Here’s a scary thought; the legendary DPS player Hyo-jong ‘Haksal’ Kim has just officially joined the New York Excelsior for the Overwatch League after leaving Vancouver Titans. NYXL is apparently once again hoarding legendary DPS players on their roster, which hasn’t necessarily worked out entirely too well in the past.
Considering that every big name in DPS has a loyal fanbase, it’s not a stretch to consider NYXL as one of the most popular teams, although it comes at a price; fans get tired of not seeing their favorite players play, riding the bench to obscurity based on ever-shifting metas that seem to follow neither rhyme nor reason.
The clearest example of this would be Do-hyeon ‘Pine’ Kim (who has since retired from competitive play) playing as a bizarre pinch-hitter for NYXL in Season 1, where he would step into matches on the third map, make obscene plays, and then go back to the bench.
NYXL’s inability to play him, based simply on how deep their DPS roster was, became a meme on Twitter and within Reddit by fans frustrated at not seeing the ‘Big Boss’ more often.
While we could theory-craft on precisely what NYXL is planning on doing with Haksal until we’re all blue in the face, we won’t need to wait long: Overwatch League returns on June 13 bringing the monthly tourney format back after its unequivocal success in the May Melee.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year has a new home. Please join us in welcoming @RunawayHaksal2 to the Big Apple. #Andbox #EverUpward pic.twitter.com/jIoxYpiYOX
— NY Excelsior (@NYExcelsior) June 5, 2020
The New York Excelsior now has eleven players on their roster, with five of those being DPS-specific players; all of an indisputably high caliber.
They have their IGL in Jongryeol ‘Saebyeolbe’ Park, Haeseong ‘Libero’ Kim, Yeonkwan ‘Nenne’ Jeong, Lee ‘WhoRU’ Seung-jun, and now Hyo-jong ‘Haksal’ Kim.
Some fans are theorizing that the New York Excelsior are aiming at crafting a scrimmage team; six players within the NYXL roster who would have the sole job of scrimmaging against the primary team of NYXL and keeping their reflexes honed, with the option of substituting out a mainstay player in the event of an illness or injury.
The addition to the roster might not be reason enough to celebrate, however; NYXL fell on their face during the May Melee in spite of how impeccable their roster looked, leading some fans to wonder if the coaching staff is ultimately where the fault should lie.
In spite of how dominant NYXL have looked again and again, they have yet to win a Season Final. Signing additional DPS players to a wildly stacked roster is, frankly, unlikely to solve that fact. No matter how much we’re all desperate for it.
