No love lost – Taimou calls out former coach KyKy as Dallas Fuel sits 3-1

In an incendiary OverSight interview with Thorin and MonteCristo, Dallas Fuel’s Taimou vented on the past grievances of Dallas’ coaching staff after improving vastly in Stage Four.

Growing pains grow apart

 If you’ve been following the Overwatch League at any point in the season, one of the common trends that became meme goldmines for the Overwatch fan base this year has been the consistent underperforming of Dallas Fuel since Stage One.

A star studded roster filled with talent from across the globe, the glue started to unravel early on for Dallas. Players like Taimou, HarryHook and Seagull took noticeable dips in form as both players and coaches looked out of shape and at their wits end with each compounded loss.

To add insult to injury, every loss accompanied a seemingly never ending cycle of Twitter backlash and unnecessary venting from players such as EFFECT and Taimou. If the players weren’t disgruntled, there was almost always a guaranteed response from former Head Coach KyKy as he seeked to lessen the blow of each loss with ‘helpful’ remarks that only further put him on the chopping block. 

Start of a new beginning

Heading into the last stage, Dallas Fuel made some serious changes as they sought a new Head Coach after a mutual split with KyKy. With KyKy heading to state rivals Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel needed a fresh face of authority and game knowledge within their ranks and they found their man with former Philly Fusion Academy coach Aero.

The start of the fourth Stage for Dallas Fuel has been nothing short of a fairytale as they now sit 3-1 for the Stage, and are in prime position to compete for a stage playoff spot. Even though their overall wins and losses will likely keep them out of the six team playoff bracket, the growth of Dallas Fuel in the past few weeks has been nothing short of miraculous as their team environment has completely turned around.

With this new success under their belts, and renewed confidence for all players within the stables, Dallas Fuel have a renewed lease on life within the Overwatch League as they continue to build synergy and trust with one another. Understanding between players and staff is vital to success for any Overwatch team, and with Aero at the point, the freedom of Dallas’ best players has seemingly been unlocked as Dallas continue picking up unlikely wins.

Keeping it real

Regardless of recent success, players like Taimou are still upset at the seemingly wasted year of Dallas Fuel after a rollercoaster season of bad results and hapless trades. Taimou remarked on the absurdity of trading away Custa and losing EFFECT at crucial points in the season, while also heaping praise on his new coach Aero for his effectiveness in building counter strategies specific to each opponent. This seemingly new form of strategy for Dallas was the rekindling needed to light the fire under Dallas Fuel to succeed once again and every player is operating at a high clip because of it.

Yes, this is the meta for Dallas Fuel to have good success. But it’s also true that this was the meta for Houston Outlaws to succeed too, and the results have not been nearly as hot for KyKy’s new team as Houston are currently 1-3 in Stage Four. After Dallas suffered in finding scrim partners for a majority of Stage Three, this rebound of form has put them firmly on the radar of even the most dominant Overwatch League teams, and the finger is inevitably pointed at former coaches and players as Dallas continue to flourish without them.

From the outside looking in, it seems like a lack of accountability and camaraderie between players and staff was the root problem of an ailing Dallas Fuel team. KyKy obviously lost a bit of control and authority he had from his Team EnvyUs days once results started to slip. The deteriorated morale of players like EFFECT, Rascal and aKm also became serious problems that were soon eradicated with the start of Stage Four.

As the dust settles on another chapter of Dallas Fuel memeology, the Twitter feeds will do no justice to the results seen on stage. Both Taimou and KyKy will have to answer to their fan bases at the end of the stage, and at this point of the race, Dallas sit firmly ahead with a new lease on life and a revamped coaching staff at their disposal.

Corrigendum: This article has been edited for accuracy.