Overwatch 2 players slam 2022 OWL Champs skin for late release without winning team reference

Overwatch 2 players are criticizing the 2022 OWL Champions skin for not only its late release, but also its seeming lack of Dallas Fuel references. 

Overwatch League’s 2023 Playoffs and Grand Finals are just on the horizon as the scene determines who will be crowned 2023’s Champion. However, with just a few days to go until the tournament, Blizzard has finally released last year’s 2022’s OWL Champs skin. 

Throughout the entire season, fans were questioning where Dallas Fuel’s 2022 Champs skin was, with a few convinced it was never coming, and now, we finally have our first look, only after the regular season drew to a close.

Now that it’s here, following an immense wait time, some fans have been left disappointed not only by the long wait but the apparent lack of Dallas Fuel references on the skin. 

Beware the shadows, for the Chained King awaits 💀

The @DallasFuel 2022 Championship skin, Chained King Reaper, has arrived! pic.twitter.com/3frG9HKDC4

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 26, 2023

Typically, OWL Champs skins feature the winning teams’ logo emblazoned on it, such as San Francisco Shock’s 2020 Champs skin, or London Spitfire’s 2018 Champs skin. 

However, OWL fans weren’t happy at the lack of explicit Dallas Fuel references in the new Chained King Reaper skin, with some players saying the only reference to the Fuel is that the skin is blue-colored. 

“I really like the skin however I am kind of confused how this is related to the Dallas Fuel besides being blue,” a commenter wrote in a Reddit thread on the Competitive Overwatch forum. 

“I love how the Fuel skin after all this wait has zero way that shows it’s an OWL Fuel skin. You can put this skin in some random skin line and it won’t be a problem,” another said in the thread. 

For sure! The blue flame is to represent their logo/name. The crown is inspired by the trophy from owl, same with the shapes of the pieces on his forearms. In regards to the whole skin, I wanted it to be like an armor/king that is alive through the flames that is @DallasFuel

— Armando GD (@ArmandoGDorta) September 26, 2023

Despite player criticisms over the skin, its creator, Armando Gonzales, who is a character concept artist for Overwatch 2, explained the design choices shortly after the initial backlash. 

“The blue flame is to represent their logo/name. The crown is inspired by the trophy from OWL, same with the shapes of the pieces on his forearms. In regards to the whole skin, I wanted it to be like an armor/king that is alive through the flames that is Dallas Fuel,” he explained.