Are the Dallas Fuel finally ready to win it all?
The Dallas Fuel have a long and winding story in the Overwatch League, one that is filled with controversy, frustration and ultimately a large fanbase still waiting for the title promised to them from the very start. It has been 4 years but finally the fans of the Dallas Fuel may see their team join the illustrious group of teams to win the Overwatch League.
The Dreamers
In 2018, Team Envy were a part of the inaugural season of The Overwatch League, with plans to contend from the get go. The fielded a roster of winners such as Pongphop ‘Mickie’ Rattanasangchod and Timo ‘Taimou’ Kettunen from the Team Envyus roster that won Apex Season 1 and even added new fragrant talent such as mechanical clip machine Brandon ‘Seagull’ Larned and controversial twitch streamer Félix ‘XqC’ Lengyel. However, the project did not go to plan with them ultimately finishing outside of the playoff spots and with a lot of eyes on them from the community, due to roster disruptions and staff changes.
Photo from Blizzard Entertainment
The Improvement
This would happen regularly for 3 seasons straight. Until only last year where, in the 2021 season, they made a playoffs berth and ended third in the season overall, this time with a full Korean roster filled with top talents such as DPS Kim ‘SP9RK1E’ Yeong-han and tank superstar Lee ‘Fearless’ Eui-Seok. This is a first for the organization who made themselves well known for bringing in new western talent. Though they did not win the title last season they definitely made a splash and set a standard for themselves to beat for the 2022 season.
This year has already shown the rosters heights, with new signings Kim ‘Edison’ Tae-Hoon and Han ‘Chiyo’ Hyeon-seok setting golden standards in their positions. The regular season ended with the Dallas Fuel finishing second with a 20-4 record only behind serial winners The San Francisco Shock who the fuel beat in the recent Summer Showdown final. This is the second year in a row they have finished in this position during the regular season, last year finishing behind eventual champions The Shanghai Dragons, this year they will not want to make the same mistake.
The Championship
With the Dallas Fuel firmly cemented to the top of the power rankings and them defeating the first place team four maps to zero, it is hard not to say that they are favorites to win the entire thing. This is a first for the organization and they must go in respecting all the teams they may face along the way such as the Lost Angeles Gladiators, The Seoul Dynasty and even their home state rivals the Houston Outlaws will be going in wanting to topple the metaphorical kings. Will the Dallas Fuel be able to keep up the heat or will they just fizzle out like the years before?
The Overwatch League Playoffs begin on the 30th October 2022.
Image source: Blizzard Entertainment