# 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 Outlaws planned to host two homestand weekends at the Revention Music Center in Houston's downtown Theater District. While their first homestand took place, all other homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Outlaws failed to make it past the quarterfinals in each of the three midseason tournaments of the season. Houston ended the season with a 6–15 record and were eliminated from postseason contention on September 3 after a 1–3 to the Boston Uprising in the North America play-ins tournament.

## 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. 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.
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.

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

### Roster changes

Free agents :
| Role | Player | Player | Contract status | Date signed | 2020 team |
| Role | Handle | Name | Contract status | Date signed | 2020 team |
| Damage | Arhan | Won-Hyeop Jung | Free agent | – | – |
| Support | Bani | Christopher Benell | Free agent | – | – |
| Support | Boink | Daniel Pence | Free agent | October 19 | Houston Outlaws |
| 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. 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.

#### 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. Three days later, the team acquired DPS Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang from the Boston Uprising. 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. The team added former Seoul Dynasty support player Lee "Jecse" Seong-soo on January 2.

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

## Roster
### Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season:
* On July 15, the Outlaws released tank Alexandre "Spree" Vanhomwegen.
* On August 1, support Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty retired.

## Standings

| Pos | Con | Teamvte | Pld | W | BW | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 21 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0.905 | 59 | 19 | 0 | +40 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 21 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 0.857 | 56 | 17 | 2 | +39 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | ATL | Paris Eternal | 21 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 0.714 | 50 | 31 | 0 | +19 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 21 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0.667 | 48 | 30 | 0 | +18 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 21 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0.524 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 0 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 21 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0.524 | 43 | 39 | 5 | +4 | Advance to play-ins |
| 7 | ATL | Atlanta Reign | 21 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0.476 | 43 | 35 | 0 | +8 | Advance to play-ins |
| 8 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 21 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 0.429 | 35 | 44 | 0 | −9 | Advance to play-ins |
| 9 | ATL | Toronto Defiant | 21 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 0.333 | 32 | 48 | 0 | −16 | Advance to play-ins |
| 10 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 21 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0.286 | 32 | 50 | 3 | −18 | Advance to play-ins |
| 11 | PAC | Vancouver Titans | 21 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0.286 | 23 | 48 | 0 | −25 | Advance to play-ins |
| 12 | ATL | Washington Justice | 21 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0.190 | 21 | 54 | 1 | −33 | Advance to play-ins |
| 13 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 21 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0.095 | 14 | 61 | 4 | −47 | Advance to play-ins |

## Game log
### Regular season

2020 game log (Regular season record: 6–15) :
February–April 4–7
1
February 15
Florida Mayhem
3
0
Houston Outlaws
Philadelphia, PA
3:00 pm CST
The Met Philadelphia
Hosted by Philadelphia Fusion
2
Busan
0
1
Havana
0
3
Eichenwalde
2
2
February 16
Washington Justice
3
0
Houston Outlaws
Philadelphia, PA
3:00 pm CST
The Met Philadelphia
Hosted by Philadelphia Fusion
2
Lijiang Tower
0
3
Junkertown
1
3
King's Row
2
3
February 22
Boston Uprising
3
2
Houston Outlaws
Washington, DC
4:00 pm CST
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2
Ilios
0
2
Temple of Anubis
2
3
Dorado
1
3
Blizzard World
3
0
Oasis
2
1
Nepal
2
2
Lijiang Tower
0
4
February 23
New York Excelsior
3
0
Houston Outlaws
Washington, DC
2:00 pm CST
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2
Ilios
0
2
Hanamura
1
3
Havana
0
5
February 29
London Spitfire
3
2
Houston Outlaws
Houston, TX
6:00 pm CST
Revention Music Center
Hosted by Houston Outlaws
2
Busan
0
2
Blizzard World
1
1
Temple of Anubis
2
2
Junkertown
3
2
Ilios
1
6
March 01
Toronto Defiant
1
3
Houston Outlaws
Houston, TX
6:00 pm CST
Revention Music Center
Hosted by Houston Outlaws
2
Nepal
1
3
King's Row
4
0
Horizon Lunar Colony
1
1
Dorado
2
7
March 07
Paris Eternal
0
3
Houston Outlaws
Washington, DC
4:00 pm CST
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
1
Oasis
2
0
Havana
1
1
Eichenwalde
2
8
April 05
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Paris Eternal
Online
8:00 pm UTC
9
April 11
Houston Outlaws
3
1
Boston Uprising
Online
10:00 pm UTC
10
April 12
Houston Outlaws
3
2
Toronto Defiant
Online
8:00 pm UTC
11
April 26
Houston Outlaws
2
3
Dallas Fuel
Online
10:00 pm UTC :
May Melee qualifiers: 1–3
12
May 02
Houston Outlaws
0
3
San Francisco Shock
Online
11:00 pm UTC
13
May 09
Houston Outlaws
0
3
Atlanta Reign
Online
11:00 pm UTC
14
May 16
Houston Outlaws
3
0
Vancouver Titans
Online
7:00 pm UTC :
Summer Showdown qualifiers: 1–3
15
June 14
Houston Outlaws
0
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Online
7:00 pm UTC
16
June 20
Houston Outlaws
3
1
Los Angeles Gladiators
Online
11:00 pm UTC
17
June 27
Houston Outlaws
2
3
Florida Mayhem
Online
7:00 pm UTC :
Countdown Cup qualifiers: 0–4
18
July 17
Houston Outlaws
2
3
Dallas Fuel
Online
9:00 pm UTC
19
July 26
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Washington Justice
Online
11:00 pm UTC
20
July 31
Houston Outlaws
2
3
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
9:00 pm UTC
21
August 01
Houston Outlaws
0
3
San Francisco Shock
Online
11:00 pm UTC :

### Midseason tournaments

2020 midseason tournaments game log :
May Melee: 0–1
Knockouts
May 22
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Dallas Fuel
Online
7:30 pm UTC :
Summer: 1–1
Knockouts
July 03
Houston Outlaws
3
1
Florida Mayhem
Online
9:00 pm UTC
Quarterfinals
July 05
Houston Outlaws
0
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Online
1:00 am UTC :
Countdown Cup: 0–1
Knockouts
August 07
Houston Outlaws
0
3
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
9:00 pm UTC :
Bonus wins awarded: 0 :

### Postseason

2020 playoff game log :
North America Play-ins: 0–1
Round 1
September 03
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Boston Uprising
Online
7:00 pm UTC :