New York Overwatch Contenders Team Drop Three Players For Local Talent
By Zac Cameron ·
The contender's scene has been abuzz with the news that the NYXL Contenders team will be dropping three talented players for local talent.
Three players from the New York Excelsior’s Contenders team were dropped over the weekend to make room for local talent. Liam “Mangachu” Campbell, James “Cloneman16” D’Arcangelo, and Anthony “Goliath” Pietro all announced their departure on Twitter, as news filtered through the community that the organization were looking for local New York talent to replace them.
“Given that XL2 is looking to have New York representation on the roster, I am now currently LFT OWL/Academy/Contenders,” Mangachu wrote on Twitter. “Please reach out to me via twitter, discord, or email.”
Just a day before the players announced their departures, XL2 staff posted on Twitter seeking out players from the New York area, “We’ll provide the opportunity and mentorship so we can make it big together.”
? CALLING NYC ?
— XL2 Academy (@XL2) January 11, 2019
Do you have what it takes?
We're looking for NYers to represent XL2 next season. We'll provide opportunity and mentorship so we can make it big together! ?
Candidates will be invited to an online tournament.
Sign up for tryouts: https://t.co/JgyrHMmCkV pic.twitter.com/ZMhamEgvi1
The three new players, once they are found, will join the remaining members of the team, Sung “WooHyaL” Seung-hyun, Hwang “TiZi” Jang-hyeon, Andreas “Logix” Berghmans, and Jeremy “Jer” Santacruz.
“This was a long-term strategy, and not something decided overnight,” Sterling.VC partner Rohit Gupta told Dot Esports. (Sterling.VC is the ownership group of NYXL and XL2 Academy.) “We ran a number of events that involved small competitions. Our coaches and players were here looking at talent in New York and were impressed with [players] in New York that haven’t been coached.”
However, the organization has faced some criticism from the community for this move, with Atlanta Reign Head Coach Brad Rajani tweeting “If you artificially limit even half of your roster to local talent, the most likely outcome is poor practice and development all around. NA Contenders is -really- hard, and this amount of hubris serves nobody - not fans, not aspiring players, and not NYXL's marketing either.”
It remains to be seen how this will play out for the New York Excelsior and their academy team, however fans will be hoping that they find success, and that this doesn’t turn out to be a publicity stunt to endear themselves to their local fans.