OWL Midseason Madness finals recap: Atlanta Reign and Houston Outlaws run it back

Heading into the OWL Midseason Madness finals the Atlanta Reign and Houston Outlaws sat at 81 and 82 all-time wins, respectively. The end of a long spring road that saw a new format and a flexible meta. The two best teams in OWL came ready to fight for their first franchise tournament win ever.

However, only one could win and the Atlanta Reign's undefeated streak was on the line. In a first-to-four series that OWL commentators called an 'inevitable' result, the Reign defeated the Houston Outlaws 4-1 and captured the Spring Stage crown. They did so on the backs of their top-tier support line, including the 19 year-old phenom Brig player Han "ChiYo" Hyeon-seok.

That doesn't mean Houston didn't put up a fight against their biggest opponent and hurdle in 2023. Still, Houston showed their inability to compete on Atlanta's level when it came to dive comp.

Good, but never great. And not great enough to beat the Reign. This marks Atlanta's first regular season finals win.

The first map in the Midseason Madness finals saw both teams head into Ilios with a focus on dive Heroes. Houston has turned to the Echo throughout the tournament, as a burst counter to Atlanta's fantastic dive duo of LIP and Stalker. Ill-timed EMP usage by Atlanta and an aggressive Echo dive via Pelican gave Houston an early advantage.

Much like their first meeting 24 hours before, the two teams butted heads with counterbalanced compositions. The use of Echo helped keep Winston and Tracer in check while Atlanta's Sombra struggled to find meaty Ultimates.

Seemingly learning from their past mistakes, Houston took the first map the same way they had won all season. Through a dominating support line and big plays in the clutch. Atlanta's own supports also found ways to dominate the tempo of the match, with Fielder and Chiyo both finding ways to neutralize Houston's MVP tank, Fearless.

Atlanta swapped off the Sombra in lieu for Echo on map two, finding aggressive success. This included a domination of the high ground surrounding Lighthouse and burning through Winston bubbles with ease. Atlanta won map two by a close margin, 100 to 94.

The compositions changed once more for map three on Ruins, with both squads going the route of Tracer/Sombra. Lip took an early advantage building Ultimate charge in the Sombra mirror against Pelican. However, Houston would lose their early lead after an ill-fated support elimination on Viol3t.

Despite well-timed hacks by Houston's Sombra, it didn't equate into eliminations or a chance for the team to follow up. Atlanta didn't fall for the same trap and took map one thanks to better and aggressive coordination.

The next stop on the OWL Miseason Madness finals tour was Blizzard World. Both teams once again sported the standard Winston/Sombra/Tracer composition, despite Atlanta running out a Roadhog (?) and Widowmaker from the spawn. However, the story once again was the same: Atlanta's combined Winston and Sombra dive on Houston's excellent supports was too much for the Outlaws to overcome.

Atlanta quickly moved their attack along with a fast Point A take. As with many of Houston's stumbles throughout the season it all came down to the team's inability to coordinate the dive as well as their opponent. Even still, brilliant dive play from Fearless on Winston gave Houston moments of respite.

The third point saw a temporary stalemate for Atlanta's attack phase, thanks in part to excellent Pulse Bomb placements by Happy. However, it wouldn't last. Lip would counter-EMP Houston on the final stretch and allow Atlanta to gain the third point with a minute and change in the time bank.

Better Ultimate economy and well-coordinated defensive plays led to Atlanta stymieing Houston's attack plan. Houston couldn't find an immediate answer despite getting a tick on progress and reaching the objective multiple times. That said, Houston stole the first point in overtime and stared down the barrel of a two minute time bank.

Houston wouldn't be able to overtime the pressure and lack of time, with Chiyo, Stalker, and Donghak locking down the map win for Atlanta.

Houston would look to change the Midseason Madness finals tempo by picking Shambali Monastery. Atlanta would counter the rush-style map choice by subbing in Hawk for Donghak and match the change. The Reign would attack first, but both teams switched to the Mei and away from Tracer. LIP came out with Sojourn for the first time and continued the aggressive push on Houston, bowling the Outlaws over.

Houston put up a fight on the choke just before the end of point one, with Fearless scoring multiple elims as Ramattra. Inevitably, both teams started hitting 'Q' at the same time and the Outlaws found an advantage in the Ramattra mirror match. Fearless appeared to finally be playing like a past MVP.

An overtime Blizzard from Pelican's Mei held Atlanta back, with an Outlaws EMP finishing off the round. Houston held Atlanta to 76 meters of progress. LIP returned to Sombra for Houston's attack phase, with Happy going to Hanzo. Like the strategy on Havana, Atlanta spawn camped the Outlaws, but to no avail.

Houston progressed forward and avoided the spawn trap. It appears the Shambali gambit paid off, as a final Dragon Strike forced Atlanta off the point and gave Houston the third map.

Atlanta would once again challenge Houston's ability at the dive composition with a Push map pick. Both teams returned to the Winston/Sombra/Tracer triumvirate while spy checking around the Push Bot. Both teams traded back and forth elims from Tracer and Ana pressure, but the Reign would take control first.

Controlling the high ground, Atlanta pressed their agenda while building up Ultimate charge. The dam finally broke as a Raid Boss Brig from Chiyo pressured Houston back even further, giving Atlanta the first checkpoint. However, Houston would immediately flip the bot while at the disadvantage of no longer having forward spawn.

As Push tends to go, both teams traded the bot back and forth while Atlanta held a significant lead. Eventually, one of the teams blinked and Atlanta continued growing their commanding lead off another well-timed LIP EMP.

Houston attempted to find an opening with less than four minutes to go, struggling towards the checkpoint. But as it goes, well-timed dives from Donghak and Stalker gave Atlanta the meters advantage. Houston swapped the Brig for Kiriko just as Happy landed a massive 2K Pulse Bomb, swinging the momentum once again.

A Kitsune Rush and EMP finally gave Houston a break and the first checkpoint, but with only a minute left on the clock. With no Ultimates online and 50 seconds to move more than 60 meters, Houston looked fearful moving through the chokepoint. That fear would be warranted, as Atlanta would use four Ultimates at once and finish off the Push map and take a 3-1 lead.

Looking to stay alive, Houston brought the Midseason Madness finals to Antarctic Peninsula. Houston would continue to go dive and, as we saw all night, failed to match Atlanta's strength in the mirror match. An Atlanta EMP hitting only the supports would lead to a further snowball of completion for the Reign. Houston would finally flip the point at 90 percent, facing a long winter's hold.

However, it wouldn't last and Atlanta would take the point right back, securing the first point. Down to its last life, Houston finally switched to the Ramattra rush composition, with Mei and Sombra for DPS. For all of you armchair OWL coaches out there that always scream about teams playing the mirror, this map showcased what happens when dive means rush. Houston gained some progress but quickly lost the objective, forced to fight from the high ground and meeting a hailstorm of Ultimates from Atlanta.

Out of Ultimates and down 70 to 15 percent, Houston's last OWL Midseason Madness finals gasp fell silent. Atlanta cleaned up the last team fight off multiple Stalker elims, securing the map and their first finals championship.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for esports news and Overwatch League information.