DALLAS — World champions. That definitely has a nice ring to it.
We all dream of that coveted championship for our favorite sports teams. Well, it's now a reality for one North Texas professional team.
The Dallas Fuel garnered eyes from all across the world on Friday night by becoming the 2022 Overwatch League champs, a first for the pro esports group.
The Fuel, a part of North Texas-based organization OpTic Gaming, are now the esports league's fifth champion since it began in 2017. Teams from around the world compete in the game Overwatch 2 by Activision Blizzard.
Following a 2022 season of ups and downs, Dallas made its way through the league's playoff bracket, having to beat China's Hangzhou Spark, South Korea's Seoul Dynasty and a team a bit closer to home -- the Houston Outlaws.
And in the Grand Finals in Anaheim, California, the Fuel went 4-3 in a best-of-seven series against the two-time world champion San Francisco Shock.
The Grand Finals were livestreamed to more than 325,000 fans on YouTube and many more attended the in-person event in California.
Along with the championship trophy, the Fuel also took home $1 million in prize money
This year's team was different than its previous rosters since 2017. For the 2022 season, team managers went with an all-Korean roster.
The team consists of: Kim Yeong-Han (SP9RK1E); Kim Dong-Ha (Doha); Choi Han-been (Hanbin); Kwon Joon (Fielder); Euiseok Lee (Fearless); Han Hyeon-seok (ChiYo); Kim Tae-Hoon (Edison); and Kang Min-seo (guriyo). Hee-won “Rush” Yun, 36, is the team's head coach.
"Fearless" was also named the Grand Finals MVP.
Back in July, WFAA spent an afternoon with the Fuel see how they were brewing success at their small office space at Victory Park in downtown Dallas.
The family atmosphere was apparent -- and it was easy to see how it is a major part of their success. After hours of practice each day, the group also goes home together at the same downtown apartment complex and spends even more time together during outings and game nights.
"I think it’s important to have that camaraderie and understanding with each other and these guys are already kind of a family and we have a big core right now that we’re really happy with," Fuel general manager Matthew "TazMo" Taylor told WFAA in July.
While the Mavericks and Stars are still chasing a more recent championship, the Fuel have been sitting right next door to the American Airlines Center and have become world-renowned.
DFW, it's time to burn blue.