While the Overwatch League is filled with fantastic players and teams, there is no doubt that a few teams stand above others. Two of these teams are the Seoul Dynasty and New York Excelsior, both of which could easily be crowned as the best team during this season. Since the beginning of the Overwatch League, Seoul Dynasty has been absolutely dominating in every game they’ve participated in. Currently undefeated, Seoul is on a fast track to take the top spot.
Tonight will be one of the first major challenges to the Dynasty as New York Excelsior is comprised of some seriously skilled players. We could witness the closest game for Seoul Dynasty since this competition kicked off. The maps for this evening are Eichenwalde, Horizon Lunar Colony, Oasis, and Junkertown in that order. If the teams tie then they will play the deciding match on the control map Lijiang Tower.
We will consistently update this recap as every round is finished. Make sure to check back with us so you can keep up with all the action. The final score is listed at the bottom of this recap.
Game One – Eichenwalde
Round One
The first matched opened up with New York on defense, running a rather stable composition of Orisa, McCree, Roadhog, and Pharah for air support. In contrast, Seoul decided to run D.Va, Pharah, Winston, and Tracer so they can dive onto targets. Dynasty’s first push was mixed with Seoul’s Fleta dying early on Pharah, but they responded by dropping New York’s Mercy. However, Seoul was too wounded to push and needed to regroup. Seoul’s second push hit another wall as the combination of Orisa and Roadhog proved difficult to deal with. On the third push, both teams popped multiple ultimates, but Seoul managed to force New York off the point and take the payload.
Fleta decided to swamp off Pharah to Widowmaker while New York decided to keep the same team set up. The Widowmaker is exactly what Seoul needed as Fleta was able to drop both McCree and Pharah with little issue. Excelsior was forced to swap to Genji, as the Pharah was getting countered to hard by Seoul’s sniper. With the payload nearing the second checkpoint, another team fight broke out that ended in New York’s favor.
With 60 seconds left, Seoul made another push by ryujehong was dropped by a Pulse Bomb which caused them to lose the team fight. On the last push, Seoul was pounced on and killed with little effort, allowing New York to stop Seoul Dynasty before they hit the second point.
Round Two
Now on defense, Seoul ran a dive set up with the exception of running a McCree in the anticipation of a Pharah from New York. This was a smart choice as Excelsior decided to run a dive with a small splash of burst damage via Roadhog and Pharah. Pushing onto the point, New York made their dominance known and obliterated Seoul’s defense. Taking the first point, New York began to push the payload while Seoul swapped off the McCree for a Widowmaker. Pharah was also swapped for a Genji so they could flank and attack the healers.
Don’t get cornered by the deadly duo of @Liberot99 and @Mano_OWL! #OWL2018
Pushing the payload, Jjonak dropped Seul’s Tracer on Zenyatta and allowed Excelsior an opening to attack the Dynasty. However, Zunba on D.Va and Fleta on Widowmaker cleaned up New York’s attack and forced the east coast team to reset. New York had another big move that let them push the point almost to the final area. However, Seoul made it just in time and managed to stop’s Seoul’s’ defense at first. This was until Libero pulled out the Dragonblade and slaughtered Seoul’s defenses letting them take the point and the map.
New York Excelsior – 1, Seoul Dynasty – 0
Game Two – Horizon Lunar Colony
Round One
New York was on defense again and ran Orisa, Roadhog, Junkrat, and Widowmaker which is meant to stop the typical four tank attack set up. Seoul decided to run a dive with Sombra, Tracer, and Fleta as their primary sources of damage. With New York set up on the top right, Seoul used their Sombra to try and force Excelsior to retreat. This backfired as New York killed the Sombra and were able to hold the high ground stopping Seoul’s attack.
Seoul decided to farm damage from New York to charge their Sombra ultimate. Despite a shaky team fight, Seoul took the control point and forced New Yor back to the second portion of the map. Seoul decided to just use their D.Va to charge their Sombra ultimate. The EMP was used once again and despite looking like the fight swinging in Seoul’s favor, New York fought them off. Sombra was then swapped for a Zenyatta and Widowmaker for the McCree.
Thanks to Seoul’s Mercy ultimate they were able to overwhelm New York very quickly and take two ticks on the control point. Forced back by New York’s Winston ultimate, Seoul regrouped and prepared for another attack with only a single third remaining on the control point. Seoul’s final push let them collapse on New York and take the final control point with 2:31 on the clock.
Round Two
New York’s attack consisted of four tanks a Moira and a Lucio, while Seoul ran a very typical dive set up. Pushing left, New York managed to get their Moira ultimate within 40 seconds of the battle and took the first point from Seoul in a little more than a minute. Rushing right to the second point, New York absolutely steamrolled Seoul thanks to the sheer ultimate advantage New York had. Excelsior secured the point with 5:30 on the clock.
Round Three
Seoul ran their Sombra dive on attack while New York ran their typical mix of Roadhog and Orisa on defense. The opening attack from Seoul was stalled thanks to a pick on Munchkin’s Tracer. Yet, New York was not equipped to deal with the sheer mobility of Seoul who managed to back-cap the point. Moving to the second control point quickly, Seoul was stalled by a Junkrat RIP Tire and needed to regroup with a minute left.
With several ultimates, Dynasty pressed their attack with a Widowmaker this time. The EMP was used, dropping all the shields and letting Fleta cut through New York. Seoul capped the second point with 2 seconds left on the clock.
Round Four
New York ran their four tank set up, however, Seoul decided to bring a Junkrat to defense so they can cut through the big bodies on Excelsior. This didn’t work and New York pushed and captured the first point with five minutes still on their timer. Moving to the second point, New York swapped off one of their tanks for a Soldier: 76 to throw off Seoul and secure the high ground. However, Seoul managed to stop them with a RIP Tire and forced a reset by Seoul.
Excelsior’s attack was great, but Seoul was able to withstand and only let New York gain a single tick on the control point. The Junkrat on the side of Seoul became an issue thanks to his area denial that cut through the attacker’s health. However, New York took their time and was able to slowly force their way onto the point. Another team fight ensued that let New York cap the second point with 90 seconds left on their clock.
Round Five
New York had a great opening since they were able to pick off two Seoul heroes very quickly. A team fight ensued that say Seoul’s Sombra picked off quickly, but they managed to swing the fight in their favor. Taking the first point in Overtime, New York was having an issue with Seoul’s Widowmaker that continuously poured on damage. However, thanks to smart positioning from Excelsior, they were able to stop Seoul at the second point with only 47% progress on their control bar.
Round Six
Deciding to run their four tank set up, New York rushed right onto the point. However, New York was too predictable and Seoul was able to use their Junkrat to counter them quickly. Getting their RIP Tire in a matter of seconds, Seoul stopped the first push and forced New York to change their roster to a traditional dive set up. This caused New York to lose their ultimates and forced a slower style of play to ensure that they could have a chance in a team fight. Their final attack on the first point was much better as Libero on the Genj quickly picked off multiple people.
Seoul countered with a RIP Tire once again that ripped right through New York and let them swing the fight in their favor. Sadly, New York was unable to take the first point and subsequently lost Horizon Lunar Colony.
New York Excelsior – 1, Seoul Dynasty – 1
Game Three – Oasis
Round One
The first map was Garden and both teams decided to run a Pharah backed by a typical dive set up. However, New York did bring their Roadhog once again to secure critical picks for the east coast team. Round one opened with both teams having a slow and rather scrappy team fight that Seoul’s Pharah completely dictated. This allowed Dynasty to cap the point and slowly increase their percentage. New York attacked that saw both teams use multiple ultimates and ending with New York flipping the point in their favor.
Seoul’s attack was rather slow as they waited for their window of opportunity. Despite stalling for a good amount of time, Dynasty killed off New York’s defenses and took the control point once again. This forced New York to get more aggressive since Seoul was able to hit 99% on their control point. A Barrage on the side of New Work let them quickly take out New York’s Roadhog, but Excelsior applied a good amount of pressure and flipped the point for the second time.
While the final attack from Seoul appeared to be in Seoul’s favor thanks to a triple kill Self Destruct, New York was able to zone the DPS and healers. This lets them recover and take the first point on Garden.
Round Two
The next map was on University with New York running their usual Orisa, Roadhog, and McCree set up. Seoul decided to stay on dive with the exception of a Junkrat on damage. New York quickly capped the point and brought their percentage up to 38% before Seoul flipped it in their favor. Dynasty managed to hold onto the point despite a large number of ultimates committed from New York. Then the round just ended in Seoul’s favor because New York was too timid about stalling or attempting to recapture the point.
Round Three
The tiebreaker was on city center with both teams using a Pharah / Mercy combo to try and control the skies. New York was able to quickly rip apart the ground forces of Seoul and take the control point right away. Excelsior won the next team fight thanks to their D.Va player Meko that continuously secured kills and made space for New York. Seoul attacked once again and despite another great Self Destruct they couldn’t stop New York from hitting 99% Now in Overtime, Seoul used Soundbarrier to push in, but Libero’s Barrage tore right through Seoul’s offense and let them take control of the point.
New York Excelsior – 2, Seoul Dynasty – 1
Game Four – Junkertown
Round One
New York started out on defense with an Orisa, Roadhog, Widowmaker, and Junkrat. In contrast, Seoul ran a Hanzo, Widowmaker, Roahog, D.Va, and an Orisa. The match opened with Seoul slowly pushing the cart while using their snipers to secure the high ground. Once Seoul brought the payload to the courtyard by the first point New York attacked and pushed the attackers back. Seoul dropped their Hanzo for a Junkrat and another team fight ensued that favored New York once again thanks to a quick pick on Seoul’s Mercy.
Seoul’s third attack went much better as they used their Mercy ultimate to continuously apply pressure on New York. Yet, Excelsior still held forcing Seoul to make their final attack in Overtime which is never ideal. With both support ultimates used, Seoul was able to finally take the first point on Junkertown and forced New York to reset their defense. New York was able to hold thanks to their Widowmaker sniping the Seoul RIP Tire before it reached their supports.
The final attack by Seoul saw both teams use a plethora of ultimates that saw both teams support players die early. Meko on the Roadhog acted as a great way to stall Seoul in Overtime. This allowed New York to come in, recover, and swing the fight in their favor. Dynasty ended the point with payload stopping right before the second capture point.
Round Two
Seoul was now on defense and ran a mix of Roadhog, D.Va, Orisa, Widowmaker, Mercy, and Junkrat while New York decided to use the “pirate ship” method. Getting a chance to set their Bastion up on the payload early, New York did a wonderful job applying pressure to Seoul. However, Dynasty showed some patience and slowly picked apart the attacking Excelsior team.
On the second attack, New York initiated a rather scrappy fight that didn’t go in their favor. Dynasty showcased a fantastic defense and forced New York to make their final push with 30 seconds on the clock. Thanks to some great sniping from Seoul’s Fleta, New York was unable to get on the payload and lost the Junkertown game.
New York Excelsior – 2, Seoul Dynasty – 2
Game Five – Lijiang Tower
(Blizzard)
Round One
The first map on Lijiang Tower was Night Market with both teams running dive, however, Seoul decided to use a Soldier: 76 and New York a Pharah. Once the point unlocked, both teams engaged and Seoul was able to secure the point first despite losing a player early on. Pharah was swapped to Genji and New York decided to dive right onto Seoul’s defenses. Dynasty was able to hold thanks to a Tactical Visor that cut right through a low of New York’s lower health heroes. JJonak’s Zenyatta was the decider in the next team fight and let New York flip the point.
The orbslinger himself! @JJoNakLove just PUMPING out the damage. #OWL2018
Now in control, New York defended their territory with a Dragonblade and Self Destruct. The next attack from Seoul opened up with their ultimates being used first, however, Dynasty couldn’t secure the kills they needed right away. A very long team fight ensued and Seoul flipped the point which forced New York to attack in Overtime. Thankfully, New York opened up with a strong attack, flipped the point, and won the Night Market map.
Round Two
The second map was on Garden with both teams running a Pharah to try and gain ariel control. A big kill by JJonak on Seoul’s Mercy let New York take the point first. Seoul’s second team fight took a little bit longer thanks to New York stalling until the point hit 52%. However, a Barrage ended their control and let Seoul flip the point in their favor. This didn’t last long thanks to New York’s Winston who scored two big kills and let New York retake the point again.
Excelsior showed utter dominance and pushed Seoul back into their spawn as the percentage ticked up slowly to 99%. Now in Overtime, Seoul made one final push and bowled over Dynasty taking the point. Securing the second map on Lijiang Tower, New York Excelsior won the set and officially became the team to beat.
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Overwatch League: Seoul Dynasty vs New York Excelsior Recap