The Houston Outlaws and Boston Uprising Battle for Playoff Lives
By Nicholas Barth ·
Both teams came into today knowing exactly what they needed to do in order to secure themselves a spot in the Stage 1 playoffs.
The Houston Outlaws and the Boston Uprising both came into their match today with identical 6-3 records and only 3 map wins seprarting them. All that the Outlaws needed to accomplish was to get the win anyway possible, as their map count would push them past the Los Angeles Valiant and into the playoffs. Boston had a much tougher requirement, as they needed a 3-1 or 4-0 victory to make their way into the playoffs. Both teams gave their all in an exciting five map series.
The first map of the series took place on Eichenwalde and saw a back and forth struggle between the Outlaws and the Uprising. Boston would strike first and deliver the payload to the second point of the map, but Houston's defense would hold strong and keep the Uprising from completing the map. Houston would be down 0-2 going into thier attack round, but thanks to the impeccable aim of Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin on McCree (37 eliminations and 11,403 damage done) Houston would break through Boston's defense and lead them to completing the map. The outlaws would take the 3-2 map victory and the 1-0 map lead.
Temple of Anubis would be the battleground for the second map of the match. Houston was able to launch a strong attack to capture Point A from Boston, but the Uprising's defense would hold strong on Point B and prevent the Outlaws from scoring another point. Needing one perfect attack round to secure the win, Boston was able to accomplish this behind Lucas "NotE" Meissner and his flawless performance as D.Va (25 eliminations to 0 deaths and 8,496 damage blocked). Boston would take the 2-1 map victory and tie the match at 1-1.
Striker going OFF on Tracer! #OWL2018 @STRIKER_OW https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/pQwdmuE02L
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 10, 2018
Our third map of the match saw the Boston Uprising keep on the gas pedal and put all of the pressure on the Outlaws. Namju "STRIKER" Gwon and his near flawless performance with Tracer (18 eliminations to only 1 death and a kill streak of 10) gave Houston trouble throughout the map and none of the Outlaws' player could contain him. The Uprising would take the first two hills and get the 2-0 map victory and 2-1 lead in the match.
Houston would not go down without a fight on the match deciding map four of Dorado. In a struggle reminiscent of map one, the Outlaws were able to be the team to come out on top 3-2 with the superb support play of Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty (22 eliminations and 8,259 healing done) negating any damage that Houston was able to inflict on his teammates. Houston's win would tie the match 2-2 and force a winner take all map five on Lijang Tower.
In one of the most exciting game fives that we have seen in Stage 1, the Houston Outlaws and Boston Uprising clawed and scratched for the first two hills. Both teams would capture one hill, which forced a final round 3 to determine the winner of this pivotal match. Houston was able to overcome the barrage of attacks that the Uprising kept throwing at them, as they fought through overtime to secure the final hill and 2-1 map victory. This gave the Outlaws the well deserved 3-2 match victory.
The @OutlawsOW secure their play off spot by beating the @BostonUprising 3-2! #OWL2018https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/OVxOI0x64S
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 10, 2018
With the win, the Houston Outlaws will now be playing the London Spitfire in the second and third place finishers playoff match. The winner of this match will go up against the New York Excelsior for a shot of the grand prize of $100,000. The loss dropped the Boston Uprising to a record of 6-4, but with the low expectations that everyone had of this team coming into Stage 1, it is safe to say that the Uprising proved their doubters wrong and will be a team to look out for in Stage 2. The Uprising's loss also denied the Los Angeles Valiant a trip to the playoffs, as they needed Boston to defeat Houston 3-2 in order to secure themselves a playoff spot.
Check out the official Overwatch League standings to see where your favorite team currently stands. Interested in more Overwatch League news? Check out our recap from the match between the New York Excelsior and London Spitfire!