2020 Houston Outlaws season

The 2020 Houston Outlaws season is the third season of the Houston Outlaws's existence in the Overwatch League (OWL). The Outlaws planned to host two homestand weekends at the Revention Music Center in Houston's downtown Theater District.[1] While their first homestand took place, all other homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 Houston Outlaws season
Head coachHarsha Bandi
General managerMatt Rodriguez
OwnerBeasley Media Group
Arena(s)Revention Music Center
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionSouth
RegionNorth America
Results
Record6–15 (.286)
Place
May MeleeKnockouts
Summer ShowdownQuarterfinals
Countdown CupKnockouts
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$5,000

The Outlaws failed to make it past the quarterfinals in each of the three midseason tournaments of the season.[2][3][4] Houston ended the season with a 6–15 record and were eliminated from postseason contention on September 3 after a 1–3 to the Boston Uprising in the North America play-ins tournament.[5]

Preceding offseason

Sale of the franchise

On June 12, 2019, Immortals Gaming Club (IGC), the parent company of Immortals and the Los Angeles Valiant, acquired Infinite Esports, the parent company of Houston Outlaws and OpTic Gaming, marking the first major sale of any Overwatch League franchise.[6] By OWL rules, one company may not own more than one OWL franchise; while Riot Games and Activision Blizzard approved the sale, IGC operated Valiant and Outlaws as entirely separate entities, with oversight by OWL representatives, until they sold the Outlaws.[7]

On November 14, 2019, Beasley Broadcast Group announced the acquisition of the Houston Outlaws from Immortals Gaming Club. The purchase marked the company's third esports venture.[8]

Organizational changes

In September 2019, the Outlaws released both head coach Kim "TaiRong" Tae-yeong and assistant coach Kim "Hyunwoo" Hyun-woo – both who had been in their positions since the team's inception in 2017 – after Houston's disappointing 2019 campaign.[9] The following month, Houston signed Harsha Bandi, the former assistant coach of the Vancouver Titans and former analyst of the San Francisco Shock.[10] Following, the team signed former Montreal Rebellion coach Chris "Dream" Myrick to their coaching staff.[11]

Roster changes
Free agents
RolePlayerContract
status		Date signed2020 team
HandleName
DamageArhanWon-Hyeop JungFree agent––
SupportBaniChristopher BenellFree agent––
SupportBoinkDaniel PenceFree agentOctober 19Houston Outlaws[12]
Legend
  Re-signed/Retained by the Outlaws.
  Departed from the Outlaws.

The Outlaws enter the new season with three free agents, one player which they have the option to retain for another year, and six players under contract.[13] The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.[14]

Acquisitions

The first signing for the 2020 season was on October 18, when the Outlaws signed DPS João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles, who had most recently played for the Los Angeles Gladiators.[15] Three days later, the team acquired DPS Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang from the Boston Uprising.[16] The following month, Houston picked up former Vancouver Titans flex support player Jung-geun "Rapel" Kim and former New York Excelsior flex tank Kim "MekO" Tae-hong.[17][18] The team added former Seoul Dynasty support player Lee "Jecse" Seong-soo on January 2.[19]

Departures

On October 17, the Outlaws announced that they would not re-sign free agent DPS Jung "Arhan" Won-hyeop, who had been with the team since its inception in 2017.[20] The following month, on November 9, the team announced that they would also not re-sign main support Chris "Bani" Bennell.[21] On December 7, flex DPS Jake "Jake" Lyon announced that was retiring from professional Overwatch competition.[22] A month later, on January 14, off-tank player Matt "Coolmatt" Iorio retired as a player and moved to an organizational role with the Outlaws.[23]

Roster
2020 Houston Outlaws roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 6 Danteh  Cruz, Dante   United States 
Damage 49 LiNkzr  Masalin, Jiri   Finland 
Damage 22 blasé  Tsang, Jeffrey   United States 
Tank 99 Hydration  Goes Telles, João Pedro   United States 
Tank 17 Muma  Wilmot, Austin   United States 
Tank 22 MekO  Kim Tae-hong  South Korea 
Support 16 Rapel  Kim Jun-keun  South Korea 
Support 13 Boink  Pence, Daniel   United States 
Support 20 Jecse  Lee Seung-soo  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Harsha Bandi
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: August 1, 2020.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season:

  • On July 15, the Outlaws released tank Alexandre "Spree" Vanhomwegen.[24]
  • On August 1, support Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty retired.[25]

Standings
2020 Overwatch League North America standings
# Team Conference W BW L PCT P MR MD STK
Playoffs
1 Philadelphia Fusion ATL 19 5 2 .905 21 59–19–0 +40
2 San Francisco Shock PAC 18 7 3 .857 21 56–17–2 +39
3 Paris Eternal ATL 15 4 6 .714 21 50–31–0 +19
4 Florida Mayhem ATL 14 3 7 .667 21 48–30–0 +18
5 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 11 1 10 .524 21 41–41–0 ±0
Play-ins
6 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 11 0 10 .524 21 43–39–5 +4
7 Atlanta Reign ATL 10 0 11 .476 21 43–35–0 +8
8 Dallas Fuel PAC 9 0 12 .429 21 35–44–0 -9
9 Toronto Defiant ATL 7 1 14 .333 21 32–48–0 -16
10[lower-alpha 1] Houston Outlaws ATL 6 0 15 .286 21 32–50–3 -18
11[lower-alpha 1] Vancouver Titans PAC 6 0 15 .286 21 23–48–0 -25
12 Washington Justice ATL 4 0 17 .190 21 21–54–1 -33
13 Boston Uprising ATL 2 0 19 .095 21 14–61–4 -47
Tiebreakers

  1. Houston placed ahead of Vancouver based on map differential.

Game log

Regular season
2020 game log (Regular season record: 6–15)
February–April 4–7
May Melee qualifiers: 1–3
Summer Showdown qualifiers: 1–3
Countdown Cup qualifiers: 0–4

Midseason tournaments
2020 midseason tournaments game log
May Melee: 0–1
Summer: 1–1
Countdown Cup: 0–1
Bonus wins awarded: 0

Postseason
2020 playoff game log
North America Play-ins: 0–1
Round 1 September 03 Houston Outlaws 1 – 3 Boston Uprising Online
7:00 pm UTC    

References
  1. Mathews, Chris (August 21, 2019). "Major Houston esports team reveals dates, venue for first-ever home matches in 2020". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  2. Collins, Sean (May 22, 2020). "Decay leads Dallas Fuel to record-setting performance in 3-1 win over Houston Outlaws in May Melee". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  3. Field Level Media. "Defiant upset Reign, reach OWL Summer Showdown semis". Rueters. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  4. Richardson, Liz (August 7, 2020). "Fuel to the fire: Overwatch League Countdown Cup Knockout round results". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  5. Richardson, Liz (September 3, 2020). "Houston Outlaws, Vancouver Titans eliminated from Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  6. Goslin, Austen (June 12, 2019). "Immortals Gaming acquires Infinite Esports parent company of OpTic Gaming and Houston Outlaws". Polygon. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  7. Hayward, Andrew (June 12, 2019). "Immortals GC Acquires OpTic Gaming and Houston Outlaws Parent, Infinite Esports & Entertainment". The Esports Observer. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  8. Hitt, Kevin (November 15, 2019). "Beasley Broadcast Group Acquires Houston Outlaws From Immortals Gaming Club". The Esports Observer. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  9. Richardson, Liz (September 20, 2019). "Houston Outlaws release head coach and assistant coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  10. Richardson, Liz (October 16, 2019). "Houston Outlaws acquire Harsha as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  11. Scott, Rainee (October 25, 2019). "Outlaws Sign Chris "Dream" Myrick to Coaching Staff". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  12. Houston Outlaws [@Outlaws] (October 19, 2019). "That's right, DJ Daniel is coming home to Houston" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  14. Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  15. Samples, Rachel (October 18, 2019). "Houston Outlaws sign Hydration ahead of the 2020 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  16. "Boston Uprising trade Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang to Houston Outlaws". GamingLyfe. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  17. Field Level Media (November 16, 2019). "Outlaws, looking to climb OWL standings, sign 'Rapel'". Gwinett Prep Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  18. Scott, Rainee (November 17, 2019). "Outlaws Sign Tae-hong "MekO" Kim". The Game Haus. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  19. Richardson, Liz (January 2, 2020). "Houston Outlaws sign Jecse". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  20. Lyons, Ben (October 18, 2019). "Houston Outlaws part with Arhan". Gamereactor. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. Scott, Rainee (November 8, 2019). "Houston Outlaws Release Chris "Bani" Benell". The Game Haus. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  22. "Houston Outlaws' DPS Jake retires". ESPN. Reuters. December 7, 2019. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  23. Richardson, Liz (January 14, 2020). "Coolmatt retires from pro Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  24. Richardson, Liz (July 15, 2020). "Off-tank Spree parts ways with Houston Outlaws". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  25. Howard, Brandon (August 3, 2020). "Houston Outlaws' Rawkus Retires From The Overwatch League". TheGamer. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
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