Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem Prediction: Mayhem on the Rise This Year

Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem Prediction

Oddsmakers have rated Florida Mayhem as favorites in this upcoming match, while positioning Houston Outlaws as underdogs, with a two-to-one disadvantage on the odds. Interestingly, the two teams have faced each other a total of 12 times in the past, out of which Houston Outlaws have emerged on top eight times. 

Regardless of their head-to-head record, Florida Mayhem has been on an upward tick in form, prompting the oddsmakers to call it close to even, even if the stats suggest that the Houston Outlaws have historically outperformed Florida Mayhem. Accordingly, our pick would fall in favor of Florida Mayhem, thanks in large part to the string of surprising performances that they have put together over the course of this year. 

Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem Pick

• Our Pick: Florida Mayhem to win. 

Florida Mayhem on the Rise

2023 has been the year for Florida Mayhem. The team started the season by winning first place in the Pro-Am Tournament and has yet to finish outside of the top three in the current season. They would go on to finish the Spring Stage Qualifiers in third place, the Spring Stage knockouts in second, Midseason Madness in third, and the Summer Stage Qualifiers in second. 

If the trend continues, they are well on their way to finishing the knockout stage in the top three as well, and they even have a fair chance of winning the finals at the end of the 2023 season.  

Florida Mayhem added three new squad members at the start of 2023 - CH0R0NG, MAKA and WhoRU. They are joined by long time members Checkmate, SOMEONE, Rupal and MER1T. This combination of players seems to be working well for the squad, as their working chemistry has contributed to some of the best results in the team’s history. 

Houston Outlaws on Nearly Equal Footing

Like their rivals in Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws has also had an excellent 2023 season so far, with no finishes outside of the top 5. They kicked off the season by finishing 3rd in the Playoffs and 3rd-4th in the Pro-Am stage(which Florida Mayhem won). Then, they went on to finish the Spring Stage Qualifiers and Midseason Madness in second place, before coming third place in the Summer Stage Qualifiers. With this string of results, Houston Outlaws is one of the strongest teams this season, with their results just short of being on part with Florida Mayhem. 

Houston Outlaws added Koreans Viol2t and BERNAR to its roster in 2023, who will play alongside Pelican, Fearless, Shu and Happy for the remainder of the season.

Overwatch League Tournament Structure

Since it’s 2018 launch, the Overwatch League has undergone several key structural changes to provide a better experience to both competitors and viewers. This year, participants in the league are split into two prominent regional clusters: East and West. 

The primarily US-based league commenced with a Pro-Am competition meant to serve as a feeder round for just the West Region teams. In the new format, Overwatch Contenders were matched up against established professional Overwatch League teams. This shakeup of contenders and professional teams has allowed emerging teams to receive some much-needed attention by playing some of the best teams from the current season. 

The East Region forgoes the ProAm round, instead admitting Overwatch Contenders teams directly into the regular season, who can then compete alongside permanent Overwatch League franchise teams, because of the smaller number of teams participating in the East Region group of participants. 

Further, the league is divided into two main splits: the Spring Stage which took place in April and May, and the Summer Stage, which is currently underway. To advance through the Summer Stage, teams will have to go through Play-ins, Season Playoffs, and Grand Finals.  

The upcoming match between Florida Mayhem and the Houston Outlaws will be one of the two opening matches in Group 2 of the Season Playoffs of 2023. With the stakes higher than ever throughout the season, the Group Stage of the playoffs follows a double-elimination format with matches taking place over the course of five rounds each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Grand Finals, scheduled to take place on October 1.

Map Pool

The upcoming Playoffs Stage features a selection of map types that are meant to test teams in a wide variety of situations. This season’s playoffs feature a selection of 16 maps, across a range of playstyles:

• Control: Antarctic Peninsula, Ilios, Lijang Tower, and Busan. 
• Hybrid: Blizzard World, Midtown, and King’s Row.
• Flashpoint: New Junk City, Suravasa.
• Push: Colosseo, Esperanca, New Queen Street.
• Escort: Circuit Royal, Dorado, Shambali Monastery, Route 66.

How to Watch Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem

• Teams: Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem
• Location: Canada, Toronto
• Date: September 28, 2023 
• How to Watch: YouTube Gaming