The New York Excelsior have temporarily stepped back from the Overwatch League due to New York’s current stay home orders from the COVID-19 pandemic, the team announced today.
NYXL were scheduled to play two matches online this weekend, but the team is unable to compete in them due to the current orders in New York.
“As the state of New York continues to mandate that all non-essential workers remain at home, the NYXL will temporarily be stepping back from playing matches in the Overwatch League,” NYXL said. “We’re continuing to make all efforts to return to competition as soon as possible.”
Along with NYXL, the London Spitfire’s matches have been removed from this weekend’s schedule. The Spitfire are in the process of relocating to South Korea to protect their players from the coronavirus pandemic, which is running rampant in the U.S.
This weekend’s schedule now lists 10 matches when there were previously 16.
New York has the most coronavirus cases in the U.S. right now by a large margin. As of today’s announcement by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York has over 44,000 positive cases. The state with the second-most cases, New Jersey, has over 6,000.
“Well continue to create incredible ways for our fans—the best in the world—to connect with our players digitally during this time as they represent our city proudly and demonstrate the resilience it is known for,” NYXL said.
