In a tight few matches, the NYXL walked away from their series with the San Francisco Shock with a clean 4-0 victory. The Shock gave the Excelsior a run for their money more than once, however, in a close match up that left fans on both sides on the edges of their seats.
BUSAN: NYXL 2-1 SAN FRANCISCO SHOCK
Starting off the series on Sanctuary, when Seoghyun “Jjonak” Bang fell early, the NYXL knew better than to keep engaging. The San Francisco Shock took control of the point first as the Excelsior pulled back to wait for him. After another failed push, Min-ki “Viol2t” Park fell, sending the San Francisco Shock back to spawn and letting the NYXL take control of the point. The Shock came back swinging though, taking down Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim and Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong before wiping out almost everyone else on the team. The San Francisco shock regained control of the point and took the round.
On MEKA Base, Jjonak was able to take two kills on the San Francisco Shock, securing control of the point for the Excelsior. Even with Mano falling early in a critical final team fight, the NYXL was still able to hold the point through to the end and take round two.
Downtown, the NYXL fell early, allowing the Shock to gain control of the point first. However, after the team cleared off two members of the San Francisco Shock, the NYXL was able to push through and gain control with the Shock at 85%. With the NYXL in overtime, the team pulled itself together to take round three and the map in an intensely close final fight.
NUMBANI: NYXL 5-4 SHOCK
On NYXL’s first defense, the two teams battled it out over the payload until the Shock finally took control of the point with 3:20 to push. With Mano falling early, the Shock were able to push the NYXL back and take the second point with ease. The real fighting began with the San Francisco shock having to push the cart around the final bend, with the Excelsior finally getting themselves together and pushing the Shock back. With San Francisco trapped in a massive Graviton Surge by Yeon-Gwan “Nenne” Jeong, it looked for a moment like the NYXL would still hold the cart. However, the Shock were able to clear off the payload and push it through the end, earning the third point with 1:22 to spare.
On their first attack, the NYXL, reliant on Jjonak’s damage dealing abilities, cycled through the low and high ground for a moment before finally deciding to head through the top. With that, the team was decimated by a well-placed shatter by Matthew “super” Delisi. The NYXL tried again, pushing this time through the lower ground, and were able to actually touch the point and gain two ticks. After a lengthy fight, the Excelsior finally took the payload with 3:38 to push. The Shock were able to stall the NYXL out for a lot longer, making their push through the second point feel endless before the Excelsior were able to clear off the point and gain the second point. After a long fight, the NYXL were finally able to gain the third point with 1:11 to spare.
On offense once again, the NYXL, looked newly aggressive, and were able to clear off the San Francisco Shock from the high ground on the first push. However, with the team in overtime, each teamfight had incredibly high stakes. It looked to be pretty smooth sailing through this round until around 2 meters before the second point, where the Shock were able to push the Excelsior off of the payload before the team could get a second point.
On their final defense, the NYXL were able to push the Shock back off of the high ground during their aggressive push. However, on the second try the Excelsior quickly fell and the Shock were able to actually gain control of the payload. However, before the Shock could even push the cart around the first corner, the NYXL were able to push San Francisco off and secure their first map win on Numbani of the stage.
That’s just plain 🔥-ey @Mano_OWL! #OWL2019
LIVE: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/lzUycKPDzJ
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) March 9, 2019
VOLSKAYA: NYXL 6-5 SHOCK
With the NYXL on attack, things started off a little rocky. After a failed first two pushes, both teams had all six ultimates, but neither team was able to take any picks with them. However, after the ultimates were all drained, the NYXL were able clear off the first point. On point B, Tae-Hong “MekO” Kim landed a massive D.Va bomb, killing two and securing both points with 3:04 to spare.
“All I do is press Q” – @MekOppa, 2019
➡ https://t.co/aoksKyN8os ⬅#EverUpward #OWL2019 pic.twitter.com/T44zL6c1AX
— NYXL (@NYXL) March 9, 2019
On defense, with Mano falling early, the NYXL surrendered the first point leaving the Shock with a massive time bank of over six minutes. The Shock were able to snowball through the second point after a tense fight, capturing it with 5:35 to spare.
On their second offensive round, the NYXL pushed onto the high ground and in one team fight, were able to secure the first point. In a lengthy fight, the NYXL were finally able to secure the second point with 1:06 remaining.
In a tense round with the NYXL on defense, the NYXL and Shock traded some kills before the NYXL were finally able to deny the Shock their first push. The Excelsior continued their strong hold on the first point
before the Shock came rushing back with Jay “Sinatraa” Won’s graviton surge. The fights were long and tight, and at any moment it looked like the fight could go in either direction. With the capture percentage at 96.2%, the NYXL were finally able to push the Shock off of the point. However, Mano fell early in the fight, and San Francisco were able to capture the second point with a team kill.
On attack, The NYXL had no time to burn, and with Jjonak getting the first pick on Viol2t, the team took the first point in overtime. With an extra :30, MekO was able to land another huge double kill D.Va bomb.
On the NYXL’s final defense on Volskaya, the Shock were able to push the NYXL off the point for a moment before trading main tank kills. The Shock surprisingly were able to clear off the NYXL from point A and capture it before attempting to rush point B. The Excelsior, however, were able to pick off the Shock one by one, leaving San Francisco’s D.Va last.
DORADO: NYXL 2-1 SHOCK
With the NYXL looking to close out the series in a clean 4-0, the team set up their defense ready to fight. The Shock’s initial push was halted once the cart pushed through the tunnel after a wild graviton surge from
Nenne. The Shock got the cart moving again after picking off Mano, and in an effort to stop the Shock, Nenne attempted to land another graviton surge only for it to be eaten by Hyobin “Choihyobin” Choi. Despite this, the NYXL were able to regain control and contest the point through to overtime before the Shock finally pushed the Excelsior off of the point and gaining the first point. The NYXL made any progress the Shock got slow and painful before finally being able to secure control of the payload again in overtime just before the second point.
On attack, the NYXL played aggressively, pushing the Shock off of the high ground and commanding the space around them. Choihyobin, however, landed a triple D.Va bomb just before the Excelsior were able to capture the first point. With rallies on both teams, the NYXL pushed the Shock back for a moment before they returned, clearing the Excelsior off of the payload again. With Mano falling early and the round in Overtime, the Excelsior had no time to try and wait for him to respawn. In an impressive display, the NYXL were able to push through the first point and reset the time bank. The NYXL were able to gain some progress on the payload with a rally, using that little momentum to clear the Shock’s control of the choke. Just before the final point, MekO was able to land another double kill D.Va bomb and the Excelsior cleaned up the rest, taking the map and ending the series in a clean 4-0.
CONCLUSION
ManO said it best in his post-game interview: “The only thing that can put a stop to us could be our own team, the NYXL, in a bad condition.” If the NYXL continues its forward momentum, there’s nothing stopping the Excelsior from securing a perfect 10-0 stage and a victory in the stage one playoffs. Looking forward, the New York Excelsior will aim to collect their eighth win of the series and maintain their undefeated streak, and it certainly looks as though that goal is not too far out of reach.
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