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 coach	Yu Hyeon-sang
Owner	Jeff Wilpon
Results
Record	34–6 (.850)
Place	Atlantic: 1st League: 1st
Stage 1 Playoffs	Finals
Stage 2 Playoffs	Champions
Stage 3 Playoffs	Champions
Stage 4 Playoffs	Finals
Season Playoffs	Semifinals
OWL All-Stars	8 Ark (Hong Yeon-jun) JJonak (Bang Seong-hyun) Pine (Kim Do-hyeon) Saebyeolbe (Park Jong-ryeol) Libero (Kim Hae-seong) Mano (Kim Dong-gyu) Meko (Kim Tae-hong) Pavane (Hyeonsang Yu)
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]

• 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

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
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Previous team Damage 9 Saebyeolbe  Park Jong-ryeol  South Korea  LW Blue  Damage 10 Libero  Kim Hae-seong  South Korea  Meta Athena  Tank 1 Janus  Song Jun-hwa  South Korea  LW Blue  Tank 7 Mano  Kim Dong-gyu  South Korea  LW Blue  Tank 11 MekO  Kim Tae-hong  South Korea  LW Blue  Support 2 ArK  Hong Yeon-jun  South Korea  LW Red  Support 44 JJoNak  Bang Seong-hyun  South Korea  LW Blue  Support 97 Anamo  Jung Tae-sung  South Korea  Ardeont  Flex 21 Pine  Kim Do-hyeon  South Korea  LW Blue	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

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	10	9	1	.900	31	10	2	+21	1
2	10	9	1	.900	34	9	0	+25	1
3	10	9	1	.900	33	11	0	+22	2
4	10	7	3	.700	28	13	2	+15	3
Overall	40	34	6	.850	126	43	4	+83	1
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
London placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential. Houston placed ahead of Seoul based on map differential.

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Preseason (1–1) 1 December 07 New York Excelsior 1 – 3 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 2 December 09 Seoul Dynasty 3 – 1 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA

Regular season

2018 game log (Overall record: 34–6)
Stage 1 (9–1) 1 January 11 Boston Uprising 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 2 January 13 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 3 January 18 New York Excelsior 3 – 0 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 4 January 20 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 5 January 25 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 6 January 26 Seoul Dynasty 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 7 February 01 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 8 February 03 Dallas Fuel 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 9 February 08 Florida Mayhem 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 10 February 10 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
Stage 2 (9–1) 11 February 22 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 12 February 23 London Spitfire 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 13 March 01 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 14 March 03 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 15 March 09 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 16 March 10 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 17 March 14 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 18 March 15 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 19 March 22 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 20 March 24 Los Angeles Valiant 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 3 (9–1) 21 April 05 Florida Mayhem 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 22 April 07 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 23 April 12 Boston Uprising 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 24 April 14 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 25 April 19 Philadelphia Fusion 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 26 April 21 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 27 April 26 San Francisco Shock 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 28 April 28 Seoul Dynasty 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 29 May 03 Dallas Fuel 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 30 May 04 New York Excelsior 3 – 1 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA
Stage 4 (7–3) 31 May 17 New York Excelsior 3 – 0 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 32 May 19 London Spitfire 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 33 May 25 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 34 May 26 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 35 May 30 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 36 June 02 New York Excelsior 2 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 37 June 07 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 38 June 09 New York Excelsior 2 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 39 June 14 New York Excelsior 1 – 3 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 40 June 15 Houston Outlaws 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (0–1) Semifinals   First-round bye   Finals February 10 London Spitfire 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 2 Playoffs (1–0) Semifinals   First-round bye   Finals March 25 Philadelphia Fusion 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 3 Playoffs (2–0) Semifinals May 06 Los Angeles Valiant 0 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA Finals May 06 New York Excelsior 3 – 0 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA
Stage 4 Playoffs (1–1) Semifinals June 17 Dallas Fuel 2 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA Finals June 17 New York Excelsior 1 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA
Season Playoffs (0–2) Quarterfinals   First-round bye   Semifinals Match 1 July 18 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 0 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA Semifinals Match 2 July 21 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA

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.