Five burning questions for the Dallas Fuel as the season approaches: How will they fare in stacked division? – The Dallas Morning News

The Dallas Fuel have moved into their new downtown office, meaning the 2020 Overwatch League is just around the corner.

As the first Fuel matches -- Feb. 8-9 in Arlington get closer -- here are five questions the Fuel will need to answer in the early part of the season:

Dallas was unsatisfied with its performance in the second season of the Overwatch League. There was promise in the first two stages in 2019. The Fuel even went 5-2 in the second stage, setting them up for a potential playoff spot. But Stage 3 and Stage 4 amounted to one victory and 13 losses. Thats not going to fly for a team posted up in one of the strongest esports hubs in the country.

A head coach fresh off a strong offseason, as well as a handful of new players, could be the remedy.

It needs to be for the Fuel. Atkins led the United States to a World Cup victory, knocking off the defending champion South Korea. The Fuel could use a hot start in the opening stage. Atkins has some fresh faces, including tank Gamsu and damage-dealer Decay, that might help re-introduce the Fuel to the world and snap that losing streak.

Theres still time for a meta shift before the start of the season, but there are heroes that remain strong despite some nerfs by the Blizzard development team. Theres always hope to achieve balance.

But that doesnt always happen.

Orisa and Sigma remain powerful tanks, but Wrecking Ball is squeaking into more compositions too.

Baptiste will probably be the go-to for healing. His mobility and burst healing are strong and as long as hes got an immortality field, even if its less effective than its launch state. Benjamin uNKOE Chevasson may end up on Baptiste often.

Damage may be just as limited. Reaper, Mei, Hanzo and McCree are all viable. Pharah may get played on some maps but the days of Tracer and Genji may still be in the distance.

Zachary Lombardo, Dong-ha Kim, Dylan Bignet and Gui-un Jang make up the Dallas damage roster, and its a strong one. Bignet, or aKm will probably be tossed in when the Fuel needs a Widowmaker or possibly a Reaper. Hes the go-to for hit-scan heroes.

Lombardo, aka ZachaREEE," and Jang as Decay might get the most starts but this damage group is pretty flexible in what it can do. Theres also a scenario where a damage player hops on Zarya if the Fuel want to run a Reinhardt. That might be a job for aKm.

The addition of Kim, or DoHa, brought versatility to the damage roster. Hes got Doomfist and Sombra capability while being flexible to the meta damage heroes.

The Fuel have five homestands this season taking place in at least three different locations -- thats until a solid home is finished. Until then, the three planned venues are Esports Stadium Arlington, Allen Event Center and Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Envy Gaming may treat the events like festivals with booths and live music to attract every type of esports fan and bring in those who dont know as much but have interest. If the attendance is strong no matter the venue, that could signal to Envy that the electric fan base is solid.

If theres variance in how many people show up depending on vacation that would be helpful in knowing where the audience is and where it can improve.

The Overwatch League went for four divisions to the prior two, splitting the Atlantic and Pacific divisions in half.

The Fuel had perhaps the toughest pull of any division, winding up in the Pacific West with the Los Angeles Valiant, Los Angeles Gladiators, San Francisco Shock and Vancouver Titans. The two best teams in the entire league in the Shock and Titans headline the division and the LA squads have already shown success in the first two seasons.

Dallas has its hands full, but if it is able to take care of business against middle-of-the-pack teams and the bottom feeders then, then a playoff opportunity could be in the mix.

On Twitter: @seanzcollins

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Five burning questions for the Dallas Fuel as the season approaches: How will they fare in stacked division? - The Dallas Morning News

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