# 2020 New York Excelsior season

The 2020 New York Excelsior season was the third season of New York Excelsior's (NYXL) existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Jeong "imt" Yong-cheol. New York planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season at the Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center. While the first homestand took place, all other homestand events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Preceding offseason
### Organizational changes

On October 21, 2019, New York parted ways with head coach Ty "Pavane" Hyun-sang, as he joined the London Spitfire as an assistant coach. Pavane had been with the team since its inception and led them to a 56–12 regular season record over his career with the team. In his replacement, New York promoted assistant coach Jeong "imt" Yong-cheol as their new head coach on November 19. On December 1, NYXL signed former Seoul Dynasty assistant coach Lee "WhyNot" Ju-hyub as an assistant coach.

### Roster changes

The Excelsior enter the new season with one free agents, one players which they have the option to retain for another year, and seven players under contract. The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.

#### Acquisitions

NYXL's first offseason acquisition was on February 15, when the team announced the signing of former Guangzhou Charge off-tank Choi "HOTBA" Hong-jun. The following week, the team promoted off-tank Kim "BiaNcA" Dong-wook from their academy team, XL2 Academy. On November 26, New York signed support player Kim "Mandu" Chan-hee from Korean Contenders team O2 Blast. The following week, on December 4, the team signed DPS player Lee "WhoRU" Seung-joon from Fusion University.

#### Departures

On October 8, the Excelsior announced that they would not pick up their option to keep DPS Yeon-Oh "Fl0w3r" Hwang on the roster another year. A week later, the team announced that they would not re-sign off-tank Kim "MekO" Tae Hong, who had been with the team since their inception in 2017. On December 6, the team announced that DPS player Kim "Pine" Do-hyeon had retired from professional Overwatch and would become a streamer for NYXL.

## Standings

| Pos | Con | Teamvte | Pld | W | BW | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 21 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0.905 | 59 | 15 | 1 | +44 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | PAC | Guangzhou Charge | 21 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 0.667 | 44 | 39 | 1 | +5 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 21 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 0.619 | 50 | 30 | 2 | +20 | Advance to play-ins |
| 4 | PAC | Hangzhou Spark | 21 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 0.476 | 36 | 40 | 2 | −4 | Advance to play-ins |
| 5 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 21 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 0.429 | 33 | 40 | 2 | −7 | Advance to play-ins |
| 6 | PAC | Chengdu Hunters | 21 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 0.333 | 33 | 47 | 1 | −14 | Advance to play-ins |
| 7 | ATL | London Spitfire | 21 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0.286 | 27 | 51 | 0 | −24 | Advance to play-ins |

## Game log
### Regular season

2020 game log (Regular season record: 13–8) :
February–April: 7–1
1
February 08
London Spitfire
1
3
New York Excelsior
New York City, NY
3:00 pm EST
Hammerstein Ballroom
Hosted by New York Excelsior
2
Lijiang Tower
0
2
King's Row
3
1
Horizon Lunar Colony
2
0
Junkertown
3
2
February 09
Boston Uprising
0
3
New York Excelsior
New York City, NY
3:00 pm EST
Hammerstein Ballroom
Hosted by New York Excelsior
0
Oasis
2
1
Blizzard World
2
2
Temple of Anubis
3
3
February 22
New York Excelsior
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Washington, DC
3:00 pm EST
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
1
Busan
2
0
Horizon Lunar Colony
2
3
Havana
2
3
Eichenwalde
4
4
February 23
New York Excelsior
3
0
Houston Outlaws
Washington, DC
3:00 pm EST
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2
Ilios
0
2
Hanamura
1
3
Havana
0
5
February 29
New York Excelsior
3
0
Florida Mayhem
Houston, TX
3:00 pm EST
Revention Music Center
Hosted by Houston Outlaws
2
Ilios
0
4
King's Row
3
2
Temple of Anubis
1
6
March 08
New York Excelsior
3
1
Washington Justice
Washington, DC
5:00 pm EDT
The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
0
Nepal
2
3
Dorado
2
3
King's Row
1
1
Horizon Lunar Colony
0
7
April 25
New York Excelsior
3
0
Chengdu Hunters
Online
10:00 am UTC
8
April 26
New York Excelsior
3
0
Guangzhou Charge
Online
10:30 am UTC :
May Melee qualifiers: 2–2
9
May 02
New York Excelsior
2
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
9:15 am UTC
10
May 03
New York Excelsior
3
1
Chengdu Hunters
Online
10:00 am UTC
11
May 09
New York Excelsior
1
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
12:00 noon UTC
12
May 16
New York Excelsior
3
1
Hangzhou Spark
Online
12:00 noon UTC :
Summer Showdown qualifiers: 2–2
13
June 13
New York Excelsior
3
0
Seoul Dynasty
Online
9:30 am UTC
14
June 20
New York Excelsior
2
3
Hangzhou Spark
Online
12:00 noon UTC
15
June 21
New York Excelsior
3
1
London Spitfire
Online
12:30 pm UTC
16
June 28
New York Excelsior
2
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
12:00 noon UTC :
Countdown Cup qualifiers: 1–2
17
July 18
New York Excelsior
2
3
Chengdu Hunters
Online
12:00 noon UTC
18
July 25
New York Excelsior
3
0
Guangzhou Charge
Online
12:00 noon UTC
19
August 01
New York Excelsior
1
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
12:00 noon UTC :
August: 1–1
20
August 15
New York Excelsior
0
3
Seoul Dynasty
Online
8:00 am UTC
21
August 22
New York Excelsior
3
1
London Spitfire
Online
10:00 am UTC :

### Midseason tournaments

2020 midseason tournaments game log :
May Melee: 1–1
Quarterfinals
May 23
New York Excelsior
3
2
Chengdu Hunters
Online
9:15 am UTC
Semifinals
May 24
New York Excelsior
0
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
10:00 am UTC :
Summer Showdown: 1–1
Quarterfinals
July 04
New York Excelsior
3
0
Hangzhou Spark
Online
12:00 noon UTC
Semifinals
July 05
New York Excelsior
0
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
10:00 am UTC :
Countdown Cup: 1–1
Quarterfinals
August 08
New York Excelsior
3
2
Guangzhou Charge
Online
12:00 noon UTC
Semifinals
August 09
New York Excelsior
0
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
8:00 am UTC :
Bonus wins awarded: 3 :

### Postseason

2020 playoff game log :
Asia Play-ins: 1–0
Round 1
First-round bye
Round 2
September 05
New York Excelsior
3
2
Chengdu Hunters
Online
9:00 am UTC :
Asia Bracket: 1–2
Upper Round 1
September 06
New York Excelsior
1
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
9:00 am UTC
Lower Round 1
September 12
New York Excelsior
3
0
Guangzhou Charge
Online
9:00 am UTC
Lower Finals
September 13
New York Excelsior
0
3
Seoul Dynasty
Online
9:00 am UTC :