New York Excelsior: Stage 1 Week 2 Preview

Going into Week 2 of Stage 1, the NYXL have another two games ahead of them. Last week the team seemed to struggle, but ultimately came out with two wins under their belt. With their shaky debut game, the Excelsior need to buckle down and get aggressive if they aim to show fans that they are still the same team they rooted for in Season 1.

Review

Boston Uprising (1-1)

The Boston Uprising gave the Excelsior a run for their money in their debut game for the second season. The team’s aggressive tank line seemed to give the Excelsior a lot of trouble, even tying up one map, until the NYXL were finally able to get themselves together and disrupt the Uprising’s fierce tank-heavy team.

Player of the Game:

Tae-hong “MekO” Kim dominated as Sombra and saved the NYXL time and time again. The Excelsior carefully orchestrated their team fights around MekO’s EMPs and were ultimately able to disrupt the Uprising’s vicious tank line enough to come away from the close match with a win.

Washington Justice (0-1)

The Washington Justice’s debut game was spent being absolutely steamrolled. With only a momentary lapse on Horizon Lunar Colony, the Excelsior was able to otherwise dominate against the Justice in a quick series. The matchup was a good change from their performance against the Uprising, and the Excelsior that fans know and love began to finally show their face.

Player of the Game:

Newcomer Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong made his place on the team clear in this matchup with a commanding performance on Zarya. On the first map alone, Nenne finished with a clean 26-0 kill-death ratio.

Preview

Los Angeles Valiant (0-1)

After the Valiant’s close loss to the Hangzhou Spark, the team is sure to come out of the gates itching for their first win of the season. The team fought hard on Saturday, and coming into their match against the Excelsior, they are sure to give their aggressive tank line a space to shine. Especially considering how much trouble the NYXL had dealing with Boston’s tank line, coming up against a team like the Valiant should prove itself difficult.

Prediction: NYXL wins 3-2

Fun Fact: The Los Angeles Valiant retired the number seven on their jerseys as of February 4 2019 as a way to thank fans for being the “seventh player” in their matches, rooting from the sidelines.

Houston Outlaws (0-2)

The Outlaws started the season off on a sour note, losing both of their matches going into week one. The team looked scatterbrained and lacked confidence in a league that’s so dominated by the ever-popular 3-3 team composition. With the NYXL’s strong and well put together tank line, the team is sure to give the Outlaws a hard time.

Prediction: NYXL wins 3-1

Player to Watch: In the coming week, a player to keep an eye on is Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim. Mano consistently was caught out of position in the Excelsior’s first two games of the season, and this often resulted in critical fights being lost. Going into week two, Mano’s strong abilities as a tank player could shine more if he is more thoughtful about his positioning, so his growth from week to week is certainly something to keep an eye on.