2018 Houston Outlaws season

The 2018 Houston Outlaws season was the first season of the Houston Outlaws's existence in the Overwatch League. Outlaws qualified for the Stage 1 playoffs but fell to the London Spitfire in the semifinals. The team did not qualify finished with a regular season record of 22–18, missing the season playoffs.

2018 Houston Outlaws season
Head coach	Kim Tae-yeong
General manager	Matt Rodriguez
Owner	Hector Rodriguez
Division	Atlantic
Results
Record	22–18 (.550)
Place	Atlantic: 5th League: 7th
Stage 1 Playoffs	Semifinals
Stage 2 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 3 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 4 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Season Playoffs	Did not qualify
Total Earnings	$75,000
Houston Outlaws 2019 →

Preceding offseason

On October 31, 2017, Houston Outlaws announced their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:^[1]

• Matthew "Clockwork" Dias
• Lucas "Mendokusaii" Håkansson
• Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin
• Jake "Jake" Lyon
• Austin "Muma" Wilmot
• Matt "Coolmatt" Iorio
• Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty
• Christopher "Bani" Benell
• Daniel "Boink" Pence
• Alexandre "SPREE" Vanhomwegen

Regular season

Review

On January 11, the Outlaws played their first regular season Overwatch League match, a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Fusion.^[2] One week later, on January 17, Houston claimed their first victory after sweeping the Shanghai Dragons 4–0.^[3] Houston went on to qualify for the Stage 1 playoffs but fell to the London Spitfire in the semifinals.^[4]

Houston entered their last regular season match against the New York Excelsior needing a win to keep their season playoff hopes alive. The Outlaws had a 2–1 lead after three matches, but New York won the next three straight to take the win 3–2.^[5] The team finished with a regular season record of 22–18.

Final roster

2018 Houston Outlaws roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Damage 11 Clockwork Dias, Matthew United States Damage 12 Mendokusaii Håkansson, Lucas Sweden Damage 49 LiNkzr Masalin, Jiri Finland Damage 76 JAKE Lyon, Jacob United States Tank 2 FCTFCTN Campbell, Russell United States Tank 17 Muma Wilmot, Austin United States Tank 69 Coolmatt Iorio, Matt United States Support 1 Rawkus Flaherty, Shane United States Support 3 Bani Benell, Christopher Canada Support 13 Boink Pence, Daniel United States Flex 7 SPREE Vanhomwegen, Alexandre Belgium Flex 57 ArHaN Jung Won-hyeop South Korea	Head coach Kim Tae-yeong
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (2W) Two-way player Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: March 30, 2018.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:

• On February 16, Outlaws signed Russell "FCTFCTN" Campbell.^[6]
• On March 30, Outlaws signed Jung "ArHaN" Won-hyeop.^[7]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	10	7	3	.700	30	13	0	+17	2
2	10	5	5	.500	22	22	0	±0	7
3	10	4	6	.400	20	24	1	-4	9
4	10	6	4	.600	22	18	1	+4	8
Overall	40	22	18	.550	94	77	2	+17	7
Qualified for playoffs

League

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	MW	ML	MT	MD	Qualification
1	ATL	New York Excelsior	40	34	6	0.850	126	43	4	+83	Advance to season playoffs semifinals
2	PAC	Los Angeles Valiant	40	27	13	0.675	100	64	7	+36
3	ATL	Boston Uprising	40	26	14	0.650	99	71	3	+28	Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals
4	PAC	Los Angeles Gladiators	40	25	15	0.625	96	72	3	+24
5	ATL	London Spitfire	40	24	16	0.600	102	69	3	+33
6	ATL	Philadelphia Fusion	40	24	16	0.600	93	80	2	+13
7	ATL	Houston Outlaws	40	22	18	0.550	94	77	2	+17
8	PAC	Seoul Dynasty	40	22	18	0.550	91	78	3	+13
9	PAC	San Francisco Shock	40	17	23	0.425	77	84	5	−7
10	PAC	Dallas Fuel	40	12	28	0.300	58	100	7	−42
11	ATL	Florida Mayhem	40	7	33	0.175	42	120	5	−78
12	PAC	Shanghai Dragons	40	0	40	0.000	21	141	2	−120

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head map differential; 4) head-to-head record

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Preseason (0–2) 1 December 7 Dallas Fuel 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 2 December 8 Seoul Dynasty 2 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA

Regular season

2018 game log (Regular season record: 22–18)
Stage 1 (7–3) 1 January 11 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 2 January 13 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 3 January 17 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 4 January 18 Dallas Fuel 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 5 January 25 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 6 January 27 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 7 January 31 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 8 February 02 Seoul Dynasty 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 9 February 08 London Spitfire 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 10 February 10 Houston Outlaws 3 – 2 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA
Stage 2 (5–5) 11 February 22 Houston Outlaws 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 12 February 24 Boston Uprising 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 13 March 01 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 14 March 03 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 15 March 08 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 16 March 09 Florida Mayhem 2 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 17 March 15 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 18 March 17 San Francisco Shock 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 19 March 22 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 4 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 20 March 22 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA
Stage 3 (4–6) 21 April 05 London Spitfire 2 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 22 April 07 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 23 April 12 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 24 April 14 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 25 April 19 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 26 April 21 Houston Outlaws 3 – 0 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 27 April 25 Los Angeles Valiant 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 28 April 27 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 29 May 02 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 30 May 05 Seoul Dynasty 4 – 0 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA
Stage 4 (6–4) 31 May 17 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 32 May 18 Boston Uprising 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 33 May 23 Houston Outlaws 1 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 34 May 25 San Francisco Shock 4 – 0 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 35 June 01 Houston Outlaws 3 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 36 June 02 Florida Mayhem 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 37 June 06 Dallas Fuel 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 38 June 09 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 39 June 14 Houston Outlaws 3 – 1 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 40 June 15 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (0–1) Semifinals February 10 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA