2018 New York Excelsior season

The 2018 New York Excelsior season was the first season of New York Excelsior's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished the league-leading regular season record of 34–6.

2018 New York Excelsior season
Atlantic Division champions
Head coachYu Hyeon-sang
OwnerJeff Wilpon
DivisionAtlantic
Results
Record34–6 (.850)
Place
Stage 1 PlayoffsFinals
Stage 2 PlayoffsChampions
Stage 3 PlayoffsChampions
Stage 4 PlayoffsFinals
Season PlayoffsSemifinals
Total Earnings$650,000

New York qualified for all four of the Stage Playoffs. The team lost in the Stage 1 finals to the London Spitfire, won in the Stage 2 finals against Philadelphia Fusion, won in the Stage 3 finals against Boston Uprising, and lost in the Stage 4 finals against the Los Angeles Valiant. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, but lost to the Philadelphia Fusion in the semifinals.

Preceding offseason

On October 30, 2017, New York Excelsior unveiled their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:[1]

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.[1]

Review

On January 11, the Excelsior played their first regular season Overwatch League match in a 3–1 victory over the Boston Uprising.[2] They would end Stage 1 of the 2018 Season with a 9–1 record, earning them the top spot and first-round bye in the Stage 1 Playoffs.[3] However, the team lost in the finals to the London Spitfire (3–2) in a reverse sweep.[4]

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 Philadelphia Fusion on March 25 to claim the Stage 2.[5][6]

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 Los Angeles Valiant 3–0. The team won in the Stage 3 finals against Boston Uprising in another 3–0 sweep, giving New York back-to-back stage titles.[7]

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, in which the Excelsior won 3–2. However, they lost in the Stage 4 finals against the Los Angeles Valiant by a score of 1–3.[8]

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.[9] The team had a first-round bye and faced the Philadelphia Fusion 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.[10]

On July 11, 2018, Blizzard officially named support player Bang "JJonak" Seong-hyun the inaugural Overwatch League season MVP.[11]

Final roster
2018 New York Excelsior roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 9 Saebyeolbe  Park Jong-ryeol  South Korea 
Damage 10 Libero  Kim Hae-seong  South Korea 
Tank 1 Janus  Song Jun-hwa  South Korea 
Tank 7 Mano  Kim Dong-gyu  South Korea 
Tank 11 MekO  Kim Tae-hong  South Korea 
Support 2 ArK  Hong Yeon-jun  South Korea 
Support 44 JJoNak  Bang Seong-hyun  South Korea 
Support 97 Anamo  Jung Tae-sung  South Korea 
Flex 21 Pine  Kim Do-hyeon  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Yu Hyeon-sang
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: March 30, 2018.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:

  • On March 30, Excelsior signed Jung "Anamo" Tae-sung.[12]

Standings

Record by stage
StagePldWLPctMWMLMTMDPos
11091.90031102+211
21091.9003490+251
31091.90033110+222
41073.70028132+153
Overall40346.850126434+831
  Qualified for playoffs

League
2018 Overwatch League standings
# Team Division W L PCT P MR MD STK
Division leaders
1 New York Excelsior ATL 34 6 .850 40 126–43–4 +83 W1
2 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 27 13 .675 40 100–64–7 +36 L1
Wild cards
3 Boston Uprising ATL 26 14 .650 40 99–71–3 +28 W4
4 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 25 15 .625 40 96–72–3 +24 W5
5[lower-alpha 1] London Spitfire ATL 24 16 .600 40 102–69–3 +33 L1
6[lower-alpha 1] Philadelphia Fusion ATL 24 16 .600 40 93–80–2 +13 W1
Did not qualify for playoffs
7[lower-alpha 2] Houston Outlaws ATL 22 18 .550 40 94–77–2 +17 L1
8[lower-alpha 2] Seoul Dynasty PAC 22 18 .550 40 91–78–3 +13 L1
9 San Francisco Shock PAC 17 23 .425 40 77–84–5 -7 W1
10 Dallas Fuel PAC 12 28 .300 40 58–100–7 -42 W1
11 Florida Mayhem ATL 7 33 .175 40 42–120–5 -78 L3
12 Shanghai Dragons PAC 0 40 .000 40 21–141–2 -120 L40
Tiebreakers

  1. London placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential.

  2. Houston placed ahead of Seoul based on map differential.

Game log

Preseason
2018 preseason game log
Preseason (1–1)

Regular season
2018 game log (Regular season record: 34–6)
Stage 1 (9–1)
Stage 2 (9–1)
Stage 3 (9–1)
Stage 4 (7–3)

Playoffs
2018 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (0–1)
Stage 2 Playoffs (1–0)
Stage 3 Playoffs (2–0)
Stage 4 Playoffs (1–1)
Season Playoffs (0–2)

References
  1. Carpenter, Nicole (October 30, 2017). "Overwatch League franchise New York Excelsior has the most hype announcement yet". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  2. Carpenter, Nicole (January 11, 2018). "New York Excelsior, London Spitfire, Philadelphia Fusion impressed fans at Overwatch League day two". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  3. Luongo, Cody (February 9, 2018). "ESI Gambling Report: Overwatch League Stage 1 Playoffs". Esports Insider. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  4. Waltzer, Noah (11 February 2018). "London Spitfire beats Houston, New York to win Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. Alonzo, Damian (March 26, 2018). "The New York Excelsior won Overwatch League stage two in a stunning reverse-sweep". PC Gamer.
  6. "New York Excelsior reverse-sweeps Philadelphia Fusion to win Stage 2". ESPN. March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  7. "New York Excelsior earns back-to-back stage titles". ESPN. May 6, 2018.
  8. "Los Angeles Valiant beats New York Excelsior in Stage 4 final". ESPN. June 17, 2018.
  9. O'Brien, Joe (June 16, 2018). "All Six Overwatch League Season One Playoff Teams Have Been Confirmed". Dexerto. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  10. Kutlik, Christiaan (July 25, 2018). "Fusion upsets NYXL to join Spitfire in Overwatch League finals". ESPN.
  11. Mejia, Ozzie (July 11, 2018). "New York Excelsior's JJoNak Named First Overwatch League Regular Season MVP". Shacknews. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  12. "NYXL Tweet". New York Excelsior. March 30, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018 – via Twitter.
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