OpTic Gaming’s Overwatch League team to be named Houston Outlaws

Ollie Ring
calendar-icon

The latest in the string of the Overwatch League’s team names has now been revealed, with the Houston Outlaws joining the fray. The Houston Outlaws is the brand of the OpTic Gaming team.

Credit: Houston Outlaws // OpTic Gaming

In addition to the aforementioned branding, OpTic has revealed a ten-strong roster and three members of coaching staff. The full roster can be seen below: 

Players:

  • Austin “Muma” Wilmot
  • Matt “Coolmatt” Iorio
  • Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty
  • Lucas “Mendokusaii” Håkansson
  • Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin
  • Daniel “Boink” Pence
  • Chris “Bani” Bennell
  • Jacob “JAKE” Lyon
  • Matt “Clockwork” Dias
  • Alexandre “SPREE” Vanhomwegen

Coaches:

  • Taeyeong “TaiRong” Kim
  • Adam “MESR” De La Torre
  • Hyeonwoo “HyeonWoo” Kim

Rounding off the team is Matt “Flame” Rodriguez who comes in as the Outlaws General Manager. He stated in a press release: “I’m incredibly excited to finally be able to reveal this roster, and I could not be prouder of the final result. Every player has such a distinct personality, and all of them are pumped to be able to call each other teammates. The mindset and the attitude of the team have been inspiring thus far, and we will continue developing and promoting a winning mentality throughout the inaugural season of the Overwatch League and beyond for the city of Houston”. 

The design of the brand is based around the history of the region. OpTic explain that the name was chosen to “honour the region’s rebellious and fearless nature in the face of all challenges, channelling its history and fight for independence to create a name and identity that is as large-and-in-charge as its hometown”. 

The green and black in the logo encompass the “Green Wall”, OpTic’s somewhat famous esports fan base with the star representing the team’s “pride in being part of the Lone Star State”. 

Hector Rodriguez, CEO of OpTic Gaming stated: “We’re excited for the Houston Outlaws to join the Green Wall family. All of our fans live to compete—to be louder than everyone else and to deafen the competition with our skilled play and enthusiasm. The Houston Outlaws will continue our historical dominance in esports and introduce a new meaning of ‘community’ to our fans in Texas.”

Esports Insider says: Definitely one of the better, if not the best pieces of OWL branding we’ve seen. OpTic already has a fanatical fan base and it hasn’t alienated it with the design which is vitally important. 

Ollie Ring

Contributing Editor
Ollie swapped the abacus for Sonic on the SEGA Mega Drive at neighbor Frank's house at an early age and has never looked back. With thousands of hours in Dota 2 (and no ability to show for it), he still clings on to the hope that one day, he will replicate Natus Vincere at gamescom 14 years ago and lift the Aegis of Champions. Ollie has been at the intersection of video games, esports, and gambling for over ten years and has also worked in consultancy in the gambling industry. Ollie's work can be found on the likes of: BBC, Red Bull Gaming, Esports Insider, CasinoBeats, PC Gamer, Green Man Gaming as well as his own thought-leadership substack "Esprouts" looking at specific studies and stories where games meet gambling.
Read Full Bio
Stay updated with the latest in Esports Follow Esports Insider for breaking news, features and guides
Add ESI as your preferred source on Google Add ESI as your preferred source on Google
ESI Ranking System
We’ve created a ranking system to help you quickly know how good each gambling platform is. As gamblers ourselves, we know which factors matter most to you, so we follow a best-in-class methodology to test each one with no stone unturned. Once done, we then rank each platform based on the following tiers:
  • A-Tier High-quality sites that deliver a top experience every time. They boast strong performance, nice features, and reliable support, but are just shy of perfection.
  • B-Tier Solid platforms that are worth a spin. They’re safe, fun, and functional, but may be lacking advanced features or have minor drawbacks.
  • S-Tier Reserved for elite operators only. These go well beyond the norm with lucrative bonuses, rewarding promotions, lightning-fast payouts, and a flawless experience overall.
To read more details about how we review casino and betting sites, check out How We Rate Gambling Operators.