The Overwatch League is bound to look (and feel) quite a lot different once 2022 comes around. Whether we’re in for a good change or a negative one still remains to be seen, though. Naturally, with the somewhat dreaded shift to 5v5, most teams are now starting to release players whose services will no longer be required — including the 2022 Dallas Fuel lineup.

Going forward, DPS extraordinaire Do-Hyeon “Pine” Kim and Seung-soo “Jecse” Lee will no longer compete under Dallas’ banner. This news doesn’t really come as a surprise for 2022, although we’re definitely a bit baffled that Dallas Fuel would release Pine mere months after bringing him out of retirement. Then again, it’s not like they were able to harness his astounding hitscan abilities — the meta simply didn’t allow for it. Additionally, Jung-keun “Rapel” Kim has decided to retire from competitive Overwatch, with assistant coach Yong-jin “Yong” Kim leaving the team in order to fulfill his military duty. 

The most important thing is that the Dallas Fuel have successfully re-signed their biggest catalysts alongside head coach Hee-Won “Rush” Yun for 2022, a man that has been instrumental in Dallas’ many triumphs throughout 2021. 

With such a strong core (one that hasn’t changed all too much), the Fuel are all but guaranteed to wreck house next year. Well, at least that’s our assumption based on their recent level of play and innate talent. In any case, we can’t wait to see them back in action!

The whole shift to 5 vs. 5 is still as vexing as was the case back when it was first announced, and, needless to say, it caught everyone off-guard — including the many players who’ve now essentially lost their jobs. We’re not against the decision per se, but it has created the most chaotic Overwatch off-season yet which, for a game that is struggling to stay relevant, might do more harm than good.

In any case, we hope that this dramatic change will, in fact, pan out for the best; competitive Overwatch has a special kind of allure, and we’d hate to see it diminish.