Despite a quiet few weeks for the Houston Outlaws, the team looks energized and ready to try out new team compositions and even start new players. It’s clear that the Houston Outlaws have made some adjustments to their strategy and their approach the new meta. Week 3 will be a challenge for the team from Texas. Read how they may fare below.
Week 2 Recap
Vancouver Titans 3-1
Despite the scoreline, the Houston Outlaws put up a scrappy fight against the reigning Stage 1 champions, the Vancouver Titans. Houston brought out Wonhyeop “ArHaN” Jeong for the first time this season and all of their success came from a DPS heavy team compositions. While the team looked sloppy during a few points on Busan, Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin shined with his incredible Widowmaker play and was a bright spot for Houston.
Furthermore, Dante “Danteh” Cruz was excellent while playing his signature Sombra. Houston defended on Eichenwalde valiantly and proved they could keep up with one of the best teams in the Overwatch League. If Houston manages to keep up their stellar DPS play the Outlaws have a solid chance to take victory in the upcoming week. Furthermore, if Houston cleans up their GOATS play, the Outlaws could be a contending team to make playoffs.
Player(s) of the Match
Danteh and Linkzr continue to be the backbone of Houston’s success. Whenever the team plays a DPS heavy team composition, they find success. If Houston can continue to play a 3 tank, 2 support Sombra team composition Houston may find success later in the season.
Preview
Philadelphia Fusion (7-4)
Houston faces another tough opponent this week in the Philadelphia Fusion. Philadelphia boasts a 
mostly veteran roster that went to the Overwatch League finals in Season 1. Furthermore, the Fusion are coming off a rather dominant victory over the Toronto Defiant while also having a good showing against the former Overwatch League champion, London Spitfire. Philly is a well organized and cohesive team with almost a full season of experience together. This will be one of Houston’s most difficult matches this Stage and they need to play their absolute best to come out victorious.
The Philadelphia Fusion are a scrappy team that could cause tons of problems for the Houston Outlaws. However, in past matches, the Fusion have proven to be fearful of DPS heavy team compositions and can’t seem to solve Sombra play. If Houston wants to pull out the upset against the team from Philly, Danteh needs to have another incredible game and prove that Houston is the real deal.
Prediction 3-2 Philadelphia Fusion
Shanghai Dragons (4-6)
The fan favorite Shanghai Dragons come into week 3 with a lot of momentum after a win against the Chengdu Hunters. In addition, the Dragons seem to be slowly moving away from the GOATs team composition and find success with off-meta picks that could give the Houston Outlaws some problems. Furthermore, Shanghai is an unpredictable, yet cohesive team that seems to play well together. They boast having one of the best tank lines in all of the Overwatch League with Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim and Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh.
If the Outlaws want to find success against these fan favorites they need to have stellar performances from their own tank line. Austin “Muma” Wilmont needs to have a pop off game where he dictates the pace of each map and leads his team to victory. In addition, if Houston can counter Shanghai’s off-meta picks with off-meta picks of their own, Houston may manage to pull out a win.
Prediction 3-2 Shanghai Dragons
Player(s) to watch
Muma has proven himself to be an integral member of Houston’s success, a rock in the main tank position. Houston needs to build their success off of his incredible Reinhardt plays if they want to find success against Shanghai. Furthermore, Daniel “Boink” Pence has quietly shown himself to be a great support player. This unsung hero needs to continue to breathe life into his team and help lead them to victory.
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