Ex-Infinite Esports president explains what went wrong with OpTic and Houston Outlaws

Bill Cooney

Former Infinite Esports president Chris Chaney appeared on ESPN to talk about why things happened the way they did with OpTic and the Houston Outlaws.

Infinite Esports was bought out by Immortals, who now own the OpTic brand and owned two Overwatch League teams for a few weeks.

Now, the Outlaws have a new owner and Chaney told ESPN how he feels about the team and OpTic being in new hands.

What went wrong with OpTic and the Outlaws?

Cheney said that he and the rest of the Infinite leadership learned a lot in a short period of time when they got into esports.

“Ultimately my partners at infinite made the decision it was best for us to focus primarily on the team side and reallocate resources there,” he said. “Versus also being active as a venture builder in the space.”

The Outlaws are a fan favorite in the Overwatch League.

Cheney said it was difficult to walk away from the company he founded, but ultimately he felt it was the right decision to make.

“I decided it was best to allow a new executive team to take the reigns and lead the company in a new direction,” he told ESPN.

He did say he was optimistic about the future of the Houston Outlaws just after they got a new owner.

What’s going on with the Outlaws ownership?

News broke on August 1 that the Outlaws had been purchased for $40 million by Houston-area real estate investor Lee Zieben.

Cheney said he was “really excited” about the future of the Outlaws and that it was great to see the team in new hands and to have someone local behind the team.

The Outlaws will have a new owner headed into 2020.

With a new owner and a period of uncertainty over for the Outlaws, it’ll be interesting to see what the team Cheney helped start does in Overwatch League Season 3.