# 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.
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:
* 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.

## Review

On January 11, the Excelsior played their first regular season Overwatch League match in a 3–1 victory over the Boston Uprising. 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. However, the team lost in the finals to the London Spitfire (3–2) in a reverse sweep.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
On July 11, 2018, Blizzard officially named support player Bang "JJonak" Seong-hyun the inaugural Overwatch League season MVP.

## Final roster
### Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:
* On March 30, Excelsior signed Jung "Anamo" Tae-sung.

## Standings
### League

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 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 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 5 | ATL | London Spitfire | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 102 | 69 | 3 | +33 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 6 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 93 | 80 | 2 | +13 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 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 | |

## 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 :