2018 Dallas Fuel season

The 2018 Dallas Fuel season was the first season of the Dallas Fuel's existence in the Overwatch League. The roster and staff of Team Envy was transferred to the Dallas Fuel on October 5, 2017. Dallas qualified for the Stage 4 Playoffs, but lost in the semifinals to the New York Excelsior.[1] The team finished with a regular season record of 12–28 placing them tenth overall and did not qualify for the Season Playoffs.

2018 Dallas Fuel season
Head coachKyle Souder (rel. Apr 16)
Aaron Atkins
OwnerMike Rufail
Kenneth Hersh
DivisionPacific
Results
Record12–28 (.300)
Place
Stage 1 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 2 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 3 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 4 PlayoffsSemifinals
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$50,000

Preceding offseason

On September 20, 2017, Blizzard officially announced that Envy Gaming had acquired the Dallas-based Overwatch League franchise spot, consisting of the following players:[2][3]

  • Timo "Taimou" Kettunen
  • Jonathan "HarryHook" Tejedor Rua
  • Sebastian "Chipshajen" Widlund
  • Christian "cocco" Jonsson
  • Hyeon "EFFECT" Hwang
  • Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod
  • Brandon "Seagull" Larned

On October 27, Fuel signed support player Scott "Custa" Kennedy.[4] One day later, the team signed main tank player Félix "xQc" Lengyel.[5]

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

Review

Fuel's first regular season match resulted in a 1–2 loss to Seoul Dynasty.[6] They would struggle for the remainder of Stage 1 and end up finishing with a 3–7 record in 10th place.[7]

Between Stages 1 and 2, the Fuel acquired DPS players Dylan "aKm" Bignet and Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun from free agency and the London Spitfire, respectively.[8][9] During this stage, main tank player xQc was suspended on multiple occasions for various issues.[10][11] The Fuel finished the stage in 11th place with a 2–8 record. After the stage ended, the Fuel released xQc, citing flexibility for additional signings.[12][13]

Prior to Stage 3, the team announced the signing of tank player Son "OGE" Min-Seok.[14] Early in the stage, head coach KyKy and DPS player Rascal would be released after some in fighting between the two.[15] The team's only victory in the stage was over the winless Shanghai Dragons, making their stage record 1–9.[16] Also, following periodical absences during the season, EFFECT announced he would not be participating for the rest of the season.[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] 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] On August 26, Mickie, OGE, and Seagull were announced to represent the Fuel in the All-Star Game during the league's All-Star Weekend, however, Seagull announced his retirement before the game and was subsequently replaced by Los Angeles Gladiators tank player Bischu.[21]

Final roster
2018 Dallas Fuel roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 10 aKm  Bignet, Dylan   France 
Damage 13 Taimou  Kettunen, Timo   Finland 
Damage 39 EFFECT  Hwang Hyeon  South Korea 
Tank 2 OGE  Son Min-seok  South Korea 
Tank 55 cocco  Jonsson, Christian   Sweden 
Support 4 Chipshajen  Widlund, Sebastian   Sweden 
Support 9 HarryHook  Tejedor, Jonathan   Spain 
Support 24 Unkoe  Chevasson, Benjamin   France 
Flex 7 Mickie  Rattanasangchod, Pongphop   Thailand 
Flex 7 Seagull  Larned, Brandon   United States 
Head coach
  • Aaron Atkins
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: April 16, 2018.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:

  • On February 13, Fuel signed Dylan "aKm" Bignet.[22]
  • On February 13, Fuel acquired Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun from London Spitfire.[22]
  • On March 8, Fuel signed Son "OGE" Min-seok[23]
  • On March 11, Fuel released Félix "xQc" Lengyel.[24]
  • On April 2, Fuel traded Scott "Custa" Kennedy to Los Angeles Valiant in exchange for Benjamin "Unkoe" Chevasson.[25]
  • On April 16, Fuel released Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun.[26]

Standings

Record by stage
StagePldWLPctMWMLMTMDPos
11037.30014253-1110
21028.20013281-1511
31019.1009302-2111
41064.60022171+54
Overall401228.300581007-4210
  Qualified for playoffs

League
2018 Overwatch League standings
# Team Division W L PCT P MR MD STK
Division leaders
1 New York Excelsior ATL 34 6 .850 40 126–43–4 +83 W1
2 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 27 13 .675 40 100–64–7 +36 L1
Wild cards
3 Boston Uprising ATL 26 14 .650 40 99–71–3 +28 W4
4 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 25 15 .625 40 96–72–3 +24 W5
5[lower-alpha 1] London Spitfire ATL 24 16 .600 40 102–69–3 +33 L1
6[lower-alpha 1] Philadelphia Fusion ATL 24 16 .600 40 93–80–2 +13 W1
Did not qualify for playoffs
7[lower-alpha 2] Houston Outlaws ATL 22 18 .550 40 94–77–2 +17 L1
8[lower-alpha 2] Seoul Dynasty PAC 22 18 .550 40 91–78–3 +13 L1
9 San Francisco Shock PAC 17 23 .425 40 77–84–5 -7 W1
10 Dallas Fuel PAC 12 28 .300 40 58–100–7 -42 W1
11 Florida Mayhem ATL 7 33 .175 40 42–120–5 -78 L3
12 Shanghai Dragons PAC 0 40 .000 40 21–141–2 -120 L40
Tiebreakers

  1. London placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential.

  2. Houston placed ahead of Seoul based on map differential.

Game log

Preseason
2018 preseason game log
Preseason (2–0)

Regular season
2018 game log (Regular season record: 12–28)
Stage 1 (3–7)
Stage 2 (2–8)
Stage 3 (1–9)
Stage 4 (6–4)

Playoffs
2018 playoff game log
Stage 4 Playoffs (0–1)

References
  1. "Los Angeles Valiant beats New York Excelsior in Stage 4 final". ESPN. June 17, 2018.
  2. "Meet the Dallas Fuel: Esports Franchise Unveils New Name for Team Competing in Inaugural Overwatch League Season". PR Newswire. October 17, 2017.
  3. Duwe, Scott (29 October 2017). "Dallas Fuel confirms highly flexible 9-man roster for Overwatch League". Dot Esports. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  4. "We're happy to announce our first, official player signing". Dallas Fuel. October 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
  5. Duwe, Scott (October 28, 2017). "Dallas Fuel signs eccentric tank main xQc to Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports.
  6. Donigan, Wyatt (15 January 2018). "Dynasty survives Fuel, Valiant tops Shock, Gladiators squashes Dragons as OWL regular season begins". ESPN. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. Mary Justice, Amelia (8 February 2018). "Dallas' Growing Pains -- Down But Not Out". Inven Global. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  8. Duwe, Scott (13 February 2018). "Dallas Fuel officially announce the signing of DPS star aKm". Dot Esports. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  9. Katsuragi, Chris (13 February 2018). "London Spitfire's Rascal is headed to the Dallas Fuel". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  10. Lawler, Richard (9 March 2018). "'Overwatch' pro suspended for 'racially disparaging' emote". Engadget. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. Nash, Anthony (29 June 2018). "Good, bad, and ugly from the Dallas Fuel regular season". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  12. Wolf, Jacob (12 March 2018). "xQc released from Dallas Fuel after receiving second Overwatch League suspension". ESPN. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  13. Van Allen, Eric (11 March 2018). "Dallas Fuel Release Félix "xQc" Lengyel". Compete (Kotaku). Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  14. Katsuragi, Chris (8 March 2018). "Dallas Fuel adds new tank Son "OGE" Min-Seok to roster". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  15. Jeong, Seong-mo; Park, Kyung-yun (15 April 2018). "Head Coach KyKy and DPS player Rascal released from Dallas Fuel". Inven Global. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  16. Alonzo, Damian (4 June 2018). "After months in the toilet, Overwatch League's Dallas Fuel is suddenly good". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  17. Baker, Harry (12 May 2018). "Dallas Fuel DPS player EFFECT states he will not play in Stage Four". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. Tahan, Chelsey (15 May 2018). "Aaron "Aero" Atkins to be the head coach for the Dallas Fuel". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  19. Nash, Anthony (29 June 2018). "Good, bad, and ugly from the Dallas Fuel regular season". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  20. Donigan, Wyatt (18 June 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant beats New York Excelsior in Stage 4 final". ESPN. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. D'Orazio, Nick (7 August 2018). "Seagull retires from the Overwatch League to stream full time". Inven Global. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  22. Wolf, Jacob (February 13, 2018). "Sources: Rascal to join Dallas Fuel". ESPN.
  23. Meyer, Guilherme (March 8, 2018). "New faces in the Overwatch League: Dallas Announces OGE; London Signs t1zi". Inven Global.
  24. Wolf, Jacob (March 11, 2018). "xQc released from Dallas Fuel after receiving second Overwatch League suspension". ESPN.
  25. Carpenter, Nicole (April 2, 2018). "Dallas Fuel and Los Angeles Valiant swap support players". Dot Esports.
  26. Asarch, Steven (April 16, 2018). "'Overwatch' League Rascal and Coach KyKy Released from Dallas Fuel". Newsweek.
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