The Dallas Fuel are the Overwatch League 2022 champions, beating the San Francisco Shock 4-3.
In a banger seven-map series, both teams put everything on the line in the best and most entertaining Grand Finals to date.
"but somewhere, a glimmer of hope exists, the hope of a new era."
YOUR 2022 OVERWATCH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/EqFntnJkNX
— Dallas Fuel (@DallasFuel) November 5, 2022
Lijiang Tower puts Dallas out front
Control started out strong for the Dallas Fuel, with Kim “Edison” Tae-hoon outdueling the San Francisco Shock’s Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun on Sojourn. While the first round on Lijiang Tower was an easy win for Dallas, the next two were much closer. The Shock proved their worth, but it was just too much to overcome as Dallas got the first map in the series.
The Shock, asides from round 1, fought tooth and nail but just couldn’t get the map win on control. Hybrid was next, with King’s Row being the map of choice.
King’s Row is the Proper show
As King’s Row started with the San Francisco Shock on the attack, it didn’t look great. After capturing the point, the team got held just before the second point thanks to Edison. But, when Dallas started strong on their attack and reached meters away from a map victory, Proper showed just how much he can force a victory with his play.
He outdueled Edison and helped Shock hold the map to tie the series 1-1. Escort was next, so the Dallas Fuel chose Dorado.
Dorado shows clutch moment after clutch moment
This time around, both teams backcapped the first point, and yet it felt like each fight was a clutch performance from one player on each team. Edison had one, then Proper, then Kwon “Striker” Nam-joo, then Kim “SP9RK1E” Yeong-han.
It was nuts, but with the Shock pushing almost all the way to the end, Dallas had to full cap. They had a tough time on first, and a better time on second but the third proved too much to overcome. Already, this final proved to be one of the most entertaining Grand Finals to date.
DIRTY DANCING WITH @SP9RK1E_OW FOR A 3K 🕺#BurnBlue | #OWLGrandFinals pic.twitter.com/it3Hin3clh
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) November 5, 2022
The Shock, ahead 2-1, now had to face the Fuel on Esperança, the newest Push map.
Esperança proves to be a Sojourn’s playground, but the Reapers win it
Much like the first three maps, the Sojourn duel between Edison and Proper was key for each team fight. However, with the opposing team adapting to focus on the other more, the Reaper players got more time to show off on Push. In the end, it was SP9RK1E that came out on top to win the map for the Fuel.
Tied up 2-2, the San Francisco Shock chose to face the Dallas Fuel on Oasis. Back to Control.
Oasis is yet another nail-biting Control map
The first round went to 99-99, with smart ult usage and a SP9RK1E Reaper ult to seal it for Dallas. Then, the second round was the Proper show. For round three, when the Shock captured it, almost one fight stretched for the entire round with great stall tactics. With Proper winning the final duel and a perfect Striker ult, that put the Shock on match point.
.@STRIKER_OW CLOSES OUT THE MAP#WINNABLE | #OWLGrandFinals pic.twitter.com/gd1qkP74AP
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) November 5, 2022
Dallas were on the brink, choosing their final map of the series. To stay alive, they needed to win on Route 66.
Route 66 leads to the first-ever Grand Finals map seven
Starting with Shock attacking, the squad almost got first held due to Edison and Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok working perfectly in tandem. They still held an admirable amount on the second point, putting themselves in a similar position to King’s Row. On attack, Edison just took over, completely outplaying the Shock team and taking the series to map seven.
MAP 7 #OWLGrandFinals
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) November 5, 2022
The entire Overwatch League 2022 season, the championship, all came down to one map. Colosseo, one of the new Push maps.
Colosseo ends the 2022 season with Dallas on top
Starting with a Shock fight win, a new player popped up to help their team to a strong start. This time, Kwon “Fielder” Joon’s Kiriko was building ultimate much faster. Plus, it felt like in almost every fight, Edison got Striker. Team coordination was truly on point, and that is what made the difference. The Dallas Fuel are the Overwatch League 2022 champions.
THEIR FLAMES WILL NEVER DIE 🔥#BurnBlue | #OWLGrandFinals pic.twitter.com/d0jnzMbF94
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) November 5, 2022
Fearless is the Grand Finals MVP, ending a journey that began with a winless 0-40 season on the Shanghai Dragons in the inaugural season.
