RESULTS: Houston Outlaws Show Dominance Over Boston Uprising

The Houston Outlaws came into today's match sitting in third place with a record of 8-3, while the Boston Uprising came into the match at 7th place in the league with a record of 6-5. Houston grabbed a impressive 3-2 victory over the London Spitfire earlier in the week. Boston suffered a disappointing 0-4 loss to the Philadelphia Fusion in thier first match of the week, and were looking to rebound against one of the top teams in the league. The Outlaws were looking to collect their 9th win of the season, while Boston needed a win to avoid losing their winning record. Here is a short breakdown of how the match went. 

Both teams traveled to Hanamura for the first map of the match. Boston was able to jump to a 2-0 lead by executing a successful attack round, which saw them capture both control points. Houston would respond with their own strong attack round, capturing both control points to force a 2-2 tie. Austin "Muma" Wilmot led the way to capturing the second point with an excellent Primal Rage ultimate that resulted in five eliminations. Boston would capture point A to start their second attack round, but Houston's defense on Point B would prevent them from doing the same on the second control point. Houston was able to break through Boston's defense on both points to secure the 4-3 map victory and take a 1-0 match lead. Muma's Winston play (37 eliminations and only four deaths) was a major factor in the Outlaw's victory, as he outperformed his Uprising counterpart YoungJin "Gamsu" Noh (21 eliminations and 15 deaths).

Lijiang Tower was the following map and saw Houston capture the first hill in impressive fashion to take a 1-0 lead. In a back and forth struggle for the second hill, the Outlaws were able to hold on in the very end to complete the capture. This resulted in the Houston Outlaws taking the 2-0 map victory, and a 2-0 match lead going into halftime. Matt "Coolmatt" Lorio and his D.Va performance (26 eliminations, 8,380 damage blocked and only two deaths) helped lead the Outlaws to the win. 

King's Row was the setting for the match's third map. The Uprising were able to break each layer of Houston's defense to deliver the payload and grab a 3-0 lead. A well placed Earth Shatter from Gamsu's Reinhardt led to four eliminations for the talented tank player, which held off the Outlaw's at first. A four elimination Rip Tire from Houston's Jake "Jake" Lyon would eventually be the driving force for the Outlaws to capture the payload and cut the lead to 3-1. Houston would complete their attack round to force a 3-3 tie. Accurate aim with Hanzo from Jonathan "DreamKazper" Sanchez pushed Boston to capturing the payload and grabbing a 4-3 lead, but Houston would hold strong and prevent the Uprising from getting any more points in their second attack round. Houston would be able to secure the payload to tie the map at 4-4. A wise hero switch from Widowmaker to Mei from Jiri  "LiNkzr" Masalin would allow him to wall off Boston's pushes, and led to the Outlaws capturing their 5th point. This resulted in the 5-4 map victory and a gauranteed match victory with the score at 3-0. 

With map count being such a strong factor in the league standings, map four was still incredibly important for both teams to win, even with the match already decided. Watchpoint: Gibraltar would begin with a dominant defensive hold from the Houston Outlaws that prevented Boston from collecting a single point. The Outlaws would easily deliver the payload to the first checkpoint of the map and secure the 1-0 map victory and 4-0 match victory. 

With the win, the Houston Outlaws improved to a record of 9-3 and 2-0 in Stage 2. The loss dropped the Boston Uprising to a record of 6-6 and cemented a very poor week for the team, as they failed to win a single map in Week 1 of Stage 2. 

Interested in more Overwatch League news? Check out our recap of today's Philadelphia Fusion and Florida Mayhem match.