XL2 Academy

XL2 Academy is an American esports team for the video game Overwatch that competed in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) as an academy team for the New York Excelsior of the Overwatch League (OWL). The team is based in New York City, New York and plays in the North America West region of OWC. Since inception, XL2 has qualified for the playoffs in every season of play. The team has taken a hiatus from OWC play as of November 2019.

XL2 Academy

Founded	2018
League	Overwatch Contenders
Division	Atlantic
Region	North America West
Team history	XL2 Academy 2018–present
Based in	New York City, New York
Colors	Dark blue, blue, white
Owner	Jeff Wilpon
Affiliation(s)	New York Excelsior

Franchise history

On February 20, 2018, New York Excelsior formally announced their academy team would go under the name "XL2 Academy" for Overwatch Contenders North America, as well as revealing their initial 6-player squad, where notably, 17-year-old star DPS player Hwang "Fl0w3R" Yeon-oh was not on the roster, as he was waiting to become eligible for the Overwatch League.[1] Shortly afterwards, on March 24, they announced that Fl0w3R would be joining the academy roster.[2] The 17-year-old had been an inactive member of parent team Excelsior, after being deemed ineligible to compete in the inaugural Overwatch League season due to age restrictions.[3][4]

XL2 began play in the North America region of Contenders 2018 Season 1. In their first season of play, XL2 qualified for the playoffs, but fell to EnVision eSports in the quarterfinals by a score of 2–3.[5] The following season, the team posted a perfect 5–0 in the group stages and qualified for the playoffs. After defeating Mayhem Academy and NRG Esports in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, XL2 went on to face Fusion University in the North America Grand Finals; however, XL2 was swept 0–4 in the contest.[6] In 2018 Season 3, XL2 again qualified for the playoffs, where they defeated Uprising Academy in the quarterfinals. The team went on to lose to ATL Academy in the semifinals by a score of 1–3.[7]

In 2019, XL2 was forced to rebuild their roster after new regional lock rules came into effect.[8] XL2 posted a meager 2–5 record in the 2019 Season 1 group stages. Nonetheless, the team qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in four seasons, where they were swept 0–3 in the first round to ATL Academy.[9] The team found more success in 2019 Season 2, posting a 5–2 record in the group stages; in the playoffs, XL2 made it to the finals, but they were unable to secure their first title, as the team was defeated by Team Envy in the finals match.[8] Due to their regional performance, the team qualified for The Gauntlet, an interregional, Contenders tournament.[10] Advancing past the group stages, XL2 first took down Team Envy in a 3–0 sweep,[11] but in their next match, they were swept, 0–3, by ATL Academy, eliminating them from the tournament.[12]

On November 11, 2019, XL2 announced that they would be temporarily ceasing play in Contenders, noting that they are "currently working with other organizations."[13]

Seasons overview

Year	Season	Region	OWC regular season				Regional playoffs	Interregional events
			Finish[lower-alpha 1]	Wins	Losses	Win %
XL2 Academy
2018	1	North America	3rd	3	2	.600	Quarterfinals
	2	North America	1st	5	0	1.000	Runners-up	None held
	3	North America	1st	4	1	.800	Semifinals
2019	1	North America West	6th	2	5	.286	Quarterfinals
	2	North America West	2nd	5	2	.714	Runners-up	The Gauntlet – Lower Round 2
Regular season record				19	10	.600
Playoff record				4	5	.444

1. Placements prior to 2019 reflect standings in the team's respective group and not the entire region.

OWL buyouts and promotions

All Overwatch Contenders players are eligible to be promoted by their affiliated Overwatch League team or signed to any other Overwatch League during specified non-blackout periods.[14]

2018

• DPS Hwang "Fl0w3R" Yeon-oh was signed to New York Excelsior on October 29.[2]
• DPS Jeong "Nenne" Yeon-kwan was signed to New York Excelsior on November 8.[15]

2019

• Off-tank Kim "BiaNcA" Dong-wook was signed to New York Excelsior on November 22.[16]

References

1. Carpenter, Nicole (February 21, 2019). "New York Excelsior unveils Overwatch Contenders roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
2. Tahan, Chelsey (March 24, 2018). "XL2 signs Fl0w3R to their roster". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018.
3. Coone, Sharon (November 4, 2017). "Fl0w3r Won't Compete in Overwatch League Season 1, but one team has future dibs". Blitz Esports. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018.
4. Carpenter, Nicole (December 28, 2017). "Overwatch superstar Fl0w3r is about to join NYXL in Los Angeles". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
5. Zaragoza, Alberto (April 17, 2018). "Arrancan los playoffs de Overwatch Contenders en Europa y Norteamérica" [Overwatch Contenders playoffs start in Europe and North America]. Movistar Esports (in Spanish). Retrieved July 24, 2019.
6. Wing, Robert (October 9, 2018). "Fusion University, the Lanimals". The Overwatch League. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
7. Chu, Stephen (January 12, 2019). "Community Reactions to XL2 Removing Mangachu and Cloneman for Local Players". VPEsports. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
8. Amos, Andrew (August 18, 2019). "Who has qualified for the 2019 Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet?". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
9. "Overwatch Contenders 2019 Season 1: North America West". Egamers World. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
10. Howard, Brandon (October 8, 2019). "Overwatch Contenders – The Gauntlet 2019 Preview". Hotspawn. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
11. O'Dwyer, Samuel (October 11, 2019). "Top-6 teams determined at the Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
12. O'Dwyer, Samuel (October 12, 2019). "Element Mystic are the first team in the Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet grand final". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
13. Richardson, Liz (November 11, 2019). "XL2 Academy drop out of Overwatch Contenders". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
14. Olmstead, Sydney (June 14, 2018). "Blizzard Reveals Information About Overwatch League Offseason". VGR. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
15. Rodriguez, Veronika (November 8, 2018). "Nenne Promoted to NYXL for Overwatch League Season 2". DBLTAP. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
16. Samples, Rachel (November 22, 2019). "New York Excelsior promote BiaNcA from XL2 Academy". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 22, 2019.