Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun arrived at Dallas Fuel in February, joining from London Spitfire with promise of carrying the team to glory.
Two months later, Dallas Fuel has released Rascal after a short spell with the club, as confirmed on the Overwatch League website.
The club has cited the communication barrier as the main issue behind the player’s inability to settle at the club, as he struggled to converse with his English-speaking teammates. Rascal had previously been playing and communicating in his native Korean during his time with London Spitfire. However, he has been seemingly unable or unwilling to overcome the barrier at Dallas. The club’s results have suffered as a result.
Mike Rufail, the owner of Team Envy and Dallas Fuel, also questioned the player’s commitment to the side as the decision was announced.
In a statement released by the club, Rufail said:
“We had hoped that Rascal could add flexibility to our DPS lineup on the team this season.”
“Unfortunately, his commitment to the team did not meet our expectations and his unwillingness to communicate with the team while playing in recent matches became a large distraction.”
Rascal himself has not yet to comment on his release.
Dallas Fuel in the inaugural Overwatch League season
The flagging Dallas Fuel team was once, under the moniker Team Envy, known as the best Overwatch team in the west.
They hoped to relight that fire in the Overwatch League. With recent signings like Dylan “aKm” Bignet and Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun they thought they had all the tools they needed. However, unfortunately nothing has gone to plan for the side.
Dallas Fuel have had a disaster of a season so far. They managed just five wins in the entirety of the first two stages of the inaugural Overwatch League season.
They have showed no improvement in the third stage, producing three defeats so far and a single victory.
In a bid to reverse their fortunes, the club has also announced the release of head coach Kyle “KyKy” Souder. The club cited the head coach’s inability to produce victories as the reason for his release.
The loss of the head coach and the apparent star of the team in one dramatic move leaves the team on shaky ground midway through the season. This could go either way for the club. They could continue their downward spiral under the inexperienced management of hastily named interim head coach Emanuel “Peak” Uzoni.
Or, this could be the wake-up call that Dallas Fuel’s struggling stars need.