休斯頓狂徒

Beginnings

On September 20, 2017, Blizzard Entertainment officially announced that American esports organization OpTic Gaming had acquired the Houston-based franchise of the Overwatch League. Reports suggested that OpTic received an investment from Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman to help fund the US$20 million franchise fee. On October 31, 2017, the franchise revealed its name, the Houston Outlaws, as well as their full 10-man roster and coaching staff.

Early years (2018–present)

On January 11, 2018, the Outlaws played their first regular season Overwatch League match, a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Fusion. One week later, on January 17, Houston claimed their first victory after sweeping the Shanghai Dragons 4–0. Houston went on to qualify for the Stage 1 playoffs but fell to the London Spitfire in the semifinals. 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. With consistent performances by tank player Austin "Muma" Wilmot and damage player Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin throughout the season, the team finished in seventh place with a 22–18 regular season record.

The Outlaws made minimal roster additions entering the 2019 season, signing only damage player Dante "Danteh" Cruz. Houston struggled throughout the first half of the season, winning only three of their first 14 matches, including a winless Stage 2. After the All-Star break, the Outlaws rebounded, posting a 5–2 record in Stage 3, and qualified for the Stage 3 playoffs. However, the team lost to the Vancouver Titans, 0–3, in the quarterfinals. A 1–3 loss to the London Spitfire in Week 3 of Stage 4 officially eliminated the Outlaws from season playoff contention. Despite the strong Stage 3, Houston ended the season in 16th place with a 9–19 record.

In the middle of the 2019 season, the Outlaws changed ownership. On June 12, 2019, Immortals Gaming Club (IGC), the parent company of Immortals and Los Angeles Valiant, acquired Infinite Esports, the parent company of Houston Outlaws and OpTic Gaming, marking the first sale of any Overwatch League franchise. Both Riot Games and Activision Blizzard approved the sale; by OWL rules, one company may not own more than one OWL franchise, so IGC had to operate the Valiant and Outlaws as entirely separate entities, with oversight by OWL representatives, until IGC sold the Outlaws. In November 2019, IGC sold the Outlaws to the Beasley Media Group.

Prior to the start of the 2020 season, the Outlaws released head coach Kim "TaiRong" Tae-yeong; the team former Vancouver Titans assistant coach Harsha Bandi as their new head coach. The team lost several of their players, including de facto in-game communication leader Jacob "Jake" Lyon to retirement, while picking up a handful of veteran players. The team had their worst regular season performance in franchise history, finishing in 16th place with a 6–15 record. The team entered tied as the last seed in the North America play-in tournament. Houston lost to the Boston Uprising, 1–3, on September 3 in the first round of the play-ins, ending their season.

In the offseason preceding the 2021 season, the Outlaws signed former San Francisco Shock assistant coach Jae "Junkbuck" Choi to be a co-head coach along with their current head coach Harsha Bandi and promoted Matt "coolmatt" Iorio as the organization's new general manager. The team overhauled their roster, releasing all of their players except for damage players Danteh and João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles. Among their many signings, the Outlaws picked up Harrisburg University support player Enrique "Joobi" Triana, marking the first time that collegiate player had been directly signed to the Overwatch League, and signed Jake back to the team as a player and coach. The Outlaws found success in the first half of the season, going a combined 7–1 in the first two tournament cycles, the May Melee and June Joust. However, they were defeated in the regional knockouts both times by the Dallas Fuel. Houston failed to advance to the regional knockouts in either of the final two tournament cycles of the season, finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record. Finishing in fifth place in the Western region, the team advanced to the Western play-in tournament. Houston was defeated by the Washington Justice in the play-in finals, eliminating them from postseason contention.