ESports fans compete against their favorite team in Brooklyn
NYXL held a homecoming event where amateur New York players competed against the team’s professionals.
Eagle photos by Paul Frangipane
By By Paul Frangipane
December 3, 2018
Copy Link
Email
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Telegram
Pinterest
Print
In a pop-up shop on Atlantic Avenue on Friday night, more than 100 people crowded around dozens of computers to watch New York’s first official professional ESports franchise play competitive exhibition matches with its devout fans.
New Yorkers decked themselves out in team gear to welcome home and compete against New York Excelsior (NYXL) of the Overwatch League in the futuristic first-person-shooter online video game. The event was part of a month of weekend events at 472 Atlantic Ave. in Boerum Hill that aim to build and engage the ESports community in New York.
Players competed in 6 versus 6, 4 versus 4 and 2 versus 2 exhibition matches.
“There’s a whole bunch of great New York gamers who have been wanting great programming,” said Ben Nichol, the head of events and business development at NYXL. “So the culture is super, super hungry and it’s only now, it’s really the first time in history that we’ve been able to kind of open up the pipeline and really just dump resources into trying to grow something here.”
Public gatherings of players in New York are rare because of high real estate prices, Nichol says.
Overwatch came out in 2016 and has since become one of the ESports industry’s top-played games.
ESports has seen a global explosion of popularity in recent years, in part from internet personalities bringing attention to games like League of Legends or Overwatch. Brands have jumped onto the bandwagon and are expected to invest up to $1.4 billion in the ESports industry by 2021, according to a 2018 report from Newzoo. By this year, the number of industry enthusiasts was expected to reach 165 million people, the report states.
New York’s team was founded last year and its pro roster is entirely made up of players from South Korea. The franchise is owned by Sterling.VC, a fund sponsored by Sterling Equities.
An exhibition match draws a crowd watching on a large TV.
“The whole vision in the beginning was that ESports is this big amazing thing that we’re all excited about … and everyone’s looking at it saying, ‘How do we get in?’” Nichol said.
NYXL ran a series of qualifying matches to identify the top 30 amateur New York players to compete against the pros Friday night. The professionals won in the exhibition matches, but the heated games still left the room raucously cheering after intense plays.
Fans were decked out in team merchandise.
During the Overwatch League’s inaugural season, NYXL went 34-6 before getting upset by Philadelphia’s team and losing the opportunity to play in front of 18,000 people at Barclays Center. The team is now slated to begin the second season in February 2019 with 19 other teams from around the world.
The franchise’s pop-up retail shop and gaming center will be open to the public every weekend until Dec. 23.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
