The New York Excelsior have signed Korean off-tank Shin “Kalios” Woo-yeol, formerly of World Game Star Pheonix and the Boston Uprising. After their appearance and quick departure from the June Joust knockouts, the NYXL are adding depth. Kalios fits that role as a former Overwatch League player who has ground his way through Contenders since leaving the Boston Uprising. Now, he has the opportunity to prove himself again at the top level.
The NYXL family grows once more. Please welcome to the roster our new Off-Tank, @OW_Kalios (pending league approval). #EverUpward #OWL2021 pic.twitter.com/3RYfq61y6O
— NY Excelsior (@NYExcelsior) June 30, 2021
“The NYXL family grows once more. Please welcome to the roster our new Off-Tank, @OW_Kalios (pending league approval),” the Excelsior account tweeted.
Kalios’ path back to the Overwatch League
The off-tank has played in the Overwatch League before. After playing mostly on the bench for the Boston Uprising, the team performed well around Kalios when he was brought into games. In their starting season, the Uprising got their best performances in their existence so far. He left after the inaugural season, looking for a different role.
Kalios has played for five teams in his path back to the Overwatch League, getting some good results along the way. His best result after leaving the Uprising was with O2 Blast, winning the first season of 2020 Korean Contenders over classic top-team RunAway. After more time with O2 Blast, he moved to World Game Star Phoenix. Kalios played with them for three months, but now this move marks his return to the Overwatch League.
The future of the New York Excelsior
With this addition, the Excelsior are no longer bound to the two tanks they had on their roster. When their original 2021 roster was revealed, the only depth they had was their damage dealers. They had to play the same two tanks and support players no matter what the meta was. Now, adding Kalios allows for more options as the meta shifts. Kim “BiaNcA” Dong-wook has been doing well around the team but has had issues with certain metas. This shows in how the NYXL were good in the June Joust, but not much else.
We’ll have to see how Kalios fits into the roster and when he’ll start getting playing time. Besides that, this is nothing but an upgrade for the New York Excelsior and Kalios might get them back to the Hawaii knockouts again.
