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 team will look to improve upon their 9–19 record from 2019 and qualify for their first season playoffs. The Outlaws will host two homestand weekends; both will be played at the Revention Music Center in Houston's downtown Theater District.[1]

2020 Houston Outlaws season
Head coachHarsha Bandi
General managerMatt Rodriguez
OwnerBeasley Media Group
Arena(s)Revention Music Center
Results
Record6–10 (.375)
Place

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5] The following month, Houston signed Harsha Bandi, the former assistant coach of the Vancouver Titans and former analyst of the San Francisco Shock.[6] Following, the team signed former Montreal Rebellion coach Chris "Dream" Myrick to their coaching staff.[7]

Roster changes
Free agents
RolePlayerContract
status		Date signed2020 team
HandleName
DamageArhanWon-Hyeop JungFree agent––
SupportBaniChristopher BenellFree agent––
SupportBoinkDaniel PenceFree agentOctober 19Houston Outlaws[8]
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.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11] Three days later, the team acquired DPS Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang from the Boston Uprising.[12] 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.[13][14] The team added former Seoul Dynasty support player Lee "Jecse" Seong-soo on January 2.[15]

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.[16] The following month, on November 9, the team announced that they would also not re-sign main support Chris "Bani" Bennell.[17] On December 7, flex DPS Jake "Jake" Lyon announced that was retiring from professional Overwatch competition.[18] 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.[19]

Roster
Houston Outlaws roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationalityPrevious team
Damage 6 Danteh  Cruz, Dante   United States  San Francisco Shock 
Damage 49 LiNkzr  Masalin, Jiri   Finland  Team Gigantti 
Damage 99 Hydration  Goes Telles, João Pedro   United States  Los Angeles Gladiators 
Damage 22 blasé  Tsang, Jeffrey   United States  Boston Uprising 
Tank 17 Muma  Wilmot, Austin   United States  FNRGFE 
Tank 7 SPREE  Vanhomwegen, Alexandre   Belgium  FaZe Clan 
Tank 22 MekO  Kim Tae-hong  South Korea  New York Excelsior 
Support 1 Rawkus  Flaherty, Shane   United States  FaZe Clan 
Support 16 Rapel  Kim Jun-keun  South Korea  Vancouver Titans 
Support 13 Boink  Pence, Daniel   United States  FNRGFE 
Support 20 Jecse  Lee Seung-soo  South Korea  Seoul Dynasty 
Head coach
  • Harsha Bandi
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (TW) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: January 14, 2020.

Standings
# Team Division W L PCT P MR MD STK
Conference leaders
1 Shanghai Dragons PAC 16 2 .889 18 41–11–1 +30 W4
2 Philadelphia Fusion ATL 15 1 .938 16 44–14–0 +30 W8
Wild cards
3 San Francisco Shock PAC 13 2 .867 15 32–11–2 +21 W9
4 New York Excelsior ATL 12 4 .750 16 39–17–2 +22 W1
5 Guangzhou Charge PAC 11 6 .647 17 32–31–0 +1 W6
6 Florida Mayhem ATL 10 5 .667 15 27–18–0 +9 L1
Play-in tournament
7 Paris Eternal ATL 8 6 .571 14 29–26–0 +3 L1
8 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 8 6 .571 14 26–25–0 +1 W5
9 Hangzhou Spark PAC 7 8 .467 15 27–31–2 -4 L1
10 Atlanta Reign ATL 6 6 .500 12 24–18–0 +6 W1
11 Seoul Dynasty PAC 6 6 .500 12 14–20–1 -6 L3
12 Houston Outlaws ATL 6 10 .375 16 25–35–3 -10 W1
In the hunt
13 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 5 6 .455 11 21–23–3 -2 L1
14 London Spitfire ATL 5 7 .417 12 18–27–0 -9 L1
15 Toronto Defiant ATL 5 9 .357 14 25–31–0 -6 L1
16 Dallas Fuel PAC 4 8 .333 12 18–28–0 -10 L4
17 Chengdu Hunters PAC 4 12 .250 16 23–37–1 -14 L3
18 Vancouver Titans PAC 3 7 .300 10 11–23–0 -12 W1
19 Washington Justice ATL 3 12 .200 15 16–38–0 -22 L4
20 Boston Uprising ATL 2 12 .143 14 12–40–3 -28 L2

Game log
2020 game log (Overall record: 2–5)
February–March: 2–5
April–May: 0–0
June–August: 0–0
2020 season schedule

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. Goslin, Austen (June 12, 2019). "Immortals Gaming acquires Infinite Esports parent company of OpTic Gaming and Houston Outlaws". Polygon. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  3. Hayward, Andrew (June 12, 2019). "Immortals GC Acquires OpTic Gaming and Houston Outlaws Parent, Infinite Esports & Entertainment". The Esports Observer. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  4. Hitt, Kevin (November 15, 2019). "Beasley Broadcast Group Acquires Houston Outlaws From Immortals Gaming Club". The Esports Observer. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  5. Richardson, Liz (September 20, 2019). "Houston Outlaws release head coach and assistant coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  6. Richardson, Liz (October 16, 2019). "Houston Outlaws acquire Harsha as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  7. Scott, Rainee (October 25, 2019). "Outlaws Sign Chris "Dream" Myrick to Coaching Staff". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  8. Houston Outlaws [@Outlaws] (October 19, 2019). "That's right, DJ Daniel is coming home to Houston" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  11. Samples, Rachel (October 18, 2019). "Houston Outlaws sign Hydration ahead of the 2020 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  12. "Boston Uprising trade Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang to Houston Outlaws". GamingLyfe. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  13. Field Level Media (November 16, 2019). "Outlaws, looking to climb OWL standings, sign 'Rapel'". Gwinett Prep Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  14. Scott, Rainee (November 17, 2019). "Outlaws Sign Tae-hong "MekO" Kim". The Game Haus. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  15. Richardson, Liz (January 2, 2020). "Houston Outlaws sign Jecse". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  16. Lyons, Ben (October 18, 2019). "Houston Outlaws part with Arhan". Gamereactor. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  17. Scott, Rainee (November 8, 2019). "Houston Outlaws Release Chris "Bani" Benell". The Game Haus. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  18. "Houston Outlaws' DPS Jake retires". ESPN. Reuters. December 7, 2019. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  19. Richardson, Liz (January 14, 2020). "Coolmatt retires from pro Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
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