Despite opening loss to Houston, Dallas Fuel believe their unique style can still bring Overwatch League - The Dallas Morning News

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The Dallas Fuel had a chance for a fresh start with the 2021 Overwatch League season. The Fuel’s flashy, new roster that was brought to Dallas in the offseason took a hit before the season began after a key player retired during a meta that was suited for him.

But it wasn’t Jung “Xzi” Ki-hyo’s absence that disrupted a first win of the season. Nor was it the lack of a hitscan player at all, in the Fuel’s eyes. Dallas didn’t do what it wanted to against Houston, even if the match went down to the final map and the Fuel battled their way to that point.

“I can tell that they were nervous, and we did see a lot more mistakes that we haven’t been seeing in scrims,” Fuel assistant coach Kim “Yong” Yong-Jin told The Dallas Morning News via interpreter. “Up until now we have been seeing good results from scrims and they have been showing us pretty good momentum.

“Of course, if we had Xzi we might have had more choices, more options to pull out on all the different maps, but I wouldn’t really see it as a problem.”

Great match for the season opener. Congrats to the @Outlaws on posting a W on the Battle for Texas board. Time to work a little harder. #fuelfighting

— Mike Rufail (@hastr0) April 16, 2021

This Fuel team, led by head coach Yun “RUSH” Hee-Won, did most of the things expected of them. They played weird compositions with off-meta hero picks. A map win on King’s Row using Doomfist and Hanzo proved the Fuel don’t have to cave into what the trend is.

That justified Kim’s thought that a hitscan player like Xzi wasn’t why the Fuel lost, even though Houston was able to run McCree and the Fuel weren’t.

Dallas damage player Kim “Sp9rk1e” Yeong-han echoed that sentiment. They hadn’t played in an official Overwatch League match since September, other than Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok. Yong-Jin suspected nerves were at play, but Yeong-han felt the Fuel simply didn’t execute.

Sp9rk1e was solid on the Tracer, a part of his game, and the Fuel’s roster, that’s been a talking point as a weakness. Yeong-han felt good about his Tracer play against the Outlaws.

“When I first started playing Tracer, I was a little scared and I was pretty nervous about it,” Yeong-han said via interpreter. “But as of recent on scrims, I guess I’ve been really beating up everyone with Tracer. So my confidence is pretty high. And if I were to be that designated tracer player, I feel like it’d be pretty good.”

The Fuel have to make their weird compositions work, it’s really their only play as the search for a hitscan DPS hasn’t been successful yet. The Fuel had Sp9rk1e and Kim “DoHa” Dong-Ha practicing on all the maps once Ki-hyo informed them about his retirement.

It's always really hard to play against a team that has a unique style and strays away from the norm. Really happy with how we adapted throughout the match and glad we came out with the win in the end. GGs @DallasFuel

— Crimzo (@Crimzo) April 16, 2021

And that’s when the Fuel began looking for a new player, too. Dallas tried out one player, assistant general manager Helen “Dear” Jang said, but still no luck.

“There’s really no progress so far,” Jang said.

Even though the Fuel weren’t happy with their decision making, the Outlaws found it cumbersome to prepare for, and play against, an unpredictable Fuel team.

Outlaws assistant coach and player Jake “Jake” Lyon credited Dallas for that.

I don't mean we played bad, I mean Fuel plays strats that nobody else uses so it was very difficult to be prepared.

— Jake Lyon (@jakeow) April 16, 2021

The Fuel may have even less room for error against a Los Angeles Gladiators team that has garnered the expectation as a top team entering the 2021 season. That match is at 5 p.m. Saturday.

But again, the Fuel aren’t making excuses. Yeong-han expects the Fuel to defeat the Gladiators if they do what they’ve practiced.

“I feel like as long as we did what we prepped for it would have been an easy win,” Yeong-han said. “But it’s been a while since we were in a match so I feel like the biggest mistake is that we didn’t do what we were supposed to. As long as we are able to cover that, I am positive that we will win tomorrow. Because of that, maybe it isn’t too bad we lost today.”

The Fuel didn’t get the rebirth they were looking for after three seasons of mediocrity in OWL. But they don’t think their success lies in the fate of a player that hasn’t arrived yet.

They still believe their unique style is enough.

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Despite opening loss to Houston, Dallas Fuel believe their unique style can still bring Overwatch League - The Dallas Morning News
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