Oh boy, drum roll…
Big news week for the Excelsior boys. With the OWL revealing the 2020 season schedule, the NYXL has finally announced their new home in the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th Street. While many NYXL fans are surely antsy to see the crew play on their new home turf, don’t lose sight of the ultimate prize: 2019 Playoffs. The Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend will be the final chance fans get to see the boys in action before postseason. These matches will be a benchmark to see if the NYXL has ironed out the issues that have plagued them this final stage. Here’s a quick preview of these matches.
Boston Uprising:
Despite a good start in the early stages of 2019 and some spectacular upsets to boot, this season has not been kind to the Boston Uprising. Currently 0-5 in the stage, this match should be a blowout for the Excelsior; but before locking in a 4-0 scoreline for your League Picks, remember that the Uprising have the tendency to reverse sweep. One can only hope that the Excelsior don’t find themselves getting mentally boomed two games into the series.
Vancouver Titans:
One of the most hyped matches of the homestand with great potential for big plays. However, as mentioned previously, the NYXL’s raw power has certainly waned since the beginning of the season. As such this might be a much more lopsided match than previously thought. The only reference point fans have to look at for this match is their showdown in the Stage 2 playoffs. That game ended in a 1-3 loss, does New York have it in them to get revenge?
Player to look out for: Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park
After the string of recent losses this stage, the absence of the team’s captain SBB has many scratching their heads in confusion. Why is he not being played? Is it a personal decision, a coaching one? Or is SBB truly under-performing compared to his hitscan counterpart, Nenne? Whatever the reason, if New York is truly using this stage for “experimentation” as they have claimed previously, perhaps placing the teams primary shot caller and spiritual leader into the starting roster would yield some positive test results.