Dallas Fuel and Poker Face met in the upper-bracket semifinals of OWL Summer Stage Knockouts, where Dallas Fuel won 3-0 with 2-0, 2-1, 3-0.

Poker Face have since found some traction, defeating Rhodes (3-0) and ending Dreamer’s run in the lower-bracket semis (3-2). Dallas Fuel have played just one game in that time, losing 3-0 to Hangzhou Spark.

The Fuel played fairly well against the Spark and forced every map to the final round, so that loss isn’t too worrying. Still, Poker Face have looked good in their last two outings, especially Kim “PEPPI” Noah and Lee “Aiden” Seung-jun.

Overwatch betting sites have Dallas Fuel priced at -2500, which is quite short, but it’s not like we can expect them to lose against Poker Face. The Fuel should win, but taking Poker Face to steal at least one map is the better play.

Seoul Infernal and Seoul Dynasty will clash in the lower-bracket final of Group B in what should be an entertaining affair between two rival teams.

The Dynasty have been struggling this season and barely made it to the knockout stage after finishing the qualifiers in fourth place. Much of their issues had to do with not having the right players for the meta, which led to the departure of Kim “Prophet” Hyun-been and Lee “LeeSooMin” Soo-Min to O2 Blast. But as soon as the duo left, the meta shifted again, putting the Dynasty in a tough spot.

The Infernal have not had that many issues this season and have looked quite stable. Besides placing in the top six at Midseason Madness, they have done well in the three qualifying events, most recently ending the Summer Stage Qualifiers in second place with a 7-1 record.

So far in the Summer Stage Knockouts, Seoul Infernal have crushed Sin Prisa Gaming (3-1) and lost against O2 Blast (1-3) in the upper-bracket finals. On the other side, the Dynasty lost against O2 Blast (0-3) in their first game of the stage and have since beaten Guangzhou Charge (3-1) and edged past Sin Prisa Gaming (3-2) in the semis.

The Infernal should win this game quite easily. They are one of the region’s top two teams, and while the Dynasty are not terrible, there’s still a big gap between the pair.

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Hangzhou Spark entered OWL 2023 Summer Stage Qualifiers as the best team from the East, but Seoul Infernal quickly took that tag from them. The Infernal crushed Hangzhou (2-0, 1-0, 3-0) in their opening match, adding a commanding 3-1 win over Poker Face on Sunday.

It looks like Seoul Infernal are on the bounce-back following a disappointing showing at the OWL Midseason Madness (5th-6th), but they still have a long way to go before we see a repeat run from the Spring Stage.

Guangzhou Charge are still on a bit of a downward trend. They started the qualifiers with a 3-1 victory against 02 Blast but then lost to Hangzhou Spark (0-3), where the Charge showed that they hadn’t improved during the break and still can’t play Sombra.

As the latest Overwatch betting odd suggests, Seoul Infernal are much stronger than the Charge, who have not shown enough for us to believe they can compete against the top teams. This could easily be a 3-0, but we’re happy with the price on the handicap market.

Dreamers started off the Overwatch League Summer Stage with wins against Shanghai Dragons (3-1) and PANTHERA (3-1). Their success early into the qualifiers is even more impressive if we consider that Dreamers recently lost Park “D0nghun” Dong-hun and Lee “Ezhan” Ji-han, but it also shows that this is a well-coached team and more than the sum of its parts.

The newest signings Jeong “TOPDRAGON” Seung-yong and Seo “ssaadd” Kang-min looked great and played a significant role in Dreamers’ dominant victory over the Shanghai Dragons. With how good the DPS duo are performing, Dreamer seems to have never lost any firepower with the recent departures.

Poker Face weren’t nearly as successful in the first week of action, with two defeats against Dallas Fuel (1-3) and Seoul Infernal (1-3). Poker Face had moments over the two series, but they were not good enough to compete against established rosters.

The price gap in this match isn’t as big as it should be, mainly because these are still two Contenders teams. However, Dreamers have shown a lot more and shouldn’t struggle to get the win on Friday.

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“Today, we announced plans to rebrand ourselves in the new year as the Seoul Infernal and relocate to South Korea,” the esports outfit tweeted.

The squad, which is owned by a Philadelphia-based company, Comcast Spectacor, was created in 2017. The team first relocated its operations to South Korea at the start of the COVID epidemic in early 2020; hence, the team has been operating in the region for about two years now.

“Overwatch League team Philadelphia Fusion announced plans to rebrand itself in the new year as the Seoul Infernal and relocate to South Korea, where the team has been operating for the past two years. The team, founded in 2017, initially moved operations to South Korea at the onset of the COVID pandemic in early 2020 in close coordination with Overwatch League officials,” a press release read.

This movement will be beneficial on many grounds, as it will also bring the previous Philadelphia team closer to their sister team, TI. The esports outfit also disclosed that this modification will include changes in the squad’s jersey, the use of new logos, and other areas that will need an overhaul too.

“The Infernal name and branding will also reflect the team’s new home in Seoul as well as the esports pedigree of our team and its sister team, T1. With the change, the team will unveil fresh logos, new jerseys and more for current and future Infernal team members and fans,” read the press release.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Spectacor, Dave Scott, expressed his delight in the changes and explained that the team is finally ready to take on the new season, noting they can now contend at a consistently high level and possibly win championships.

“As we gear up for next season, we’ve been evaluating how we can best compete at a consistent, championship level, and we’ve realized that our franchise will be best positioned to succeed in Seoul,” said Scott. “We’re excited to begin this next chapter as the Seoul Infernal, and our team is proud to represent our current and future fans on the global stage.”

Comcast Spectacor also disclosed in their press release that the changes do not include a change in ownership or management. The company’s executives and players will remain the same, and their team is also open to signing new players.

“The team will maintain the same ownership, management, and roster of currently signed players while new additions will be brought on to build out the team. The Overwatch League regular season will start in Spring 2023 and finals will follow in the Fall,” Comcast Spectacor said.

Following the Paris Eternal’s announcement that it would relocate to Las Vegas ahead of the league’s sixth season, the Seoul Infernal will be the second Overwatch team to do so ahead of the forthcoming season.

Given that Korean talent has been crucial to their organization’s triumphs, their makeover and move make logical sense. However, this revelation has saddened a lot of Philadelphia Fusion’s ardent supporters, especially those who were proud to see their hometown represented on a big stage.
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