On Friday, February 2, 2018, the Houston Outlaws faced off against Seoul Dynasty. The arena in Los Angeles was filled to the brim with fans, commentators and analysts eager to see who would come out on top. I was tweeting through the entire match (here). These were the standings before the game began:
Image: the standings of each Overwatch League team at the beginning of the match.
These standings are determined both by the number of series won/lost by each team, and the games within each series. This and other information about the League and how it works can be found on the Overwatch League website!
Anyone who follows me knows that my heart belongs to the London Spitfire, but that didn't make this game less exciting. There had been some concern because one of Houston's star players, LiNkzr, was sick unable to play. But instead of getting steamrolled, Houston fought tooth and nail the entire time.
Jake, a player for the Outlaws, showed his prowess for the game before the first map was through:
Image: A message in my thread following an impressive play by one of Houston's team members.
And Jake's talent hasn't gone unnoticed by fans either. Dylan Campbell and Natalie Pack are both fans of the Houston Outlaws who agreed to speak with me concerning the game versus Seoul. Although the two have never met, both had something to say about Jake. Words like impressive, terrifying, and strategical were all used. And it's no wonder, with statistics like these:
Image: statistics for Jake as Junkrat on Horizon Lunar Colony, map two of the series.
Neither team seemed to show the fatigue they had to have been feeling as the games passed.
Image: Commentary throughout the series.Please read from bottom to top for chronological order.
Fans on both sides held their breath as the series reached the end of the fourth map with Seoul Dynasty up 2-1. But instead of the game ending there, Houston won the fourth map, which can only mean one thing: a tiebreaker.
Image: the excitement builds as the series must now go to a tiebreaker map to decide who wins the series.
Seoul took the final map and the series with it, but not without fighting for it first. Both Campbell and Pack were disappointed at Houston's defeat, but hold high hopes for the future of the team, and the League.