| Team: | New York Excelsior |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Region: | East |
| Record: | 7–9 |
| Region Place: | 6th |
| League Place: | 14th |
| Coach: | Lee "WhyNot" Ju-hyeop |
| Gm: | Kim Yo-han |
| Owner: | Jeff Wilpon |
| Tournament1name: | May Melee |
| T1playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Tournament2name: | June Joust |
| T2playoffs: | Lower round 1 |
| Tournament3name: | Summer Showdown |
| T3playoffs: | Regional finals |
| Tournament4name: | Countdown Cup |
| T4playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Earnings: | $20,000 |
The 2021 New York Excelsior season will be the fourth season of New York Excelsior's (NYXL) existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Lee "WhyNot" Ju-hyeop.
| Position | Handle | Name | 2021 team | Date signed | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | Anamo | Jung Tae-sung | Seoul Dynasty | November 29[1] | Option declined | |
| Tank | Bianca | Kim Dong-wook | New York Excelsior | December 11[2] | Option declined | |
| Damage | Haksal | Kim Hyo-jong | – | – | Option declined | |
| Damage | Libero | Kim Hae-seong | – | – | Option declined | |
| Tank | Mano | Kim Dong-gyu | Philadelphia Fusion | November 2[3] | Option declined | |
| Damage | Saebyeolbe | Park Jong-ryeol | Seoul Dynasty | November 29 | Option declined | |
| Damage | WhoRU | Lee Seung-jun | – | – | Option declined | |
| ||||||
The NYXL entered free agency with seven free agents, all of which became free agents due to the team not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.[4]
The Excelsior's first offseason acquisition was Jo "Yakpung" Gyeong-mu, a tank player coming off of an Overwatch Contenders Korea championship with O2 Blast who signed on December 11, 2020. Six days later, they signed rookie Lee "Friday" Seung-woo, a "skilled and flexible" support player coming from Contenders team OZ Gaming.[5] On December 22, the team announced the signing of four damage players: Jo "FEATH5R" Min-jae, a rookie coming from OZ Gaming, Lim "Flora" Young-woo, a rookie hitscan player coming from Contenders team Team Diamond, Kim "Gwangboong" Gwang-won, another rookie hitscan player coming from Contenders team Team Cat, and Lee "Ivy" Seung-hyun, a veteran who was "one of the most flexible and deadly" damage players with the Philadelphia Fusion in 2020.
The Excelsior released two of their contracted players on October 22, 2020: damage player Jeong "Nenne" Yeon-gwan and tank player Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun.[6] Six of the NYXL's seven free agents did not return, three of which signed with other teams, beginning with tank player Kim "Mano" Dong-gyu signing with the Philadelphia Fusion on November 2. On November 29, support player Jung "Anamo" Tae-sung and tank player Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol signed with the Seoul Dynasty. Damage players Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong and Lee "WhoRU" Seung-jun both announced their retirements in the offseason.[7] [8] The team's final free agent, damage player Kim "Libero" Hae-seong did not sign with a team in the offseason.
Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2021 regular season: