2019 Dallas Fuel season

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2019 Dallas Fuel season
Head coachAaron Atkins
General managerMathew Taylor
OwnerMike Rufail
Kenneth Hersh
DivisionPacific
Results
Record10–18 (.357)
Place
Stage 1 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 2 PlayoffsQuarterfinals
Stage 3 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$25,000

The 2019 Dallas Fuel season was the second season of the Dallas Fuel's existence in the Overwatch League and was their first full season under head coach Aaron "Aero" Atkins. The team looked to improve on their disappointing 12–28 record from 2018, where they did not qualify for the season playoffs.

Dallas began the season posting an impressive 4–2 record through six games, but a 2–3 loss to the Boston Uprising eliminated the team from Stage 1 Playoff contention. The team hit their stride in Stage 2, amassing a 5–2 record, and qualified for the Stage 2 Playoffs. However, they were knocked out in the quarterfinals round by the Vancouver Titans in a 0–3 loss. The Fuel fell apart in the final half of the season, finding only one win in their final fourteen matches. With a 10–18 record for the season, the Fuel again did not qualify for the season playoffs.

Preceding offseason[]

The Dallas Fuel roster at the beginning of the 2019 season. From left to right: EFFECT, rCk, uNKOE, ZachaREEE, HarryHook, aKm, Closer, Mickie, Taimou, OGE.

Player re-signings[]

From August 1 to September 9, 2018, all Overwatch League teams that competed in the 2018 season could choose to extend their team's players' contracts. Along with the retirement of star tank player Brandon "Seagull" Larned, Fuel released support Sebastian "Chipshajen" Widlund and tank Christian "cocco" Jonsson.[1]

Free agency[]

All non-expansion teams could not enter the free agency period until October 8, 2018; they were able to sign members from their respective academy team and make trades until then. On October 15, Fuel acquired Jung "Closer" Won-sik from London Spitfire; Closer signed with Fuel on a two-way contract with Team Envy.[2] On November 11, Fuel signed off-tank Richard "rCk" Kanerva from Overwatch Contenders team Team Gigantti to a two-year contract.[3] Fuel's final offseason transaction was on December 3, when the team signed former Fusion University and United States Overwatch World Cup team player Zachary "ZachaREEE" Lombardo.[4]

Regular season[]

Stage 1[]

Dallas began their 2019 season splitting their two matches in week one – a 0–4 loss against San Francisco Shock and a 3–1 win over Seoul Dynasty.[5] The team repeated their inconsistent performance the following week, as Fuel fell 0–4 to Guangzhou Charge and defeated Philadelphia Fusion 3–1.[6] After a pair of wins against Shanghai Dragons, Fuel took on Boston Uprising in their final match of the stage.[7] Dallas took the first two maps of the match, but Boston was able to engineer a reverse sweep, placing Fuel at a 4–3 Stage 1 record and one match out from the Stage 1 Playoffs.[8]

Stage 2[]

The Dallas Fuel Homestand took place at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.

Dallas had a multitude of player and coaching changes at the start of Stage 2. On April 2, Dallas traded Richard "rCk" Kanerva to Boston Uprising in exchange for Lucas "NotE" Meissner.[9] On the same day, assistant coach Christian "cocco" Jonsson retired from the Overwatch League;[10] Dallas signed former Paris Eternal head coach Julien "daemoN" Ducros as an assistant coach a day later.[11] Three days later, Fuel's Hyeon "EFFECT" Hwang retired from professional Overwatch due to mental health issues.[12]

Fuel's first two matches of Stage 2 were not until week two, where Dallas swept Toronto Defiant 4–0 and edged over Paris Eternal 2–1.[13] Week three was not as fortunate for Dallas, as the team was swept 0–4 by both Vancouver Titans and Seoul Dynasty.[14] Fuel took both of their matches in their "Dallas Fuel Homestand Week", defeating Los Angeles Valiant and in-state rivals Houston Outlaws and clinching a Stage 2 Playoff berth.[15] Dallas capped off the regular season of Stage 2 with a win over Florida Mayhem, ending the stage with a 5–2 record and the sixth seed in the Stage 2 Playoffs.[16]

Two days before their Quarterfinal match against the undefeated Vancouver Titans, Fuel promoted Ashley "Trill" Powell form their academy team Team Envy.[17] Dallas was not able to put up much of a challenge for Titans, as Fuel was swept 0–3 in the match.[18]

Homestand Weekend[]

Week four saw the "Dallas Fuel Homestand Weekend" – the first of three Overwatch League "Homestand Weekends" of the 2019 season. The two-day event, which took place at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas, sold out 4,500 seats each day.[19] Held in part to test whether or not the league's plan to hold matches locally, Dallas Fuel was responsible for every aspect of the weekend aside from the broadcast, which was aired on ESPN2.[20] During the first match of the weekend, a regional power outage delayed the event for 45 minutes.[21] Marking the highest viewership of Stage 2, the homestand showed that the local-match model has promise.[22][23]

Stage 3[]

The Fuel were reversed swept by Excelsior in the final match of Stage 3.

Dallas opened Stage 3 on June 7 with a match against the Los Angeles Gladiators. The Fuel could not find a footing throughout the match, and was swept 0–4.[24] Dallas turned it around two days later with a 3–0 victory over the Washington Justice. Notably, Dylan "aKm" Bignet tied an Overwatch League record set by Kelsey "Colourhex" Birse for highest average energy on Zarya in at map at 82%.[25] The following week, the Fuel first took on the Chengdu Hunters on June 13. Dallas was unable to adapt to the off-meta compositions ran by the Hunters and lost the match 1–3.[26] Two days later, the team faced the undefeated Vancouver Titans; the Fuel were dominated throughout the match and were swept 0–4.[27]

The Fuel's struggles continued the following week, losing 0–3 to the Hangzhou Spark in a match where the Dallas roster looked to be falling apart.[28] Three days later, the Fuel were swept 4–0 by the Hunters in a rematch of the previous week.[29] Dallas' final match of the stage was against the New York Excelsior on June 29. After winning the first two maps, Dallas look primed to take a win from New York, but the Excelsior made the proper adjustments after halftime, and completing a reverse sweep by taking three consecutive maps to hand Dallas a 2–3 loss.[30]

Stage 4[]

The Fuel's first match of Stage 4, along with the first match with an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the League, was against the London Spitfire on July 26. Dallas' tank line and DPS were outplayed that of London's, as the team fell in a 1–3 loss.[31] The following week, the team lost to the Los Angeles Valiant by a 1–3 scoreline.[32] Trying to find wins to realistically keep their playoff hopes alive, the Fuel took on the Los Angeles Gladiators on August 9. Dallas found themselves up 2–0 going into halftime, but the team crumbled thereafter, losing three consecutive maps to fall 2–3.[33] Two days later, the team was swept 0–4 by the San Francisco Shock in a match that was as close as the scoreline.[34] The following week, the Fuel fell to the Hangzhou Spark by a score of 1–3.[35] The team's next match was against the Guangzhou Charge on August 18. Dallas found another loss in the matchup, as they were swept 0–4. Notably, an in-game bug cause an hour-long delay in the final map of the series – the longest delay in Overwatch League history.[36] Officially eliminated from season playoff contention, the Fuel headed to The Novo in Los Angeles to play in the Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend, hosted by the Los Angeles Valiant. Their only match of the weekend was against the Atlanta Reign August 24. After the Reign took the first map with little resistance, both teams completed Volskaya Industries twice, to push the map to a second overtime round, but Dallas came out victorious, tying the series 1–1. Coming out of halftime, close losses on King's Row and Havana gave Dallas a 1–3 match loss. The loss ended Dallas' season with a 12-match losing streak.[37]

Final roster[]

2019 Dallas Fuel roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage  10 aKm  Bignet, Dylan   France 
Damage  13 Taimou  Kettunen, Timo   Finland 
Damage  22 ZachaREEE  Lombardo, Zachary   United States 
Tank  2 OGE  Son Min-seok  South Korea 
Tank  3 NotE  Meissner, Lucas   Canada 
Tank  7 Mickie  Rattanasangchod, Pongphop   Thailand 
Tank  30 Trill  Powell, Ashley   Australia 
Support  9 HarryHook (C)  Tejedor, Jonathan   Spain 
Support  17 Closer  Jung Won-sik  South Korea 
Support  24 Unkoe  Chevasson, Benjamin   France 
Head coach
  • Aaron Atkins
Legend
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injury / Illness

Latest roster transaction: May 7, 2019.

Transactions[]

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2019 regular season:

  • On April 2, Fuel traded Richard "rCk" Kanerva to Boston Uprising in exchange for Lucas "NotE" Meissner.[38]
  • On April 6, Hwang "EFFECT" Hyeon retired.[12]
  • On May 7, Fuel promoted Ashley "Trill" Powell from Team Envy.[17]

Standings[]

Record by stage[]

Stage Pld W L Pct MW ML MT MD Pos
1 7 4 3 .571 15 15 0 ±0 9
2 7 5 2 .714 16 11 1 +5 6
3 7 1 6 .143 6 21 2 -15 16
4[a] 7 0 7 .000 6 23 0 -17 19
Overall 28 10 18 .357 43 70 3 -27 15
  Qualified for playoffs •   Qualified for play-in tournament
  1. ^ No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

League[]

2019 Overwatch League standings
  • v
  • t
# Team Division W L PCT P MR MD
Division leaders
1 Vancouver Titans PAC 25 3 .893 28 89–28–0 +61
2 New York Excelsior ATL 22 6 .786 28 78–38–3 +40
Wild cards
3 San Francisco Shock PAC 23 5 .821 28 92–26–0 +66
4 Hangzhou Spark PAC 18 10 .643 28 64–52–4 +12
5 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 17 11 .607 28 67–48–3 +19
6 Atlanta Reign ATL 16 12 .571 28 69–50–1 +19
Play-in tournament
7 London Spitfire ATL 16 12 .571 28 58–52–6 +6
8 Seoul Dynasty PAC 15 13 .536 28 64–50–3 +14
9 Guangzhou Charge PAC 15 13 .536 28 61–57–1 +4
10 Philadelphia Fusion ATL 15 13 .536 28 57–60–3 -3
11 Shanghai Dragons PAC 13 15 .464 28 51–61–3 -10
12 Chengdu Hunters PAC 13 15 .464 28 55–66–1 -11
Did not qualify for playoffs
13 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 12 16 .429 28 56–61–4 -5
14 Paris Eternal ATL 11 17 .393 28 46–67–3 -21
15 Dallas Fuel PAC 10 18 .357 28 43–70–3 -27
16 Houston Outlaws ATL 9 19 .321 28 47–69–3 -22
17 Toronto Defiant ATL 8 20 .286 28 39–72–4 -33
17 Washington Justice ATL 8 20 .286 28 39–72–6 -33
19 Boston Uprising ATL 8 20 .286 28 41–78–2 -37
20 Florida Mayhem ATL 6 22 .214 28 36–75–5 -39
Tiebreakers[a]
  1. ^ The first tiebreaker for teams of the same record is map differential.

Game log[]

Regular season[]

2019 game log (Regular season record: 10–18)
Stage 1 (4–3)
Stage 2 (5–2)
Stage 3 (1–6)
Stage 4 (0–7)

Playoffs[]

2019 playoff game log
Stage 2 Playoffs (0–1)

References[]

  1. ^ Hangen, Christopher (September 14, 2019). "ESPN Stats & Info: OWL signing window analysis". ESPN. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Binkowski, Justin (October 15, 2018). "Dallas Fuel acquire Closer from London Spitfire for Overwatch League season 2". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Mary-Justice, Amelia. "Dallas Fuel Sign Off-Tank Player Richard "rCk" Kanerva". Inven Global. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "Overwatch: Fuel add flex player ZachaREEE". ESPN. Reuters. December 3, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Erzberger, Tyler; Rand, Emily (February 20, 2019). "Overwatch League Week 1 power rankings: Philly feasting". ESPN. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Czar, Michael (February 25, 2019). "Overwatch League Season 2: Stage 1 | Week 2 Recap". Daily Esports. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Erzberger, Tyler; Rand, Emily (March 13, 2019). "Overwatch League power rankings through Week 4". ESPN. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Fossett, Wyatt (March 18, 2019). "Overwatch League Week 5 Recap: Vancouver Claims King of the Hill". Twin Galaxies. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  9. ^ Richardson, Liz (April 2, 2019). "Dallas Fuel acquire NotE for rCk in Boston Uprising trade". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  10. ^ "Jonsson retirement, pair of trades highlight Overwatch action". ESPN. Rueters. April 2, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Richardson, Liz (April 3, 2019). "Former Paris Eternal head coach daemoN joins Dallas Fuel". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Citing mental health, Fuel's EFFECT retires from Overwatch". ESPN. Reuters. April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  13. ^ Kasabian, Paul (June 19, 2019). "Overwatch League 2019 Stage 2 Week 2: Excelsior's Top Plays, Prize Money". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Zucker, Joseph (April 21, 2019). "Overwatch League 2019 Stage 2, Week 3: Shock's Top Plays, Prize Money". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  15. ^ Linscott, Gillian (April 29, 2019). "Overwatch League Stage 2 Dallas Homestand Weekend Recap". Hotspawn. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  16. ^ Cuevo, Chris (May 6, 2019). "Dallas Fuel's aKm: "I don't think booing is a bad thing. I think it's creating storylines, it's creating rivalries."". Inven Global. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Samples, Rachel (May 7, 2019). "Dallas Fuel sign Trill ahead of Overwatch League stage 2 playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  18. ^ Amos, Andrew (May 10, 2019). "New York Excelsior and Vancouver Titans set to meet in Overwatch League stage 2 semifinals". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Newman, Heather (April 28, 2019). "Zeroes To Heroes: Dallas Fuel Hosts First Overwatch League Home Rivalry Today". Forbes. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  20. ^ Van Allen, Eric (April 29, 2019). "Overwatch League clears another hurdle with sold-out 'Homestand Weekend' near Dallas". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  21. ^ Richardson, Liz (June 19, 2019). "Blackout occurs at Overwatch League Dallas Homestand games". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  22. ^ Miceli, Max (May 1, 2019). "Overwatch League Homestand Provides Most-Watched Days of Stage Two on Twitch". The Esports Observer. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  23. ^ Erzberger, Tyler (May 1, 2019). "Overwatch League's first homestand shows the model can work". ESPN. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  24. ^ Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 8, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Los Angeles Gladiators". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  25. ^ C., Hunter (June 11, 2019). "aKm sets energy record on Zarya as Dallas Feul continue resurgence". win.gg. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  26. ^ Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 14, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  27. ^ Linscott, Gillian (June 17, 2019). "OWL 2019 Stage 3, Week 2: The Expected and the Unexpectedc". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  28. ^ Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 21, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Hangzhou Spark". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  29. ^ Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  30. ^ Rand, Emily; Torres, Xander; Qu, Bonnie (July 3, 2019). "Overwatch League power rankings through Stage 3, Week 4". ESPN. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  31. ^ Katherine, Tory (29 July 2019). "Exciting Recap of Stage 4 Week 1". Overklass. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  32. ^ Magelssen, Tommy (August 5, 2019). "Five thoughts: Dallas Fuel's 3-1 loss to Los Angeles Valiant puts 2019 season on the brink". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  33. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (August 13, 2019). "Breaking down what went wrong in Dallas Fuel's backbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Gladiators". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  34. ^ Magelssen, Tommy (August 11, 2019). "San Francisco Shock show just how far Dallas Fuel have to go, but things can change in 2020". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  35. ^ Salaun, Theo (August 18, 2019). "Overwatch League 2019 Stage 4, Week 4: Hangzhou Spark's Top Plays, Prize Money". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  36. ^ Magelssen, Tommy (August 18, 2019). "In-game bug causes longest delay in Overwatch League history during end of Dallas Fuel-Guangzhou Charge match". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  37. ^ Magelssen, Tommy (August 24, 2019). "Five thoughts: Dallas Fuel lose to Atlanta Reign, finished Stage 4 winless; important offseason awaits". Dallas News. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  38. ^ D'Orazio, Nick (April 2, 2019). "Boston Uprising signs Contenders player, Zion "Persia" Yang, trades NotE for rCK". Inven Global. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
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