The Dallas Fuel came from behind to earn their first Overwatch League championship, edging the San Francisco Shock 4-3 in the grand final on Friday in Anaheim, Calif.
San Francisco led 2-1 and 3-2 in the best-of-seven finale, but Dallas captured the last two maps to emerge with the $1 million first prize. The Shock’s runner-up share was $500,000.
The results mimicked the regular-season standings in which Dallas finished first and San Francisco came in second.
The Shock came up short in their bid for a third championship in the Overwatch League’s five seasons. San Francisco claimed the title in 2019 and 2020. The other past champions were the London Spitfire (2018) and the Shanghai Dragons (2021).
The $2.5 million season-ending playoffs — which began with 12 of the 20 OWL teams — started in an online format but moved to the Anaheim Convention Center for Thursday’s and Friday’s matches. It was the OWL’s first in-person playoffs since 2019.
In the Friday title match, Dallas opened with a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower before San Francisco won King’s Row 2-1 and Dorado 3-2.
The Fuel pulled level with a 1-0 win on Esperanca before the Shock claimed Oasis 2-1.
Dallas rallied to win Route 66 by a 2-1 margin before taking Colosseo 1-0 to seal the match.
The Fuel’s winning squad included Kim “Edison” Tae-hoon, Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok, Kim “SP9RK1E” Yeong-han, Kwon “Fielder” Joon and Han “ChiYo” Hyeon-seok — all from South Korea. Fearless was honored as the grand final’s Most Valuable Player.
The Shock’s lineup consisted of South Korea’s Kwon “Striker” Nam-joo, Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun, Oh “FiNN” Se-jin and Park “Viol2t” Min-ki plus the United States’ Michael “mikeyy” Konicki.
The Shock reached the grand final by sweeping the Houston Outlaws 3-0 earlier Friday in the lower-bracket final. San Francisco prevailed 2-0 on Nepal, 3-1 on King’s Row and 2-1 on Route 66.
Overwatch League playoffs prize pool
1. $1 million — Dallas Fuel
2. $500,000 — San Francisco Shock
3. $350,000 — Houston Outlaws
4. $250,000 — Hangzhou Spark
5-6. $100,000 — London Spitfire, Seoul Dynasty
7-8. $55,000 — Los Angeles Gladiators, Florida Mayhem
9-12. $35,000 — Philadelphia Fusion, Shanghai Dragons, Atlanta Reign, Toronto Defiant
–Field Level Media
