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
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
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:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured 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
Pos Div Team Pld W L PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 ATL New York Excelsior 40 34 6 0.850 126 43 4 +83 Advance to season playoffs semifinals
2 PAC Los Angeles Valiant 40 27 13 0.675 100 64 7 +36
3 ATL Boston Uprising 40 26 14 0.650 99 71 3 +28 Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals
4 PAC Los Angeles Gladiators 40 25 15 0.625 96 72 3 +24
5 ATL London Spitfire 40 24 16 0.600 102 69 3 +33
6 ATL Philadelphia Fusion 40 24 16 0.600 93 80 2 +13
7 ATL Houston Outlaws 40 22 18 0.550 94 77 2 +17
8 PAC Seoul Dynasty 40 22 18 0.550 91 78 3 +13
9 PAC San Francisco Shock 40 17 23 0.425 77 84 5 −7
10 PAC Dallas Fuel 40 12 28 0.300 58 100 7 −42
11 ATL Florida Mayhem 40 7 33 0.175 42 120 5 −78
12 PAC Shanghai Dragons 40 0 40 0.000 21 141 2 −120
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head map differential; 4) head-to-head record

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 (Regular season 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.
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