 1 December 7 Dallas Fuel 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 2 December 8 Seoul Dynasty 2 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA

Regular season

2018 game log (Overall record: 22–18)
Stage 1 (7–3) 1 January 11 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 2 January 13 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 3 January 17 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 4 January 18 Dallas Fuel 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 5 January 25 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 6 January 27 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 7 January 31 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 8 February 02 Seoul Dynasty 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 9 February 08 London Spitfire 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 10 February 10 Houston Outlaws 3 – 2 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA
Stage 2 (5–5) 11 February 22 Houston Outlaws 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 12 February 24 Boston Uprising 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 13 March 01 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 14 March 03 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 15 March 08 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 16 March 09 Florida Mayhem 2 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 17 March 15 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 18 March 17 San Francisco Shock 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 19 March 22 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 20 March 22 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA
Stage 3 (4–6) 21 April 05 London Spitfire 2 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 22 April 07 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 23 April 12 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 24 April 14 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 25 April 19 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 26 April 21 Houston Outlaws 3 – 0 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 27 April 25 Los Angeles Valiant 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 28 April 27 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 29 May 02 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 30 May 05 Seoul Dynasty 4 – 0 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA
Stage 4 (6–4) 31 May 17 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 32 May 18 Boston Uprising 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 33 May 23 Houston Outlaws 1 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 34 May 25 San Francisco Shock 4 – 0 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 35 June 01 Houston Outlaws 3 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 36 June 02 Florida Mayhem 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 37 June 06 Dallas Fuel 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 38 June 09 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 39 June 14 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 40 June 15 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (0–1) Semifinals February 10 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA

References

1. "Introducing the Houston Outlaws, the Official Overwatch League Team from OpTic Gaming". Business Wire. October 31, 2017.
2. Rosen, Rick (January 11, 2018). "Overwatch League: Philadelphia Fusion vs Houston Outlaws Recap". Heavy. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
3. Carpenter, Nicole (January 17, 2018). "Massive skill divides plague Overwatch League's last two Jan. 17 matches". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
4. "London Spitfire beats Houston, New York to win Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs". ESPN. February 11, 2018.
5. Lingle, Samuel (June 15, 2018). "Houston Outlaws eliminated from OWL playoff race by New York Excelsior". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
6. Lingle, Samuel (February 17, 2018). "Houston Outlaws sign FCTFCTN". Dot Esports.
7. "Houston Outlaws Confirms the Final Addition to Its Overwatch League Roster". Dexerto. March 30, 2018.