Defending champion NYXL upset in huge OWL playoff shocker

Olivia Richman Published 22/03/2019

Nobody could have predicted that Seoul Dynasty would crush New York Excelsior in the playoffs.

That’s exactly what they did, defeating the team that all Overwatch League analysts had confidently voted for, and that fans had figured to have it in the bag.

“It feels really great. We defeated London Spitfire, and now NYXL. This was our first ever time in the playoffs and these were both teams we couldn’t defeat last season,” Jehong “Ryujehong” Ryu said.

In fact, this was the first time Seoul Dynasty have ever managed to beat NYXL, having lost to them six times between Seasons 1 and 2 up to this point.

Despite analysts unanimously standing behind NYXL, Seoul Dynasty easily took the first two maps.

On the third map, Volskaya Industries, the teams started off 2-2. In an attempt to stay in the game, NYXL aggressively fought for Point A before rushing to Point B, capturing it a minute faster than had Seoul Dynasty.

Sensing that a reverse sweep was now a real possibility, Seoul fought back with some surprising meta picks. Sangbeom “Munchkin” Byun shocked analysts with a switch to Tracer, and Minhyuk “Michelle” Choi swapped over to Sombra, breaking the established GOATS meta. Fans cheered on Tracer as Munchkin continued to wreak havoc with the lightning quick DPS hero. Byungsun “Fleta” Kim’s Rocket Barrage on Pharah caught NYXL further off guard as they fought for critical control of Point B.

With the score tied once again, NYXL continued their aggressive strategies. They finally won 6-5 thanks to a quad-kill from Tae-hong “MekO” Kim’s Self Destruct on D.va.

The fourth map, Rialto, saw even more successful Sombra plays from Michelle. With 124 hacks and 44 hack eliminations, Michelle not only carried Seoul Dynasty to victory, but received the deserved title of Player of the Match. Michelle was causing so much trouble for the struggling NYXL that Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong may have accidentally thrown the game with a failed Graviton Surge aimed solely at Michelle’s fleeing Sombra.

But it wasn’t only Michelle who found more than just a victory.

Back in week three of Stage 1, NYXL support main Seonghyun “Jjonak” Bang said he would make sure long-time rival Ryujehong would never win against him. That was something Ryujehong thought about before going to sleep the night before, confessing that he fell asleep wondering, “What if we beat NYXL?”

“All I can say is this, Jonak,” Ryujehong said. “We did it. We won.”

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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