2019 New York Excelsior season

Last updated
2019   New York Excelsior season
Atlantic Division champions
Head coachYu Hyeon-sang
General managerKim Yo-han
Owner Jeff Wilpon
DivisionAtlantic
Results
Record22–6 (.786)
Place
Stage 1 Playoffs Quarterfinals
Stage 2 Playoffs Semifinals
Stage 3 Playoffs Quarterfinals
Season Playoffs Lower finals
Total Earnings$550,000

The 2019 New York Excelsior season was the second season of New York Excelsior's (NYXL) existence in the Overwatch League. The season saw NYXL looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Fusion in the semifinals of the 2018 playoffs after the team finished with the best regular season record, 34–6, of the 2018 season.

Contents

New York went a perfect 7–0 in Stage 1, giving them the top seed in the Atlantic Division for the Stage 1 playoffs, but a lost 1–3 to the Seoul Dynasty eliminated them in the quarterfinals. NYXL posted a 5–2 record for Stage 2 and the fifth seed for the Stage 2 Playoffs but lost in the semifinals to the Vancouver Titans by a score of 1–4. Another perfect 7–0 record in Stage 3 gave New York the top seed in the Stage 3 playoffs, but the team fell 1–3 to the Dragons in the quarterfinals. Following a 3–1 victory over the Paris Eternal on August 2, the Excelsior clinched the second seed – and the top seed in the Atlantic Division – in the 2019 playoffs. The team finished the regular season with a 22–6 record.

NYXL opened their playoffs with a decisive 4–1 victory over the London Spitfire on September 6. For their next match, they took down the Atlanta Reign, 4–2, and advanced to the winners' finals, where they faced the Vancouver Titans. A 3–4 loss to the Titans dropped New York to the lower bracket of the tournament. The Excelsior's playoff run ended in the lower bracket finals, as they were defeated by the San Francisco Shock, 0–4.

Preceding offseason

Player re-signings

From August 1 to September 9, 2018, all Overwatch League teams that competed in the 2018 season could choose to extend their team's players' contracts. In this period, Excelsior released player Song "Janus" Jun-hwa and assistant coach Kim "WizardHyeong" Hyeong-seok, both of whom went on to sign with expansion team Washington Justice. [1]

Free agency

All non-expansion teams could not enter the free agency period until October 8, 2018; they were able to sign members from their respective academy team and make trades until then. NYXL did not make any free agency signings in the offseason but did promote two of their academy team players. Excelsior promoted Hwang "Fl0w3R" Yeon-oh and Jeong 'Nenne" Yeon-kwan from XL2 Academy on October 29 and November 8, respectively. [2] [3]

Regular season

New York faced the Dallas Fuel in Stage 3. Fuel vs Excelsior 2019 Stage 3.jpg
New York faced the Dallas Fuel in Stage 3.

NYXL opened their first week of the 2019 season with a match against the Boston Uprising on February 14. [4] A win over the Seoul Dynasty on March 3 secured NYXL the first playoff spot for the Stage 1 Playoffs. [5] After defeating the San Francisco Shock in their final match of Stage 1 on March 8, New York completed a perfect 7–0 stage. [6] Although New York went undefeated in Stage 1, the Vancouver Titans completed the same feat but with a better map differential, so NYXL was awarded the second seed in the Stage 1 Playoffs. [7] Prior to their quarterfinal playoff match, New York transferred Hong "ArK" Yeon-jun, who had played less than 30 minutes for NYXL in the entirety of Stage 1, to the Washington Justice. [8] Excelsior faced the seventh-seeded Seoul Dynasty in the Stage 1 Quarterfinals on March 21; NYXL was defeated 1–3. [9]

New York won their first five matches of Stage 2; their final two matches were both against the Atlanta Reign. Heading into their first match on April 19, NYXL was heavily favored, as predictions from ESPN had the team at a 94.4% win probability. [10] However, they lost the match, 1–3, marking their first loss in the 2019 regular season. [11] Their second matchup against the Reign was on May 4, and again, NYXL lost, this time with a scoreline of 2–3. [12] With the two consecutive losses, NYXL ended the regular season of Stage 2 with a 5–2 record and the fifth seed in the Stage 2 Playoffs. [13] New York's quarterfinal match was on May 10 against the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Gladiators. NYXL made quick work of the Gladiators, not allowing them to complete a single map, as they won in a 3–0 sweep. [14] The win sent New York to the semifinals to face the Stage 1 champions Vancouver Titans. New York went on to lose the series, 1–4. [15]

New York posted another perfect 7–0 stage record in Stage 3. [16] As the top seed in the Stage 3 Playoffs, the Excelsior took on the eighth-seeded Shanghai Dragons in the Stage 3 Quarterfinals. However, they lost by a 1–3 scoreline. [17]

The Excelsior's first match of Stage 4, along with the first match with an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the League, was against the Los Angeles Gladiators on July 25. The Gladiators took over the match throughout, with NYXL losing 1–3. [18] The team's final match of the regular season was against the Pacific Division Champions Vancouver Titans. The Titans came out on top, handing NYXL 2–3 loss. [19]

Playoffs

As the second seed in the season playoffs, New York began their playoff run with a match against the seventh-seeded London Spitfire on September 6. New York took the first map, Busan, to take a quick 1–0 lead in the series. For the second map, London selected Numbani. Both teams were able to complete the map on their respective attacks, but New York came out on top in overtime rounds to take a two-map lead. After a match break, the Spitfire selected Temple of Anubis for map three; again, both teams were able to complete the map on their first attacks. While London was able to take the first point on their second attack, New York's but up a solid defensive performance and prevented the Spitfire from completing the map a second time, leading to a third map win for the Excelsior. For map four, the match went to Watchpoint: Gibraltar. London took a win on the map to close the gap to 3–1. However, New York won in two rounds on Ilios to win the match in a 4–1 victory. [20]

Moving on the first round of the winners' bracket, NYXL next faced the sixth-seeded Atlanta Reign two days later. New York jumped to a quick lead, winning on Busan and King's Row in the first to matches, but Atlanta closed the gap after the match break, claiming a win on Hanamura. For map four, New York selected Rialto, and while the Reign nearly took that map to even the score, excellent defensive Bastion play by New York's Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol ensured that the Reign would fall short. [21] The Reign selected Lijiang Tower for map five and won it in two rounds, again closing the gap. However, the Excelsior closed out the series with a win on Numbani. The 4–2 win advanced the team to the winners' finals. [22]

For the winners' finals, the Excelsior took on the top-seeded Vancouver Titans on September 13. Titan's DPS Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong ran rampant on Doomfist in the first map, Lijiang Tower, as the Titans took a convincing map one win. New York sent the match to King's Row next; the Excelsior struck back in map two, completing the map on their attack and holding Vancouver from completing the same feat, due in part to a stellar performance by New York's DPS Kim "Libero" Hye-sung on Doomfist. With the series tied 1–1 coming out of a match break, Vancouver chose Temple of Anubis for the next map. Both teams managed to complete the map on their respective attacks, New York brought out an effective Bastion on their second attack, leading to a map win for the Excelsior. Titan's DPS Seo "SeoMinSoo" Min-Soo's stellar Reaper and Doomfist play, along with well-coordinated plays from Vancouver's tank line, propelled the Titans to take maps four and five, while New York struck back to tie up the series by winning map six, Numbani. For the final map, Vancouver selected Dorado; the Titans completed the map on their attack, and with a stellar defense, they held New York from doing the same. The 3–4 loss sent New York to the lower bracket. [23]

New York next faced the San Francisco Shock in the lower bracket finals on September 15. The match opened on Lijiang Tower with both teams opting to run an Orisa/Sigma tank composition. Both teams took a point in the map, but the Shock won on the third round to win the first map. New York sent the match to King's Row for map two; the Shock completed the map on their attack, and on their defense, they put up a stellar defensive performance, shaving off chunks New York's time bank just past the first checkpoint. The Excelsior managed to reach the second checkpoint, but a last-minute switch to McCree by Jay "sinatraa" Won shut down the Excelsior offense and prevented them from completing the map. For map three, New York chose Temple of Anubus. Both teams completed the map twice, sending the match to a second overtime round. While they took the first point, New York could not finish the map on their third attempt, while San Francisco managed to capture enough progress on the second point to take their third map win. For what would be the final map, New York elected to send the match to Rialto. The Shock attacked first and completed the map with 3:21 reaming in their time bank. On defense, the Shock could not stop New York from reaching the first two checkpoints, but they held off the Excelsior from completing the map, handing NYXL 0–4 loss and ending their playoff run. [24]

Final roster

2019 New York Excelsior roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage  8Fl0w3r Hwang Yeon-oh South Korea 
Damage  9 Saebyeolbe  (C) Park Jong-ryeol South Korea 
Damage  10Libero Kim Hae-seong South Korea 
Damage  21 Pine  Kim Do-hyeon South Korea 
Damage  31Nenne Jeong Yeon-kwan South Korea 
Tank  7Mano Kim Dong-gyu South Korea 
Tank  11MekO Kim Tae-hong South Korea 
Support  44 JJoNak  Bang Seong-hyun South Korea 
Support  97Anamo Jung Tae-sung South Korea 
Head coach
  • Yu Hyeon-sang

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Emojione BW 1F503.svg Substitute
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: March 18, 2019.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2019 regular season:

Standings

Record by stage

StagePldWLPctMWMLMTMDPos
1 7701.0002261+162
2 752.7142171+145
3 7701.0002371+161
4 [lower-alpha 1] 734.42912180-615
Overall 28226.78678383+402
  Qualified for playoffs   Qualified for play-in tournament
  1. No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

League

#TeamDivisionWLPCTPMRMD
Division leaders
1 Vancouver Titans PAC253.8932889–28–0 +61
2 New York Excelsior ATL226.7862878–38–3 +40
Wild cards
3 San Francisco Shock PAC235.8212892–26–0 +66
4 Hangzhou Spark PAC1810.6432864–52–4 +12
5 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC1711.6072867–48–3 +19
6 Atlanta Reign ATL1612.5712869–50–1 +19
Play-in tournament
7 London Spitfire ATL1612.5712858–52–6 +6
8 Seoul Dynasty PAC1513.5362864–50–3 +14
9 Guangzhou Charge PAC1513.5362861–57–1 +4
10 Philadelphia Fusion ATL1513.5362857–60–3 -3
11 Shanghai Dragons PAC1315.4642851–61–3 -10
12 Chengdu Hunters PAC1315.4642855–66–1 -11
Did not qualify for playoffs
13 Los Angeles Valiant PAC1216.4292856–61–4 -5
14 Paris Eternal ATL1117.3932846–67–3 -21
15 Dallas Fuel PAC1018.3572843–70–3 -27
16 Houston Outlaws ATL919.3212847–69–3 -22
17 Toronto Defiant ATL820.2862839–72–4 -33
17 Washington Justice ATL820.2862839–72–6 -33
19 Boston Uprising ATL820.2862841–78–2 -37
20 Florida Mayhem ATL622.2142836–75–5 -39
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 1]
  1. The first tiebreaker for teams of the same record is map differential.

Game log

Regular season

2019 game log (Regular season record: 22–6)
Stage 1 (7–0)
1February 14New York Excelsior21 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Nepal 0
3 Numbani 4
4 Horizon Lunar Colony 4
3 Route 66 2
2February 16 Washington Justice 13New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
0 Ilios 2
0 King's Row 1
1 Horizon Lunar Colony 0
1 Rialto 2
3February 22New York Excelsior32 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
0 Nepal 2
2 Hollywood 1
0 Volskaya Industries 2
2 Rialto 1
2 Ilios 0
4February 24New York Excelsior40 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Nepal 0
3 Hollywood 0
2 Temple of Anubis 0
2 Route 66 1
5March 01 Toronto Defiant 13New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
1 Busan 2
2 King's Row 3
1 Temple of Anubis 2
3 Dorado 0
6March 03New York Excelsior31 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Ilios 0
0 Numbani 1
1 Volskaya Industries 0
3 Dorado 0
7March 08New York Excelsior40 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA
    Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Busan 1
5 Numbani 4
6 Volskaya Industries 5
2 Dorado 1

Stage 2 (5–2)
8April 04 Philadelphia Fusion 04New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
0 Lijang Tower 2
1 Paris 2
2 Eichenwalde 3
1 Rialto 3
9April 06New York Excelsior30 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA
3:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Oasis 1
1 Hanamura 1
3 Eichenwalde 2
1 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 0
10April 11New York Excelsior40 Washington Justice Burbank, CA
5:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Lijiang Tower 0
3 Hanamura 2
3 Eichenwalde 1
3 Junkertown 2
11April 14New York Excelsior40 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA
3:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Oasis 0
2 Paris 1
3 King's Row 2
3 Junkertown 2
12April 18New York Excelsior31 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Busan 0
3 Temple of Anubis 2
2 Blizzard World 3
1 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 0
13April 19New York Excelsior13 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
0 Busan 2
2 Temple of Anubis 3
3 King's Row 4
4 Rialto 3
14May 04 Atlanta Reign 32New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
1:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Oasis 1
3 Hanamura 4
2 Blizzard World 1
2 Junkertown 3
2 Lijang Tower 0

Stage 3 (7–0)
15June 07 Houston Outlaws 23New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
7:30 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Ilios 1
0 Horizon Lunar Colony 1
4 Numbani 3
3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 4
0 Oasis 2
16June 09New York Excelsior40 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Ilios 0
1 Horizon Lunar Colony 0
4 Hollywood 3
3 Havana 0
17June 14 Paris Eternal 13New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
1 Nepal 2
0 Volskaya Industries 2
1 Numbani 3
2 Dorado 1
18June 21 London Spitfire 23New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
1 Nepal 2
4 Paris 3
2 Eichenwalde 3
5 Dorado 4
0 Ilios 2
19June 29 Dallas Fuel 23New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Oasis 0
2 Paris 1
2 Hollywood 3
2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3
1 Nepal 2
20July 06 Florida Mayhem 03New York Excelsior Atlanta, GA
8:30 am PST     Details Cobb Energy Center
1 Oasis 2
2 Volskaya Industries 2
2 Eichenwalde 3
0 Havana 1
21July 07New York Excelsior40 Toronto Defiant Atlanta, GA
2:30 pm PST     Details Cobb Energy Center
2 Nepal 0
2 Horizon Lunar Colony 1
3 Numbani 2
1 Havana 0

Stage 4 (3–4)
22July 25 Los Angeles Gladiators 31New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
5:30 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Busan 0
5 Temple of Anubis 4
0 Hollywood 1
3 Route 66 2
23August 02New York Excelsior31 Paris Eternal Burbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Busan 1
2 Volskaya Industries 0
3 King's Row 1
0 Havana 1
24August 04 Chengdu Hunters 40New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
5:15 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Lijiang Tower 0
2 Temple of Anubis 1
4 King's Row 3
2 Route 66 1
25August 09 Hangzhou Spark 23New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
9:15 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
0 Ilios 2
3 Volskaya Industries 2
3 Hollywood 2
3 Junkertown 4
0 Lijiang Tower 2
26August 11 Guangzhou Charge 40New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
5:15 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Lijiang Tower 1
1 Temple of Anubis 0
1 Blizzard World 0
1 Route 66 0
27August 24 Boston Uprising 13New York Excelsior Los Angeles, CA
3:45 pm PST     Details The Novo
1 Ilios 2
0 Hanamura 1
3 King's Row 2
2 Junkertown 3
28August 25New York Excelsior23 Vancouver Titans Los Angeles, CA
3:30 pm PST     Details The Novo
0 Ilios 2
2 Hanamura 1
2 Blizzard World 3
3 Havana 2
1 Lijiang Tower 2

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (0–1)
QuarterfinalsMarch 21 Seoul Dynasty 31New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
6:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena
2 Ilios 0
2 Hollywood 1
5 Volskaya Industries 6
3 Rialto 2

Stage 2 Playoffs (1–1)
QuarterfinalsMay 10New York Excelsior30 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA
6:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Lijang Tower 0
3 King's Row 2
2 Temple of Anubis 1
SemifinalsMay 11New York Excelsior14 Vancouver Titans Burbank, CA
3:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
1 Busan 2
3 Blizzard World 1
2 Hanamura 3
2 Rialto 3
1 Lijang Tower 2

Stage 3 Playoffs (0–1)
QuarterfinalsJuly 11 Shanghai Dragons 31New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
8:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Oasis 0
1 Hollywood 2
4 Volskaya Industries 3
3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 1

Season Playoffs (2–2)
First roundSeptember 6 London Spitfire 14New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
0 Busan 2
3 Numbani 4
3 Temple of Anubis 4
2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 1
0 Ilios 2
Winners Round 1September 8 Atlanta Reign 24New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
3:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
1 Busan 2
4 King's Row 5
2 Hanamura 1
1 Rialto 2
2 Lijiang Tower 0
2 Numbani 3
Winners Round 2September 13New York Excelsior34 Vancouver Titans Burbank, CA
7:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena
0 Lijiang Tower 2
3 King's Row 2
3 Temple of Anubis 2
2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3
0 Busan 2
6 Numbani 3
1 Dorado 3
Losers Round 4September 15 San Francisco Shock 40New York ExcelsiorBurbank, CA
12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena
2 Lijiang Tower 1
3 King's Row 2
6 Temple of Anubis 5
3 Rialto 2

Awards

On May 1, Bang "JJonak" Seong-hyun was named as a starter for the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game. [26] A week later Kim "Pine" Do-hyeon, Jung "Anamo" Tae-Sung, Kim "Mano" Dong-Gyu, Kim "Meko" Tae-Hong, and Jeong "Nenne" Yeon-Gwan were named as reserves for the All-Star Game. [27]

Related Research Articles

New York Excelsior American professional esports team

The New York Excelsior 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, the team is one of twelve founding members of the Overwatch League and is the first professional esports team to represent the city of New York. The franchise is owned by NYXL, which was founded under the name Andbox by venture capital fund Sterling.VC, who is supported by New York Mets principal owner Sterling Equities. They also own XL2 Academy, an academy team for NYXL that competed in Overwatch Contenders.

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Bang Sung-hyeon (Korean: 방성현), better known by his online alias JJonak, is a South Korean professional esports player, best known as a competitive Overwatch. Bang signed with the New York Excelsior (NYXL) for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League. In his time with NYXL, Bang won two stage titles and was named the league's regular season most valuable player in 2018. Following the 2021 season, Bang left the NYXL and signed with the Seoul Dynasty. Prior to the beginning of the 2022 season, he left the Dynasty due to health issues.

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The 2019 Atlanta Reign season was the first season of the Atlanta Reign's existence in the Overwatch League as one of eight expansion franchises added for the 2019 season.

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The 2019 Dallas Fuel season was the second season of the Dallas Fuel's existence in the Overwatch League and was their first full season under head coach Aaron "Aero" Atkins. The team looked to improve on their disappointing 12–28 record from 2018, where they did not qualify for the season playoffs.

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