Overwatch League Stage 1 Semi-Finals: London Spitfire gets their revenge on Houston Outlaws

Stage 1 playoffs started out with a rematch of London and Houston.

The last time these two teams met was just earlier this week. Then, the Houston Outlaws were able to pull off an incredibly dominate win over the London Spitfire.

But new day, new rematch. Both teams entered the game having played earlier in the day, and both teams were driven by a fire within to make it to the finals for a chance to play New York Excelsior. Would London get revenge for their previous loss? Or would Houston continue to wow the crowd and take down London a second time?

It was a best-of-five contest that decided the answers to those questions.

Map One: El Dorado

Houston kicked things off on defense, and nearly right away London brought the pressure with Profit on Genji getting a pick on Rawkus’ Zenyatta. However, birdring also fell during the scuffle. Houston did eventually stabilize after a Riptire from Jake that took birdring out a second time. From there London threw nearly everything they had at Houston in an attempt to notch the first checkpoint, including a Profit Dragonblade. Somehow, the Outlaws withstood, refusing to give any ground for free. With time running out, the Spitfire finally got a crucial pick onto Bani and converged onto the point. As every Outlaw fell around Gesture’s Primal Rage, Muma attempted to stall in front of the payload as long as possible. But even with Bani back to support him, it just wasn’t enough and with birdring now making headshots as Widowmaker in the back. London got the first checkpoint in overtime and moved forward.

The Spitfire did not have much time to work with, and with one failed push they only had enough time for one more attack on the payload. Coolmatt caused it to start at a disadvantage, with a Self Destruct taking out Bdosin and forcing out a Valkyrie to bring him back. Transcendence also came out for London, but none of it ended up being enough. Houston held London short of the second checkpoint.

On attack, Houston decided to go forward with triple tanks. The Outlaws only suffered one slight stall before Rawkus helped open things way up for Houston, getting a big hook and kill onto Profit. Jake took out birdring’s Widowmaker with a Riptire, and then Rawkus struck again with a hook onto Bdosin. In no time at all, Houston was at the first checkpoint.

As the payload moved into the second portion of the map, Houston continued to roll. Looking unstoppable, LiNkzr got some key headshots as Widowmaker. As the Outlaws cleared the map and approached the point, there was no one from the Spitfire around to even make it a stalling contest. Houston cruised to a first map victory.

Map Score: Spitfire 1, Outlaws 2

Match Score: Spitfire 0, Outlaws 1

Map Two: Ilios

Starting on Lighthouse, Jake played Solder 76 and LiNkzr went on McCree. birdring was an opposing McCree and found Rawkus and LiNkzr very quickly, forcing Houston to backtrack. But even as London took control, Muma came right back to the point. With this near constant pressure, the Outlaws flipped the point shortly afterward. But London came right back, with birdring taking out both Muma and LiNkzr which was enough to re-flip the point.

Back and forth the map went. It finally settled on London, started by smart defensive stand from the Spitfire, successful because the Houston supports were the first to get taken out. With 99 percent on the board, Houston sent in Muma and Coolmatt to stall but they did not last long. London took the first point.

On Well, it took a long time before someone took control of the point after it unlocked. It wasn’t until birdring took out LiNkzr that Profit whizzed onto the point as Tracer and cleaned up the rest of the Houston team. From there, the Spitfire flexed their muscles, pushing up through the streets to harass the Outlaws from every direction. The winning play came from Profit, whose one Pulse Bomb managed to take out both Houston supports. The Spitfire took the second point as well and evened up the series.

Map Score: Spitfire 2, Outlaws 0

Match Score: Spitfire 1, Outlaws 1

Map Three: Temple of Anubis

This time on defense, Houston set up on the high ground farther back from the point A opening. Jake remained on the familiar Junkrat and LiNkzr on Widowmaker. London’s first engage was repelled solidly, with Gesture falling at the hands of Jake early and then Coolmatt cleaning up the remaining members of London, whether tank or support.

With less than a minute remaining, the Spitfire got the push they needed, able to take out Jake and Rawkus right away. Before long, Muma would fall to give London point A.

After a failed first push, Profit switched to Reaper and birdring switched to Junkrat. Aggressively, the Spitfire barged onto the point and immediately got the picks they wanted. From there, London never relinquished their hold on the point. As Reapers are wont to do on point B of Anubis, Profit ruled the area, hanging onto his Death Blossom until the last-minute as an assurance that his team would cap the point. And cap the point they did with just over a minute left on the clock.

London set up their defense on the lower platform and while Muma leapt right on top of the defense as Houston normally does, it went very poorly this time around. After repelling the Outlaws’ initial attack, birdring started to foil Houston’s subsequent plans with well-placed headshots. London’s defense seemed to get better with each Houston push, and Houston started to look more desperate with every failed engagement. With Rawkus and Bani being the first to fall time and time again, the Outlaws were never able to put together a sustained push. With no time left on the clock, London would pull off a full hold on Anubis.

Map Score: Spitfire 2, Outlaws 0

Match Score: Spitfire 2, Outlaws 1

Map Four: Eichenwalde

Starting on defense, Houston put Jake on Junkrat and LiNkzr on McCree, forgoing a Pharah this time. London would play the exact same composition on attack, and would be unable to gain any ground until Profit accrued and used his Riptire. Houston retreated back to the objective as soon as they heard the sound cue, but were able to pick the Riptire out of the air before it did any damage. However, LiNkzr denied London any progress as he stormed through the house behind the objective, taking out the London supports.

The Spitfire did eventually capture the first objective thanks to another Profit Riptire that took out two Outlaw members. After that, everyone from Houston fell and the defense collapsed. But Houston came back strong as the payload entered the second section of the map. The Outlaws stalled London thanks to a Riptire that took out Gesture and a Deadeye that got another. The Spitfire did come back and get things going, but suddenly the Outlaws were back to contest the payload as it neared the center of the bridge. London lost members around the payload, and because it took them so long to take the first objective they did not have the time to regroup and mount another coordinated attack. The people dying around the payload were all they had. Houston was able to chase London away from the payload and burn away their overtime before they could reach the second checkpoint.

The two teams switched sides but did not switch compositions. Right away, Houston was able to make the inroads needed to start taking the objective, largely thanks to LiNkzr’s McCree. But Profit’s Riptire marked London’s return to the objective. It caused Bani to preemptively use the Valkyrie and bring back Rawkus when he was felled. However, Rawkus was felled again after the resurrection and that caused Houston to have to fall back with only two ticks taken on the point.

Next: Overwatch League, Week 5: NY takes down London in a thrilling match

With time ticking away, Houston mounted one final attack on the point. Picks were traded, but once again it was Profit making the difference for the Spitfire with a huge Riptire that took out both Bani and Jake. From there it just took a few seconds for London to finish out the map and earn their spot in the finals.

Map Score: Spitfire 1, Outlaws 0

Final Match Score: Spitfire 3, Outlaws 1

Player of the Match: Profit, London Spitfire