Dallas Fuel

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Dallas Fuel
The logo for the Dallas Fuel is an iconic blue flame.
FoundedFebruary 3, 2016
LeagueOverwatch League
RegionWest
Team historyTeam EnVyUs
(2016–2017)
Dallas Fuel
(2017–present)
Based inDallas, United States
ArenaEsports Stadium Arlington
Colors       
OwnerMike Rufail
Kenneth Hersh
Head coachYun "RUSH" Hee-won
General managerMathew Taylor
Affiliation(s)Team Envy
Main sponsorJack in the Box
Parent groupEnvy Gaming
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms
Dallas Fuel Jersey.svg

Dallas Fuel is an American professional Overwatch team based in Dallas, Texas. The Fuel compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region.

Founded in 2017, Dallas Fuel is one of the league's twelve founding teams and is one of two professional Overwatch teams based in Texas (the other, Houston Outlaws). The Fuel became the first team to play a home match, as they hosted the "Dallas Fuel Homestand Weekend" at the Allen Event Center in 2019; Dallas will host five homestands in 2020 at various locations. The team is owned by esports organization Envy Gaming, who also own Team Envy. Team Envy runs their own Overwatch division that competes in Overwatch Contenders as an academy team for the Fuel.

Kyle "KyKy" Souder was appointed the team's first head coach, but after a disappointing first half of the 2018 season, he was replaced by Aaron "Aero" Atkins. Atkins led the team to a Stage 4 playoff berth in 2018 but could not bring the Fuel to the Overwatch League season playoffs. After a disappointing start to the 2020 season, the Fuel released Atkins, and in the 2021 offseason, the Fuel signed former Paris Eternal head coach Yun "RUSH" Hee-won as their new head coach.

Franchise history[]

Team origins: 2016–2017[]

Main article: Team Envy (Overwatch team) § 2016–2017: Pre-Overwatch League

Formed during the Overwatch closed beta in February 2016, the Dallas Fuel originally started out as an all-American roster playing under the Overwatch division for esports franchise Team Envy.[1] Even though their original roster showed some early promise in online tournaments, just prior to the official launch of Overwatch they disbanded.[2] Their next turn in forming a roster saw them look abroad, eventually bringing players from across Europe to their Charlotte headquarters and securing the core of what would become the Dallas Fuel in Sebastian "chipshajen" Widlund, Christian "cocco" Jonsson, Jonathan "HarryHook" Tejedor Rua, and Timo "Taimou" Kettunen.[3] The team found much success, going on to win Season 1 of OGN's Overwatch APEX in Seoul, Korea,[4][5] winning the Overwatch NA Invitational at MLG Vegas,[6] and going undefeated and winning 2018 Season 1 of North America Overwatch Contenders.[7] The Contenders playoffs marked both the debut of Brandon "Seagull" Larned, as well as the final event played under the "Team EnVyUs" moniker.[8]

After weeks of speculation, on September 20, 2017, Blizzard officially announced that Envy Gaming had acquired the Dallas-based Overwatch League franchise spot, making them one of twelve teams competing in the inaugural season.[9] Envy Gaming filled the Fuel roster by transferring all of the members and staff from the Overwatch team of Team EnVyUs, which officially ended EnVyUs' Overwatch division.[10] On October 5, 2017, the Dallas-based franchise name was revealed as the Dallas Fuel.[11] In late October, the Fuel announced that Scott "Custa" Kennedy and Félix "xQc" Lengyel would be rounding out their 9-player roster, joining existing members chipshajen, cocco, EFFECT, HarryHook, Mickie, Seagull, and Taimou.[12]

Early years: 2018–present[]

Aaron "Aero" Atkins took over as head coach in 2018 Stage 4.

In December 2017, the Fuel went undefeated in the first ever Overwatch League preseason.[13] Shortly afterwards on January 10, 2018, the Fuel began their inaugural regular season campaign. Their debut match resulted in a 1–2 loss to early season favorites the Seoul Dynasty.[14] They would struggle for the remainder of Stage 1, and end up finishing with a 3–7 record in 10th place, which did not reflect how the team did previously as Team Envy.[15] The Fuel finished Stage 2 in 11th place with a 2–8 record. Early in Stage 3, head coach KyKy and DPS player Rascal were released after some in fighting between the two.[16] The team's only victory in the stage was over the winless Shanghai Dragons, making their stage record 1–9.[17] The team signed Fusion University head coach Aaron “Aero” Atkins before the fourth stage began.[18] The Fuel would go on to achieve a season-high 6 wins, including victories against top-6 opponents the Valiant, Uprising, Spitfire, and Fusion. The record would be good enough for a 4th-place finish and the team's first ever stage playoffs berth.[19][17] In the stage semi-finals, the team would lose 2–3 against back-to-back stage champions New York Excelsior, the match marking the end of their season, as they would finish in 10th place with a record of 12–28.[20]

In their first full season under head coach Aaron "Aero" Atkins, the team looked to improve on their disappointing 12–28 record from 2018. Dallas began their 2019 season posting an impressive 4–2 record through six games, but a 2–3 loss in the final match of the stage to the Boston Uprising eliminated the team from Stage 1 Playoff contention.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]

After a 7–10 start to their 2020 season and failure to make it past the quarterfinals in any of the three midseason tournaments, the Fuel released head coach Aaron "Aero" Atkins on August 3 and announced that assistant coach Kim Yong-jin served would as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[24] Dallas finished the season with a 9–12 record, marking their third consecutive season with a losing regular season record. A 0–3 loss to the Washington Justice on September 4 in the North America play-ins tournament took the Fuel out of postseason contention.[25]

Yun "RUSH" Hee-won took over as head coach in 2021.

In the 2021 offseason, the Fuel signed former Paris Eternal head coach Yun "RUSH" Hee-won as their new head coach. They overhauled their roster, adding former Shanghai Dragons tank player Lee "Fearless" Eui-seok and former Paris Eternal damage player Kim "SP9RK1E" Yeong-han, among others.[26] The Fuel began their 2021 season on April 16, 2021 with a loss against in-state rivals Houston Outlaws.[27] With a 2–2 win-loss record in the May Melee qualifiers, the Fuel advanced to the regional knockout round of the tournament as the Western region's sixth, and final, seed.[28] After defeating the San Francisco Shock and Houston Outlaws, the Fuel moved on to the interregional double-elimination tournament.[29] Dallas defeated the Eastern region's Chengdu Hunters and Shanghai Dragons to advance to their first-ever Overwatch League final.[30][31] After the Dragons made their way through the lower bracket of the tournament, the two teams again faced each other in the May Melee Grand Finals; after a back-and-forth series, the Fuel won the series 4–2, giving the franchise their first Overwatch League title.[32]

Team identity[]

On October 5, 2017, the Dallas Fuel brand was officially unveiled.[11] The creation stemmed from the Overwatch League requirement for participating franchises to create new geolocated brands, as well as business entities, specific to the league.[33]

Due to the energy's sector's influence on Dallas culture and economy, plus the rich energy sector legacy of new investment partners Hersh Interactive Group led by Dallas-based Kenneth Hersh, the name "Fuel" was eventually selected. In addition, the team revealed they hoped the selection would appeal to fans from all walks of life.[34][35]

With the franchise looking to breathe new life into esports fans in Dallas and hoping to transcend current industry standards, the iconic blue flame was selected to symbolize the spark that would ignite the change.[36] The logo also pays homage to the heritage and strength of the energy sector in Texas, the industry in which team investor Kenneth Hersh made his riches.[11]

The official team colors are blue, grey, and black. Blue serves as the primary team color in recognition of the endearment "Boys in Blue" that the team had acquired under parent organization EnVyUs.[37][11] The Fuel's jerseys are white on away games and blue on home games; they also have the Jack in the Box logo, the first OWL jersey sponsor, prominently placed on the front.

Ownership and finances[]

On September 18, 2017, Envy Gaming owner Mike "Hastr0" Rufail, a Texas native, confirmed that the organization had secured a multimillion-dollar investment from Hersh Interactive Group. The deal entailed Hersh serving as strategic partners to the organization, whilst Hastr0 would remain as the principal owner and operator of the team.[38][39][40] Soon after, on September 20, it was officially announced that the Dallas-based Overwatch League franchise had been acquired by Team Envy for a reported $20 million.[9][41]

In November 2017, Team Envy signed a multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal with the restaurant chain Jack in the Box. As part of the deal, Jack in the Box became the official quick-service restaurant and exclusive jersey rights partner of the Fuel, as well as having their logo featured on official team merchandise available for purchase by the public. The team partnership marked the first of its kind in the Overwatch League.[42][43]

Home arenas[]

The Fuel in 2019 became the first team in the Overwatch League to host a home game. The two-day event, the Dallas Fuel Homestand Weekend, took place at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas and sold out 4,500 seats each day.[44] Held in part to test the viability of 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.[45] Marking the highest viewership of 2019 Stage 2, the homestand showed that the local-match model has promise.[46][47]

The Fuel was slated to host a league-high five homestand weekends in the 2020 season. The matches would have taken place at Esports Stadium Arlington, Toyota Music Factory, Allen Event Center, and two more undetermined locations.[48] These homestand weekends were later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[49]

Personnel[]

Current roster[]

Dallas Fuel roster
  • v
  • t
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage  20 Doha  Kim Dong-ha  South Korea 
Damage  1 Sp9rk1e  Kim Yeong-han  South Korea 
Damage  24 Pine  Kim Do-hyeon  South Korea 
Tank  8 Fearless  Lee Eui-seok  South Korea 
Tank  11 Hanbin  Choi Han-been  South Korea 
Support  21 Jecse  Lee Seung-soo  South Korea 
Support  31 Fielder  Kwon Joon  South Korea 
Support  7 Rapel  Kim Jun-keun  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Yun "RUSH" Hee-won
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injury / Illness

Latest roster transaction: May 10, 2021.

Head coaches[]

Dallas Fuel head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
KyKy Kyle Souder October 5, 2017 April 15, 2018 192 days [16]
Peak[a] Emanuel Uzoni April 15, 2018 May 15, 2018 30 days [16][18][50]
Aero Aaron Atkins May 15, 2018 August 3, 2020 2 years, 80 days [18][51]
Yong[a] Kim Yong-jin August 3, 2020 October 23, 2020 81 days [51]
RUSH Yun Hee-won October 23, 2020 329 days [52]
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Interim head coach

Awards and records[]

Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod
Son "OGE" Min-seok
Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod (left) was awarded the Dennis Hawelka Award in 2018, and Son "OGE" Min-seok (right) was selected for the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019

Seasons overview[]

Season P W L W% Finish Playoffs
2018 40 12 28 .300 5th, Pacific Did not qualify
2019 28 10 18 .357 10th, Pacific Did not qualify
2020 21 9 12 .429 8th, North America Did not qualify
2021 16 11 5 .688 1st, West TBD

Individual accomplishments[]

Dennis Hawelka Award

  • Mickie (Pongphop Rattanasangchod) – 2018

All-Star Game selections

  • Mickie (Pongphop Rattanasangchod) – 2018
  • Seagull (Brandon Larned) – 2018
  • OGE (Son Min-seok) – 2018, 2019
  • Crimzo (William Hernandez) - 2020

Academy team[]

Main article: Team Envy (Overwatch team)

On July 2, 2018, the Envy Gaming formally announced that their esports franchise Team Envy would compete as an academy team for the Dallas Fuel in Overwatch Contenders North America, as Envy had acquired EnVision Esports' Contenders slot and roster and signed former Team EnVyUs member Ronnie "Talespin" DuPree.[53][54]

References[]

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Further reading[]

External links[]

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