Dallas Fuel 4 – Los Angeles Valiant 0
After a rocky Week 3, Dallas needed to come out strong and remind the world why they deserve to be a top tier team. Whether it was hard work or the confidence of playing in front of thousands of screaming fans, they came out today and looked as strong as ever, taking an easy 4-0.
Oasis (Dallas 2 – Valiant 0)
Starting on University, an initial pick onto Panseung “Fate” Koo gave Dallas an early lead in the map. After winning several fights in dominant fashion, the Fuel were finally forced off the point at 99%. However, the Valiant’s rule would be short; after a mere 30% the Fuel flipped the point back in their favor. Immediately after, a well placed Trancendence from Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson blocked the door and a following Grav from Dylan “aKm” Bigne prevented the Valiant from even recontesting.
On City Center the arena was treated to seeing aKm on McCree. Despite this, the Fuel lost first capture after a long drawn out fight. Dallas took it back rather quickly, but after losing it at 81% they needed to switch compositions. Dallas swapped to 3-3 and took back at 99% after storing a safe number of ultimates. They went on to win the map in an easy fashion by clearing off the point, taking an early lead.
Temple of Anubis (Dallas 2 – Valiant 1)
The Dallas defense was initially very strong, and they knocked off over three minutes of the Valiant’s time just on point A. Their defense would continue onto B, preventing any initial capture. However, a rather cocky aggressive Shatter play from Minseok “OGE” Son created an opening for LA to attack. After giving up nearly three ticks, OGE came back in with another shatter and held them off with 96% taken. The Valiant were unable to finish off the round, and a big double kill bomb from Lucas “NotE” Meissner ended the push.
The Fuel had a slow offensive push, but after steadily stacking ults they eventually took A in less than two minutes. Their attack on B resulted in several failed pushes that didn’t amount to any percentage. However, finally a big Shatter and Grav combo came in and wiped out LA, securing the map for the Fuel.
Eichenwalde (Dallas 2 – Valiant 1)
Dallas’ defense on Eichenwalde was insanely precise and calculated, not letting the Valiant get any progress until overtime. NotE in particular was getting kill after kill and overall just playing insanely well. The Fuel may have lost the point, but they still somehow won the fight and killed off the Valiant. They then proceeded to spawn camp for several minutes. Finally, after an overtime hold that lasted over two minutes picking off the trickling spawning attackers, they cleared the payload before the Eichenwalde main gate could even open.
The offensive round was just as one sided for the Fuel. They took point A by only securing a single kill, and then wiped off the Valiant to move the payload only a couple of meters to the goal. They effectively won the round and series without taking a single death on offense.
Junkertown (Dallas 5 – Valiant 4)
On their defense on Junkertown, the Fuel were mostly unable to stop the progress of the Valiant despite a strong 3-3 look. They held for a bit of time on A, but overall gave up all three points rather quickly. Over two minutes remained in time bank for the Valiant after the round.
On offense, the Fuel finally showed the screaming crowd some cherished dps, having aKm play Widowmaker and letting Zachary “ZachaREEE” Lombardo play Hanzo. They pushed quickly through A, but were halted on B and needed to swap to GOATS. It was a slow start waiting for ults to come online, but once they did get them they powered through and rode the momentum to the end of the map, albeit with less of a time bank.
The Fuel ran another dps combination on offense for their second time. They got through A rather easily, but the Valiant collapsed on them halfway through B and prevented any further progress. Yet on defense the Fuel looked strong as well. They ran the 3-3 and held until overtime on A, but were forced to give it up in overtime. However, they turned it around and held right past the gate to win the series 4-0.
Conclusion
Dallas looked back up to full form today, a welcome sight to be sure. It certainly was for the thousands of Fuel fans present today, cheering on their team with glee. With a game against the win-less (nearly map-less) Outlaws tomorrow, this week should be an easy 2-0. It’s refreshing when the biggest concern with the Fuel isn’t if they’ll get a win, but rather whether the crowd will finally see Pongphop “Mickie” Rattanasangchod play this season.
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