The Dallas Fuel rallied from a map down to beat PANTHERA and clinch first place on Sunday in the East Region Overwatch League Summer Stage qualifiers.
The Fuel, because of their 3-2 victory over PANTHERA, move into the knockout round as the East’s top seed. They needed a win Sunday to finish ahead the Seoul Infernal, who also posted a 7-1 record, but Dallas had a better map differential.
Also victorious Sunday were the Hangzhou Spark, who finished in third place, and the Shanghai Dragons, who grabbed sixth place in the 10-team field.
The Fuel jumped out to a lead with a 2-1 win on Antarctic Peninsula, but PANTHERA briefly turned around the match with a pair of victories – 3-2 on Numbani and 2-1 on Watchpoint: Gibraltar.
Dallas, however, rebounded with a 1-0 triumph on New Queen Street, then a 2-0 victory on Lijiang Tower to seal the match win.
It was the 100th Overwatch League win for Dallas, the defending league champion.
The Spark took a 3-1 victory over the Dreamers. They won the first two maps — 2-0 on Oasis and 3-0 on Eichenwalde — before the Dreamers triumphed 3-2 on Dorado. The Spark closed it out with their 1-0 score on New Queen Street.
New Queen Street also proved the decider for the Dragons, who defeated the O2 Blast with wins on Oasis (2-1), Midtown (3-2) and New Queen Street (1-0). Their opponent won the third map — 1-0 on Route 66 — to briefly stay in the match.
All 10 teams move on to the Summer Stage Knockouts, which begin Aug. 26. The top four finishers from the East have direct byes into the upper-bracket semifinals.
East Region final standings (win-loss record, map differential):
1. Dallas Fuel, 7-1, plus-16
2. Seoul Infernal, 7-1, plus-15
3. Hangzhou Spark, 6-2, plus-9
4. Seoul Dynasty, 5-3, plus-4
5. Dreamers, 4-4, plus-2
6. Shanghai Dragons, 4-4, 0
7. PANTHERA, 3-5, minus-6
8. O2 Blast, 2-6, minus-12
9. Poker Face, 1-7, minus-14
10. Guangzhou Charge, 1-7, minus-14
–Field Level Media
