The Outlaws gave Dallas a run for their money, but in the end, the home team won the battle of Texas. In a tight four map series, the two teams had more than a few close calls with both victory and defeat, the Outlaws showed their fans the energy and fight that they had been missing this stage.
The Outlaws were fully incapable of even setting foot on the point on Night Market, getting wiped every
single time they tried. On Garden, the Outlaws ran a 2-2-2 comp into the Fuel’s Sombra variation of GOATS. They finally gave the Fuel a run for their money, Jake’s Pharah putting out tons of damage and holding the Fuel off until the round hit overtime. After a failed push, the Outlaws switched back to GOATS and were unable to retake the point, losing the round and the map.
On the Outlaws’ defense, the Outlaws ran a 2-2-2 composition that called back to their Season 1 success, running Linkzr on Widowmaker and Jake on Junkrat. Jake picked off quite a few players before the Fuel could even push onto the point. However, Zachary “Zachareee” Lombardo was missed by Jake’s Riptire on their final successful push onto Point A, which let him run wild with his Dragonblade and the Outlaws ultimately ended up losing Point A. When the Fuel tried to snowball onto Point B, however, the Outlaws were prepared with Linkzr on Mei, walling off the Fuel from the corridor they were trying to enter and setting up Jake for another successful multikill.
Things are GETTING ICY in here! @LiNkzrOW #OWL2019 #TheFirstHomeGame
The @Outlaws take the second map & we are TIED AT HALF! Who will win this #BattleForTexas?!
LIVE: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/Aeg16vFJZm
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) April 29, 2019
Linkzr was successful in securing the first kills in their pushes. It was looking rough for a moment when Dylan “AKM” Bignet rushed the backline with Zachareee and attempted to push through with another Dragonblade. Jake, now on Brigette, was able to shut them both down and keep the Fuel at bay. They held Dallas off for the remainder of the time, keeping them from capturing more than two ticks of Point B. On attack, the Outlaws ran a 3-3 composition into the Fuel’s Sombra GOATS and were ultimately successful on their second push. With a successful first push onto the second point, Linkzr secured key kills and helped Houston clear the Fuel off of the point, the Outlaws secured Point B and won the map.
The Outlaws ran Sombra-GOATS into the Dallas Fuel’s traditional GOATS on their attack, capturing the first point with ease. The Outlaws were stopped at the corner just before the second point, however, and had quite a bit of trouble regaining their footing on the payload.
The Fuel were able to hold them by the archways nearly through the rest of their time until the Outlaws pushed through their defense and pushed through Point B.
Thank you Mr. @Muma pic.twitter.com/Ep1EKqfJTD
— Houston Outlaws (@Outlaws) April 29, 2019
The Outlaws were able to just barely make it to the first corner on the way to Point C before being wiped. Houston was able to regain control of the payload in overtime, pushing it just a bit further before being pushed off of the point and being unable to finish the map with no time left. On defense, the Outlaws ran Sombra-GOATS yet again and were quickly wiped off of the point and pushed through with ease. Dallas pushed the payload almost through Point B before Houston was able to knock them off, fending the Fuel off for three pushes before finally falling.
With the Outlaws on defense, Point A was quickly rolled through. However, Dallas lost their footing as soon as the cart pulled through the gates. The Fuel pushed time and time again, getting shut down nearly
Overwatch League 2019 Season2019-04-19 / Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment
every time, but with thirty seconds left they finally were able to push through the second and third points. On attack, the Outlaws were able to get to just before Point A and were held there until there were only ten seconds left when they were able to push through Point A. Just before they hit Point B, the Fuel were able to hold the Outlaws off until the round entered overtime, when Houston was finally able to push through Point B. Securing a team kill, Houston was finally able to push through Point C with 0:26 to spare. On their second attack, the Outlaws were able to push just before Point A before being wiped off of the payload. On their defense, the Outlaws held the Fuel just underneath the bridge until the round entered overtime when the Fuel was finally able to regain control and finish the map after a heated final fight.
The Outlaws finally showed up and showed out, letting go of their determination to play 3-3 no matter what, and returned to what they’re good at. By letting their DPS shine, Houston finally were able to give the performance fans expect from them. Hopefully moving forward, the Outlaws can continue to buck the trend and stick to what they’re best at, since that seems to be what works.
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