New York Excelsior unveiled their OWL lineup on Tuesday, joining the slew of teams who announced their rosters ahead of the 2023 Overwatch League Pro-Am West event to start the sixth OWL season.
NYXL’s new roster includes four supports, three DPS players, one tank, several other OWL veterans, and Contender players making their debut in OWL. Haley “Halo” Hamand and Yunhee “Aniyun” Chi are players on the mixed lineup that identify as she/her and recently played under the Altoria Artemis roster to win the Calling All Heroes Challengers Cup Final.
Halo previously played for NRG Esports, Maryville Esports, and Boston Rising before being signed to NYXL. Other players on the lineup are Tal “ShockWave” Saar, Maximilian “Seicoe” Otter, Kim “Kellan” Min-Jae, Joseph “Lep” Cambriani, and Kim “Creative” Young-wan.
NYXL first announced their intention to build a mixed roster late last year with members of the marginalized genders. By January, however, the organization was reportedly “struggling” to get the entire lineup together in time for the March deadline.
Speaking on the issue, NYXL revealed that although the initial plan was well-intentioned, they faced issues because there was little OWL-level talent among the selected players.
The organization also allegedly did not want to consider signing a mixed team because the “statement isn’t wide enough.” Despite this, NYXL ended up with a mixed lineup for the 2023 season months later.
NYXL had a rather disappointing run in the 2022 season, ending with a 4-20 scoreboard. This resulted in the release of the entire team during the off-season. The team enters the 2024 season with only one player from the previous lineup, Kellan, whose contract was renewed to fill the sole tank role.
The organization will debut their new lineup at the OWL 2023 Pro-Am West exhibition slated for March 30, where fans will see NYXL take on the Houston Outlaws.
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