Dallas Fuel - Your 2022 Overwatch League World Champions!

(Gray News) - The Overwatch League (OWL) Playoffs tournament concluded with Dallas Fuel defeating San Francisco Shock 4-3 in the Grand Finals. The tournament took place in Anaheim from October 30th to November 4th. The result was no surprise to many considering Dallas Fuel had an outstanding regular season and dominated the Summer Showdown.

The starting five for the Fuel during their victory run in the OWL Playoffs were Taehun ‘Edison’ Kim, Yeonghan ‘SP9RK1E’ Kim, Euiseok ‘Fearless’ Lee, Jun ‘Fielder’ Kwon, and Hyeonseok ‘ChiYo’ Han. The alternates for the tournament were Dongha ‘Doha’ Kim, Hanbeen ‘Hanbin’ Choi, and Minseo ‘guriyo’ Kang. Yun ‘RUSH’ Hee-won is the Fuel’s head coach.

Team members of the Dallas Fuel posing with the OWL World Championship trophy.(Joe Brady | Joe Brady)

Dallas Fuel had an incredible regular season winning 20 out of 24 matches. These regular season matches operate as qualifiers for the four standalone tournaments. A team has six regular season matches leading up to each tournament, and every match win earns a point towards their total League Points. A top-three finish at a standalone tournament also accrues points for a team, and League Points determine a team’s seeding in tournaments.

The Overwatch League is divided into East and West regions because teams battle across North America, Europe, and Asia. Dallas Fuel competes in the West region alongside 12 other teams from Europe and North America. Of the four standalone tournaments, The Kickoff Clash and Summer Showdown are regional tournaments, while Midseason Madness and The OWL Playoffs are interregional. The format of these four significant tournaments is Double Elimination Bracket play.

In the Kickoff Clash, Dallas Fuel made it to the second round of the Winners bracket before falling 3-1 to the Los Angeles Gladiators. The Fuel fought through the Loser’s Bracket and made it to the Finals. They again met the Gladiators and lost in a 4-0 sweep, earning Fuel a second-place finish.

The Midseason Madness tournament was an unfortunate blemish on the Fuel’s season. Seeded high enough to skip round 1 in the Winner’s bracket, they were swept 3-0 by the Shanghai Dragons in round 2, dropping them to the Loser’s bracket. A 3-1 defeat to the Philadelphia Fusion would eliminate them from the Midseason Madness tournament altogether. It was a tough loss, given that Midseason Madness was the only interregional tournament outside of OWL Playoffs. So, could the Fuel stand up to a deeper pool of teams across both regions?

Yeonghan ‘SP9RK1E’ Kim warming up for OWL tournament play.(Dallas Fuel)

First, Dallas Fuel would have to finish their last regional tournament. They came into the Summer Showdown tournament with something to prove, and a shaky round one saw the Fuel beat Washington Justice 3-2. Continuing, they took down London Spitfire and San Francisco Shock to make it to the Finals. San Francisco Shock battled back from the Loser’s bracket to face the Fuel again. It was too little too late, as the Fuel beat the Shock 4-0 to win Summer Showdown.

The OWL Playoffs would give Dallas Fuel another shot to show they could compete in an interregional tournament. The Fuel entered the Playoffs as the first seed, a prime position to make a run at success. Skipping Winners Bracket round one, they beat Hangzhou Spark 3-1 in round two, and the Fuel swept Seoul Dynasty 3-0 in round three. Round four saw a 3-1 victory over Houston Outlaws; a big win considering the Outlaws were two of the four losses the Fuel had during regular season matches.

Fans watch Dallas Fuel take on San Francisco Shock during the Overwatch League Grand Finals at... — Fans watch Dallas Fuel take on San Francisco Shock during the Overwatch League Grand Finals at the Anaheim Convention Center.(Joe Brady | Joe Brady)

Dallas Fuel had made it to the OWL Grand Finals, and only San Francisco Shock stood in their way. The Fuel took map one and looked to have things under control. However, the Shock and their lead damage player, Dong-Hyun ‘Proper’ Kim, charged back and won maps two and three handily. Kim’s stellar play appeared to be a thorn in the Fuel’s side and potentially their downfall. The Fuel recovered and took map four, but the Shock poked back with a win on map five. Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven, the Fuel had to do something about Kim. A joint final push and an MVP-winning performance by Euiseok ‘Fearless’ Lee was the answer. Dallas Fuel took maps six and seven, finalizing all the hard work they had done throughout the season.