What Makes a Great Team in the Overwatch League?

It’s no question that the New York Excelsior are the best team in the Overwatch League. It is also without question that no other team is even close to them. The NYXL are head and shoulders above the rest of the league, in almost every category. The NYXL lead the overall standings by a long shot. The second-place team is eight games – nearly an entire stage, behind them. Other than the large amount of map wins, the players on the NYXL could all qualify for an all-star in their specific roles. It’s no doubt that the NYXL have the skill, which shows in their gameplay and map wins. But what else makes them successful?

NYXL atop of the Overall Standings

Flex is the Best

One thing that makes the New York Excelsior stand out above the rest of the teams is their ability to adapt. No matter what teams throw at them, they are willing to stick with a strategy when it works and make the necessary changes when it doesn’t. A pitfall of some teams is that they don’t know how to play under different strategies and/or conditions. This results in teams lacking diversity in their play, causing them to appear as an untactful, one-dimensional team.

Another scary thing about teams who can flex is their ability to counter pick or create unique strategies that enemy teams aren’t ready for. A team that can cover a greater variety of different strategies, especially when adapting to specific situations, is an inherently more difficult team for opponents to study. Simply put, a good team is willing to flex and can adjust on the fly in order to be successful.

Intangibles – Leadership

Jong-Ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park of the NYXL celebrating with his teammate

Perhaps one of the most undervalued aspects in any sport or job is the intangible characteristics that a person has. Having someone who can lead in good times and bad, call the shots, enable others and is a person that people can respect are all things that encompasses a good leader. Every team that is successful has this type of person, whether that is a player, coach or another staff member.

A prime example of this is when Chan-Hyung “Fissure” Baek moved to the LA Gladiators. Through his leadership and talent, Fissure helped transform the Gladiators. They went from being a team with a losing record to a playoff contender in a single stage. Leaders are truly remarkable people. When you have a group of them working together, with a like-minded goal and great talent, amazing things can happen.

Looking Ahead

It’s easy to look at good teams and praise them for everything they are doing right. But many times, people don’t see all the effort behind the scenes. The NYXL are the best Overwatch League team for a reason. They clearly practice hard, have lots of talent, are willing to adapt/flex, communicate well, and have great leadership. There are just some things that you can’t put a number on when looking at how good a team, player or coach really is.

To see which teams and players have a big impact, tune in to the last stage of the Overwatch League.

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Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment/Overwatch