The Overwatch League began again as teams took to the battlefield during Stage 3 Week 1. There were a few big matchups this week, one of those being the London Spitfire vs the Houston Outlaws. Both teams have found success in the Overwatch League so far, finishing in the top half of the standings on a consistent basis. Perhaps one of the more noteworthy games between these two teams appeared in the Stage 1 Semifinal, where the London Spitfire ended up winning the series 3-1 and eventually went on to become the Stage 1 Champions. Even though the Spitfire have flexed their strength against other teams, the Houston Outlaws seem to have their number during the regular season. The Houston Outlaws are responsible for three of London Spitfire’s six regular season loses.
Team Playstyles
One of the main reasons that the Houston Outlaws frequently beat the London Spitfire is due to their team playstyles. The Houston Outlaw’s playstyle counters the London Spitfire. The London Spitfire love setting up Ji-Hyeok “Birdring” Kim for success, and oftentimes his Widowmaker can be found behind Orisa barriers. However, Houston has a great Junkrat player in Jake “Jake” Lyon. Junkrat is a great hero to burns through shields. During pushes Junkrat can do enough poke damage to whittle down an enemy team, even through their shields. For London, their response to this is a dive composition, which is extremely hard to do against a Junkrat. Just based on compositions, the Houston Outlaws have an advantage over the London Spitfire.
A Junkrat Problem
Other than just pure playstyle and composition, the London Spitfire struggle with Junkrat in game. To Jake’s credit, he builds up RIP-Tires very fast and earns it frequently. However for the Spitfire, multiple people always seem to die to Jake’s RIP-Tires. The problem with this is that even with a Mercy Resurrect, the London Spitfire still find themselves at a numbers disadvantage during a team fight. Obviously, having more people alive in a team fight is crucial to winning it. The clip below is a big RIP-Tire from Jake against the London Spitfire.
Not only must the London Spitfire worry about Jake, but they also have to worry about Jiri “Linkzr” Masalin. Linkzr is no slouch when it comes to playing DPS heroes. Linkzr is a great Widowmaker and McCree player, who can rival Birdring’s heroes. A single pick by Linkzr or misposition from the enemy could swing the fight. Together the Houston Outlaws DPS are nothing to overlook.
Bright Side for London
The good news for London is that they have a proven track record. A single loss in the regular season doesn’t hurt them too bad in the overall standings. They can also sleep well knowing that they’ve made it to the Stage Playoffs both times and won once, while the Houston Outlaws still struggle to place high consistently. The Spitfire also know that they are the more skilled team, after closely playing the NYXL in multiple games.
Looking Ahead
At the end of the day, the Houston Outlaws seem to have the Spitfire’s number when it comes to regular season play. Even though Houston is a thorn in the side for the Spitfire, the Spitfire should remember that the only thing that matters is Playoffs. When it becomes crunch time the London Spitfire perform well and usually make it out victorious. The next matchup between the two won’t occur until the Stage 3 Playoff or Stage 4 Week 1. To see if the Houston Outlaws can continue to be the Spitfire’s Kryptonite tune into the Overwatch League.
For more of the best esports news, follow The Game Haus on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to keep up with my posts or myself, come check out my twitter:@J02Armstrong. Thanks for reading!
Featured Image Credit: Overwatch League
Videos Clips: Overwatch League