The Kit-Kat Rivalry weekend for Overwatch League got off to a blazing start when the Atlanta Reign dismantled the Dallas Fuel. The shining moment to begin the weekend came from Reign's Dusttin "Dogman" Bowerman when he called out Dallas Fuel's head coach - Aaron "Aero" Atkins - during a spicy post-game interview.
When asked about the game, Dogman commented on Team USA and Dallas' head coach Aero, throwing shade for not making the roster for the USA Overwatch World Cup Team. Dogman made remarks about the five US players for the Atlanta Reign not being on the team and showed his frustration in the interview by ending with, "We just beat coach Aero. So, what I can say to coach Aero is, GG buddy." You can check out that iconic moment here.
Dogman further dug into Aero during the press-conference, not holding back when describing the Fuel head coach as "incompetent" with his roster selections and the way he coached Dallas this year.
Benjamin "Unkoe" Chevasson, Dallas Fuel's support player, rose to the defense of his coach and called Dogman out on Twitter. He accused Dogman of being toxic and attacked his history of (not) winning professional esports. The hyberbole used by Unkoe at the end of the tweet is prime trash talk. "I was winning tournaments you were not even born."
Unkoe doubled down on his stance, saying Dogman is undeserving of representing the US at the Overwatch World Cup.
Of course, what's a Twitter beef without teammates joining in on the fun? Atlanta Reign's Andrej "BabyBay" Francisty was a man of few words in his response to Unkoe tweet.
Dogman responded in the most Dogman way, highlighting his somewhat immature attitude by not feeling the need to explain himself and instead just trolled Unkoe's response.
Trash talk is prevalent in the majority of professional sports. It's part of the game. Not everyone that plays in the Overwatch League are friends and they have no obligation to be. Some argue that Dogman crossed the line when commenting about Dallas Fuel's coach, stating he acted unprofessional, but it's up for debate. He was riding high after another strong showing and felt the need to throw shade at someone who he felt didn't give him (and his teammates) a fair shot. Rivalries and trash talk are good for the Overwatch League and help to provide another level of entertainment. Whatever your stance is on Dogman's comments, no one can argue that he kicked off Kit-Kat Rivalry Weekend with some spice.