Tuesday was already one of the better days in franchise history for the Dallas Fuel, which is why assistant coach Kim “Yong” Yong-Jin said they had to win.
Dallas defeated the Washington Justice 3-1 to open the Overwatch League playoffs Tuesday evening -- the first playoff victory in franchise history.
The day couldn’t have gone much better for the Fuel. Head coach Yun “RUSH” Hee-Won was announced the OWL Coach of the Year shortly before the team’s match. DPS star and personality-driven Kim “Sp9rk1e” Yeong-han was set to receive the Dennis Hawelka Award for his impact on the Overwatch League community. Those things were happening no matter the result of the match.
Dallas rolled over Washington anyways.
“Everything really is just the work and result of our company just believing in us,” Kim said via interpreter. “And I believe that it was absolutely necessary for us to repay that by showing them that we can play at our best.”
The Justice actually won the opening map, which was the Fuel’s selection. Dallas tank player Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok told the OWL YouTube broadcast that dropping the map angered the team. Kim said they were mad because they knew it was winnable.
The remainder of the match was a decimation. The Fuel were spawn-camping the Justice on King’s Row, made Wrecking Ball compositions work and forced the Justice into making untimely errors.
It was the best the Fuel played since May and June, which Kim also wanted to talk about. The Fuel transitioned from the best team in the world to underwhelming at the end of the regular season.
“I’m sure that what it looks like from the outside, as the season progressed it may have seen that we are falling off,” Kim said. But we were able to come back. And yes, there are some moments where we were a little regretful but it was a good one overall.”
Yun had the Fuel take the foot off the gas in August. The team focused on mental and physical strength, along with weak points in their game, instead of trying to win OWL matches.
Dallas’ win over Washington suggests that it’s petal to the metal again, and the Fuel have an advantage having been to Hawaii for online tournament three times already.
San Francisco hasn’t been to Hawaii despite the back-to-back reigning champion status, and the Los Angeles Gladiators are coming off their first trip. Kim felt that was a tremendous advantage, even if it’s tiring for all the North American teams.
The Fuel will either have the Atlanta Reign or Chengdu Hunters at 7:30 p.m. CST Wednesday. Both are teams Dallas defeated this season. The Fuel don’t really care who they play, because the ultimate goal wasn’t to win awards or a franchise-first playoff win.
“Our goal is not to get the first one of the playoffs in franchise history. It’s to win the grand finals. So we will continue working towards that goal,” Kim said. “Just looking back at today, I feel like it was a good day.”
The best version of the Dallas Fuel might be back, marking them as a serious title contender.
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September 22, 2021 at 09:18AM
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‘It was absolutely necessary’: Dallas Fuel defeat Justice, earn 1st playoff win in franchise history - The Dallas Morning News
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