New York Excelsior Tickets

New York Excelsior, New York's first esports pro team

New York Excelsior is a team that plays in one of the most popular types of sport on the planet, yet one that didn't exist until the early 2000s: esports. They are a professional team that specialises in the game of Overwatch, and have been hugely successful on the gaming circuit since they began in 2017. They've won conference titles and didn't lose a single play-off game in the first two years in the professional esports league. You can easily join in on the action by buying or selling New York Excelsior tickets on StubHub.

An excellent debut in the Overwatch League

New York Excelsior was started and funded by the main owner of another professional sports team, albeit one with a far longer and more auspicious history, Jeff Wilpon, who also co-owned the "other" baseball team in New York City, the New York Mets. The launch was historic, making them the first professional esports team to have emerged from the Big Apple. They compete in the North American Overwatch League, which is run by the game's developers Blizzard Entertainment. This isn't a league limited to US teams, though, and teams from all over the world compete therein, making it effectively the world championships. Indeed, the New York team's opponent in its Stage 1 play-off finals in 2018 was London Spitfire, to whom they lost, before beating Philadelphia Fusion in the Stage 2 final. One of their support players, JJonak won the award for the most valuable player for the tournament year, giving him the distinction of the first player in the Overwatch League to receive the accolade. This is a top-class team, so it's well worth getting New York Excelsior tickets if you're an Overwatch fan.

Hiring international esports coaches reaps rewards

New York Excelsior, also known by their gaming abbreviation of NYXL, adopted the ‘excelsior’ part of their name in honour of the state motto of their home state of New York. From the outset, the team determined to live up to its ‘ever upward’ credo, and hired some of the best international players of the game, along with several coaches of the same ilk, including Asia's Ark, WizardHyeong, and a coach who became an instant legend in the team, Hyun-sang Yu, who goes by the gamer handle of Pavane. His legendary status was earned through the team's superb record in its early years, appearing in seven play-off appearances, and winning two stage titles, and two overall conference titles. The team's success led them to establish an academy team to identify and develop new talent, known as XL2 Academy. This team competes to reach the Overwatch Contenders Play-Off. This is professional esports at its highest level, and if you're a fan you'll need no further convincing to get some New York Excelsior tickets on StubHub.