With the Houston Outlaws and the Boston Uprising looking to find their first win of the season, both teams put up a good fight. The games were tight and left fans on the edges of their seats, but ultimately the Uprising took the series in a tiebreaker.
The Outlaws showed up and showed out on the first map of the series, full-holding the Uprising in a
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
dominant display on Shrine. With newcomer Dante “Danteh” Cruz on Sombra and Outlaws veteran Austin “Muma” Wilmot on Winston, the team bullied the Uprising’s 3-3 team composition team fight after team fight.
Houston’s dominant performance carried over to Sanctum, where Boston was only able to take control of the point once before the Outlaws regained control.
The Uprising’s intense tank line shined on map two, as Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty fell early and opened a window for Boston to capitalize on their weakness. The Uprising quickly took control of the payload and from that point on, each team fight turned the tide.
Both teams have incredible offensive abilities, but their defenses leave easy openings for opponents to take advantage of. Matt “Coolmatt” Iorio‘s well placed D.Va bombs make for a flashy and very close fight. However, in overtime, the Outlaws are unable to measure up to how far the Uprising pushed the payload and end up falling just 3 meters short.
On Volskaya, the Outlaws’ weak defenses gave way for the Uprising to capture both points on both of their attacks
. Especially on a map like Volskaya, a team’s defense has to be immaculate because even losing one team fight can result in the other team taking the point.
With the overtime clock ticking down in round four, the Outlaws are unable to hold onto the point, losing the map.
On their initial defense, the Outlaws attempted to run the same 3-3 composition that hasn’t been serving them well all series. The Uprising push through and get through all 3 points, but when the Outlaws attack, they run the same strategy that saved the NYXL in their matchup against the Uprising on Thursday.
Yes, @danteh. We’re looking at YOU with that MONSTER EMP! #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIioZfOU pic.twitter.com/C0rsfA9M7z
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 17, 2019
With Danteh on Sombra, the team’s performance was back to the same dominance they displayed on map one. With the Uprising unable to push the payload through point A on their second attack, the Outlaws pushed through with ease thanks to well-coordinated EMPs and follow-ups.
With the Outlaws having switched back to the typical 3-3 composition, they were unable to hold the point on Lighthouse. However, Muma was able to consistently crowd control key players into the well on Well and helped the team to full hold.
Coolmatt fell early and with this first pick, the Uprising are able to take control on point first. After the Outlaws took control of the point, Jini “Linkzr” Masalin fell to a Dva bomb from Lucas “Note” Meissner, which ultimately flipped the point in favor of the Uprising. With the overtime clock counting down, none of the Outlaws were able to reach the point in time and Boston took the map and the overall victory.
After this matchup, it’s clear to see that the Outlaws’ main issues lie in their abilities to maintain a strong defense after winning team fights. For the Outlaws to be able to grow, there needs to be more focus on those moments where teams come back after losing fights and more dedication to exploiting these weaknesses that they point out.
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