Fuel Beat Outlaws in Overwatch League's Battle of Texas

There have been plenty of matchups in the Overwatch League’s very short history that have stirred up a heck of a lot of tension and hype, but today’s regular season head-to-head between the two Texas teams, live from Dallas, was absolutely bonkers. 

When, if ever, anyone questions the importance of geolocating competitive franchises, the Dallas Homestead is a prime exhibit of its power. 

Fans of the Overwatch League were treated to a fantastic roadshow. 

The Payload at the Ok Corral

There wasn’t a lot of question heading into this first homestead ever in Overwatch League history at the Allen Event Center in Texas regarding who was going to win. Not only are the two Texas-based teams very opposite in play-style, they are also on almost opposite ends of the overall league standings. Add to that the fact that this was a Dallas home game, with Houston playing the visitors in their own state. The battle between Houston and Dallas is a heated one, and the fans definitely did their job in lifting up their home squad.

Map 1 in their matchup went according to plan and the entire audience firmly believed that this best-of-four head-to-head would be over very quickly. Dallas took it to Houston on Lijiang Tower, with their ability to be over-aggressive, and newly graduated Zachareee playing out of his mind. 

The second map, however, stunned the rambunctious crowd as Houston managed to come back and steal away Temple of Anubis from the home team, taking the matchup to half-time all tied up at 1 map a piece. 

After the break, the Fuel stormed back and held the Outlaws to only two captured points on hybrid map King’s Row. Much to the delight of those “burning blue” in the Allen Event Center.

Finally, the underdog Houston Outlaws almost took the Battle of Texas to Map 5 with an admirable display on Watchpoint: Gibraltar, which went into extra innings to decide the winner. In the end, it would be Dallas’ offense that would win over their defense, but a win is a win. This win came on the top of a 100-foot wave built up by the sea of Dallas Fuel fans. 

Outlaws Locked-Up

Unfortunately for the smaller portion of the live audience, the loss by their Outlaws would put them at 0W - 5L on the stage, officially eliminating them from the Stage 2 Playoffs. 

It’s fitting that the Battle of Texas, during the Overwatch League’s first ever road trip and homestand, would be a match that would decide the fate of one of the two Texas teams in combat. 

For Dallas, the win puts them at 4W - 2L for the stage so far, and they currently sit in the 6th Place spot overall. Their playoff life is not yet certain, but if they can manage to win again next week, they may just get in.

The Overwatch League will continue next weekend, as the teams with games remaining will play in the final week of Stage 2.