The Houston Outlaws were up four ultimates to London Spitfire’s two. There was no better moment during the second map of their Overwatch League match to make a push for the capture point.
Houston Pharah player Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin hovered above the Nepal capture point peeking in for an angle to launch his Barrage, a momentum shift in Houston’s favor. But London had a counter—and it wasn’t McCree or Soldier: 76. London confidently sent in their Winston player, Hong “Gesture” Jae-hee, to whack LiNkzr out of the sky. And that’s exactly what Gesture did.
Gesture tracked Pharah from his first leap toward the Houston players. His static gun chipped away nearly half of LiNkzr’s health, but it was a whack with Primal Rage flipped on that sealed LiNkzr’s fate. Primal Rage can feel unwieldy in the hands of a player with less experience, and knowing its range is important in using the ability to its full potential. That’s exactly what Gesture did in this moment: He knew that he’d reach LiNkzr’s Pharah with Primal Rage Winston, but it was his precise mechanics that allowed him to execute the mid-air kill.
With Pharah down and out, the rest of the Houston Outlaws were forced to retreat, as their push to the point was stymied.
Some fans have started to call the move “a Miro,” a call-back to a similar play made by Seoul Dynasty’s Gong “Miro” Jin-hyuk during OGN Overwatch Apex season two. Like Gesture, Miro pushed Winston’s abilities to the limits in risky, but ultimately successful, plays.
Despite London’s playmaking on Nepal, the map did end up favoring Houston. The Texas team bested London 3-2 in an exciting Overwatch showing. London will have the chance to prove themselves once again when they take on New York Excelsior at 7pm ET on Feb. 23.
