The New York Excelsior announced they will not be working on a new contract with Tae-hong “MekO” Kim, officially making the Korean off-tank player one of the Overwatch League’s most coveted free agents.
MekO spent the past two seasons with NYXL, but the sides were unable to agree on a contract to keep him with one of the OWL’s original teams. He had announced earlier this month that he was a free agent, but there was still the possibility MekO could have re-signed until Thursday’s announcement.
“Today our contract with Tae-hong “MekO” Kim has come to an end. We thank @MekOppa for two outstanding seasons and for everything he’s done for NYXL,” the team said in a statement. “You’ll always be part of the family and we wish you the absolute best in your career.”
Today our contract with Tae-hong "MekO" Kim has come to an end. We thank @MekOppa for two outstanding seasons and for everything he's done for NYXL.
You'll always be part of the family and we wish you the absolute best in your career.#EverUpward pic.twitter.com/i5s43hFA3G
— NYXL (@NYXL) October 17, 2019
NYXL finished third in Season 2 after falling to the Vancouver Titans and the eventual champion San Francisco Shock in the playoffs. That came after being upset by the Philadelphia Fusion in the Season 1 playoffs after earning the top seed during the regular season.
Despite all of their regular-season success, NYXL have yet to play in an OWL Grand Final.
MekO has typically been the team’s sole off-tank player. He came to NYXL along with the same core players from South Korea’s LW Blue roster. He also played for Team South Korea, which won the 2018 Overwatch World Cup.
NYXL previously announced DPS Hwang “Fl0w3r” Yeon-oh as a free agent, with the rest of the roster remaining under contract for now. All OWL teams must have at least eight players under contract by Nov. 15.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
