Overwatch League 2021 Week 8: New York Excelsior's Top Plays, Prize Money

The participating teams for the Overwatch League's $100,000 June Joust are set. With a wild week of qualifiers in the books, two teams from each region survived the Knockout Stage and secured a place in the June tournament.

In the East, this also marked the OWL’s first Home Series event of the year—as the Hangzhou Spark hosted competitors vying for placement.

Unfortunately for the Spark, those competitors included the New York Excelsior, who shook off a mediocre start to the season and took down Hangzhou on their own home turf. With a huge 3-1 win, New York secured a trip to Hawaii (and may have proved themselves to be ungrateful guests). 

Thursday, June 3

Boston Uprising 2 - 3 Paris Eternal

Dallas Fuel 3 - 2 Florida Mayhem

Friday, June 4

Guangzhou Charge 0 - 3 Philadelphia Fusion

Chengdu Hunters 2 - 3 Seoul Dynasty

Los Angeles Valiant 0 - 3 Hangzhou Spark

Boston Uprising 1 - 3 Los Angeles Gladiators

San Francisco Shock 3 - 0 Vancouver Titans 

Florida Mayhem 0 - 3 Washington Justice 

Saturday, June 5

Los Angeles Valiant 1 - 3 Philadelphia Fusion

Guangzhou Charge 0 - 3 Seoul Dynasty

Chengdu Hunters 1 - 3 Hangzhou Spark

Paris Eternal 1 - 3 Los Angeles Gladiators

Vancouver Titans 0 - 3 Dallas Fuel

San Francisco Shock 3 - 2 Washington Justice

Sunday, June 6

New York Excelsior 3 - 1 Hangzhou Spark

Seoul Dynasty 0 - 3 Shanghai Dragons

Dallas Fuel 3 - 0 Houston Outlaws

Boston Uprising 0 - 3 Atlanta Reign

Dallas Fuel 3 - 1 Los Angeles Gladiators

Atlanta Reign 3 - 0 San Francisco Shock

Ahead of the 2021 season, New York fully revamped its roster. One of the league’s most prestigious clubs since the inaugural season, the Excelsior came into this year with just one remnant of that original unit: JJoNak.

But at 3-5 this season and No. 6 in the East, the Excelsior’s newcomers hadn’t proved their worth. It was expected that it would take a miracle for them to get into the June Joust, and instead it took an 18-year-old rookie. New York’s newest hitscan DPS, Flora, absolutely popped off—particularly on McCree—as the team beat their hosts in Hangzhou.

This win sets the Excelsior up for a Round 1 matchup with the West’s Atlanta Reign next week. The Reign, fresh off a surprising sweep of the Shock, are a tough test and will most certainly make it a hard road for New York. At the end of that road? $100,000.