RESULTS: New York Excelsior Hand Los Angeles Valiant 4-0 Defeat

The New York Excelsior came into today's match with a Stage 2 record of 8-1 and in first place in the Overwatch League. Coming off of a 3-2 win over the Dallas Fuel to begin the last week of Stage 2, New York was looking to secure one last victory before beginning the playoffs. The Los Angeles Valiant entered the match with a 4-5 Stage 2 record and in 8th place in the league. With New York Looking to cement their spot as the number one seed for the Stage 2 playoffs, Los Angeles was ready to play spoiler. Here is a short breakdown of how the match went. 

Volskaya Industries was the first map of the match, and both teams gave viewers an explosive offensive performance to watch. New York and Los Angeles were able to capture both control points in their attack rounds to force a 2-2 tie. New York was able to execute another perfect offensive push to collect another two points, while only allowing the Valiant to capture Point A in their second attack round. The hold on Point B allowed the Excelsior to secure the 4-3 map victory and the 1-0 match lead. Jong-Ryeol "Saebyeolbe" Park (20 eliminations, a kill streak of 11 and four deaths as Tracer) and Dong-Gyu "Mano" Kim (20 eliminations, 12 final blows and seven deaths as Winston) led the way for New York on Volskaya Industries. 

Nepal was the following map, and it saw the New York Excelsior continue their strong play against the Los Angeles Valiant. Utilizing the performances of Hae-Seong "Libero" Kim (11 eliminations and zero deaths as Junkrat) and Saebyeolbe (10 eliminations, a kill streak of nine and one death as Tracer), the Excelsior were able to capture the first two hills and collect the 2-0 win on Nepal. This resulted in the Excelsior taking a 2-0 lead going into halftime. 

Hollywood was the third map of the match. Strong defensive play was the backbone of New York's strategy for the map, as the Excelsior were able to hold Los Angeles scoreless. With an opportunity to clinch the match victory, New York was able to push through the Valiant's defense and capture the payload to secure the 1-0 map win and the match victory with the score at 3-0. A solid showing from Libero (11 eliminations, seven barrage kills and three deaths as Pharah) was enough firepower for the New York Excelsior to escape with a win on Hollywood.

Route 66 was the final map of the match and had the Los Angeles Valiant looking to avoid ending Stage 2 by being swept. Having the chance to escort the payload first, the Los Angeles Valiant were able to advance the objective to the very end of the map, but a last second defensive hold by the New York Excelsior prevented the Valiant from securing a third point. Seeing the opportunity to collect a sweep to end the regular season of Stage 2, New York was able to break through Los Angeles' defense and complete the map to take the 3-2 win on Route 66 and the 4-0 match sweep. 

Saebyeolbe was named the player of the match for his exceptional Tracer play on every map, as he finished with 78 eliminations, 33 final blows and 10 deaths.

With the win, the New York Excelsior improved to a record of 9-1 and held strong to their first place spot, while giving them a solid base to build momentum off of going into Sunday's playoffs. The loss dropped the Los Angeles Valiant to a 4-6 record and will have the team looking to see what needs to be fixed heading into Stage 3. 

Interested in more Overwatch League coverage? Check out our recap of the London Spitfire and Dallas Fuel match from earlier today. To see where your favorite team currently is, check out the official standings. 

(cover photo courtesy of Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment)