Overwatch League: NYXL Releases Five Players

The New York Excelsior is saying goodbye to Haksal, Nenne, WhoRU, HOTBA and BiaNcA.

Following the footsteps of the Florida Mayhem, Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant, Guangzhou Charge and Vancouver Titans, the New York Excelsior (“NYXL”) announced releasing five players.

Hyojong “Haksal” Kim is the first one to leave the team. The 19-year-old Genji player announced his retirement from competitive Overwatch, four months after joining NYXL. Last year, the player won the Rookie of the Year award. His former team, the Vancouver Titans, won the Overwatch League 2019 Regular Season and placed second in the Playoffs.

One of the greatest Genji players of all time is retiring from the @OverwatchLeague. We are honored to have had him as part of our team during his memorable career. Thank you @Haksal for all that you've done. Wishing you all the best on your next adventure. #EverUpward pic.twitter.com/yEL5UhEiGN

— NY Excelsior (@NYExcelsior) October 21, 2020

The NYXL is also letting go of Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong, Seung-jun “WhoRU” Lee, Hong-joon “HOTBA” Choi and Dong-wook “BiaNcA” Kim. Jeong has been playing for New York since 2018. Lee, Choi and Kim all joined in 2019 and helped the team reach third place in the Overwatch League 2020 Asia Playoffs.

New York still had six players on its roster. Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park and Hae-seong “Libero” Kim are the two DPS players left, now that Haksal, WhoRU and Nenne left the team. Two tank players are also gone now, leaving Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim alone on the tank line. Kim specialize in main tank heroes, so the NYXL still needs an off-tank player. The only safe players in NYXL so far are the supports. Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang, Taesung “Anamo” Jung and Chan-hee “Mandu” Kim are all staying with the team – until further notice.