New York Excelsior is the First Team Confirmed for the Overwatch League Season 1 Playoffs

New York Excelsior is the first team confirmed for the Overwatch League end-of-season playoffs.

The Excelsior have been so successful throughout the regular season that they are guaranteed a spot in the end-of-season playoffs before the final stage of the regular season even begins.

[ad name=”article1″]

NYXL has lost only a single match per stage, three consecutive 9-1 finishes to put them at a massive 27-3 in the overall season standings.

That record currently puts New York five wins clear at the top of the league, a huge lead considering that only six wins separate second-place Boston Uprising from eighth-place LA Gladiators.

While New York has looked assured of a playoff spot – and likely the top seed at that – for some time, by the end of Stage 3 they are so far ahead of the pack that the team could literally lose every single map in Stage 4 and it would still be impossible for them not to qualify for the playoffs.

• Read more: New York Excelsior Goes Back-to-Back with Overwatch League Stage 3 Playoff Victory

[ad name=”article1″]

Though they’re already assured of a playoff spot, there’s still reason for New York not to get too complacent. $1.3million of the league’s total prize pool will be distributed based on the final standings at the end of the regular season, with a $300,000 prize for first place – $100,000 more than second.

Meanwhile, the top team from each division at the end of the regular season will secure direct passage to the semi-finals of the $1.7million playoffs. With current second-place team Boston Uprising in the Atlantic Division along with New York, the Excelsior will want to hold onto the number one spot for playoff seeding.

The Excelsior continue to look in dominant form going into the final stage of the regular season, having won the Stage 3 playoffs without losing a single map. As the inaugural season comes to a crescendo, New York are the clear favorites for the Season 1 title.