The 2018 New York Excelsior season was the first season of

New York Excelsior The New York Excelsior (often stylized as NYXL) is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in New York City, New York. The Excelsior compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017 ...

's existence in the

Overwatch League The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...

. The team finished the league-leading regular season record of 34–6. New York qualified for all four of the Stage Playoffs. The team lost in the Stage 1 finals to the

London Spitfire London Spitfire is a professional ''Overwatch'' team representing the city of London, United Kingdom. The Spitfire compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, London Spitfire is one of the le ...

, won in the Stage 2 finals against

Philadelphia Fusion Philadelphia Fusion is an American-based professional Overwatch (video game)#Professional competition, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Fusion compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's E ...

, won in the Stage 3 finals against

Boston Uprising Boston Uprising is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Boston is one of the league's twelv ...

, and lost in the Stage 4 finals against the

Los Angeles Valiant Los Angeles Valiant (stylized as VΛLIΛNT) is an American professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team representing the city of Los Angeles, California, although the team is operated in China. Valiant compete in the O ...

. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, but lost to the

in the semifinals.

Preceding offseason

On October 30, 2017, New York Excelsior unveiled their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players: *Hong "Ark" Yeon-jun *Song "Janus" Jun-Hwa * Bang "JJonak" Seong-hyun *Kim "Libero" Hae-seong *Kim "Mano" Dong-gyu *Kim "MekO" Tae-hong * Kim "Pine" Do-hyeon *

Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol Park Jong-ryeol (), better known by his online alias Saebyeolbe, is a South Korean former professional ''Overwatch'' player. In his prime, he was considered one of the world's best Tracer players. During his career, he played in the Overwatch ...

The team also announced the signings of coaches Yu "Pavane" Hyeon-sang and Kim "WizardHyeong" Hyeong-seok, and Meta Athena's Kim "Libero" Hae-seong.

Review

On January 11, the Excelsior played their first regular season Overwatch League match in a 3–1 victory over the

. They would end Stage 1 of the 2018 Season with a record, earning them the top spot and first-round bye in the Stage 1 Playoffs. However, the team lost in the finals to the

(3–2) in a reverse sweep. Stage 2 played out much like Stage 1 for New York, as the team went on to post again a 9–1 record and a first-round bye into the Stage 2 Playoffs. Also like Stage 1, the playoff finals ended in a 3–2 reverse sweep, but this time New York was on the winning side, defeating the

on March 25 to claim the Stage 2. In Stage 3, New York once again posted a 9–1 record, giving them the second seed for the Stage 3 Playoffs. In the semifinals, the Excelsior swept the

3–0. The team won in the Stage 3 finals against

in another 3–0 sweep, giving New York back-to-back stage titles. New York posted their worst record (7–3) in Stage 4, but still claimed the third seed for the Stage 4 Playoffs. Their first matchup was in the semifinals against the

Dallas Fuel Dallas Fuel is an American professional ''Overwatch'' team based in Dallas, Texas. The Fuel compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Dallas Fuel is one of the league's twelve founding team ...

, in which the Excelsior won 3–2. However, they lost in the Stage 4 finals against the

by a score of 1–3. New York ended their season with a league-leading 34–6 record and qualified for the Season Playoffs prior to the beginning of Stage 4. The team had a first-round bye and faced the

in the semifinals on July 18 and 21. New York lost both matchups by scores of 0–3 and 2–3, eliminating them from the playoffs. On July 11, 2018, Blizzard officially named support player Bang "

JJonak Bang Sung-hyeon (), better known by his online alias JJonak (), is a South Korean professional esports player, best known as a competitive ''Overwatch'' player. Bang signed with the New York Excelsior (NYXL) for the inaugural season of the Ove ...

" Seong-hyun the inaugural Overwatch League season

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Final roster

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season: *On March 30, Excelsior signed Jung "Anamo" Tae-sung.

Preceding offseason

Review

Final roster

Transactions

Standings

Record by stage

League

Game log

Preseason

Regular season

Playoffs

References