Half of the founding teams now established.
The Overwatch franchise for New York City has just been revealed, and the representative team for the region will go by the name of the New York Excelsior. The name will also be shortened to NYXL.
According to a post by Blizzard on the official Overwatch League website, the name means “ever upward” in Latin and was chosen to represent New York’s spirit of optimism, driven and ambition.
The team is owned by Sterling VC, a division of Sterling Equities. The team roster for the 2018 season has also been confirmed in a separate press release:
- Joong “Janus” Hwa – Tank
- Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim – Tank
- Kim “Mek0” Tae Hong – Off-Tank
- Kim “Pine” Do Hyeon – Flex
- Park “Saebyeolbe” Jong Yeol – DPS
- Hong “ArK” Yeon Joon – Support
- Bang “JjoNak” Sung-Hyeon – Support
- Kim “Libero” Hye Sung – DPS
Co-Founder and Partner at Sterling VC Jeff Wilpon had this to say about the announcement:
“It is an amazing opportunity to have NYXL be part of a brand new professional league and representing the city of New York,” he began.
“We’ve put together a strong team and look forward to competing at the highest level.”
NYXL coach Hyun Sang “Pavane” Yu added additional commentary on the move:
“I’m incredibly excited to join NYXL as a coach with the chance to manage the team as it competes with and against the best players in the world in the Overwatch League.”
“New York is a great sports city and we will give our all when representing the city and our fans when play officially begins.”
A series of pre-season exhibition matches between the twelve founding members of the Overwatch League will commence on December 6th. The first season of play will then commence on January 10th 2018, and conclude in July.
