Time for Mayhem: Overwatch League (OWL) 2023 season sees Florida Mayhem revamp part of their roster with two new players

More news from the West

As the Overwatch League (OWL) off-season continues, more team announcements come forth as players part ways and join new organizations. Florida Mayhem has announced on the 4th of Jan their new roster, including a rookie Damage dealer and a veteran support. Former Toronto Defiant support Sung “Ch0R0NG” Yoo-min and Finnish Damage Dealer Paavo “Sauno” Ulmanen have been announced by Florida Mayhem.

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/FLMayhem/status/1610675077145628673"]

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/FLMayhem/status/1610667560709521411"]

The organization has teased the addition of the two players via social media, with the player names blurred out. However, it was known there would be two Damage dealers added and a support to the lineup. The third player was Choi “Mer1t” Tae-min, who was announced earlier last month.

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/FLMayhem/status/1601649205147467776"]

Redemption Arc

In 2022, Toronto Defiant and Florida Mayhem were the two teams to qualify for the Play-offs through the Countdown Cup. Both teams acquitted themselves well in the tournament, however, ultimately fell. Toronto Defiant finished in 9th-12th while Florida Mayhem finished 7th-8th. Toronto is under a full roster revamp, with multiple rumors currently swirling on their lineup potentially comprised of several top talents. Meanwhile, Florida Mayhem has elected for a half rebuild, with the retention of tank Ham “SOMEONE” Jeong-wan, Damage Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun, and Rupal “Rupal” Zaman.

Four players have departed the organization in the wake of the off-season. Those players are supports Majed “SirMajed” Alrashied and Taesung “Anamo” Jung, and Damage Jung “Xzi” Ki-hyo and Isaiah “Hydron” Rodriguez. “Hydron” especially will be missed as he performed well for the squad at the Countdown Cup and during their run at Playoffs.

The retention of “SOMEONE” and “Checkmate” especially, is huge news for Mayhem fans as they were a massive part of the Mayhem’s moderate success. With the addition of a seasoned veteran in the backlines supporting them, and a new young gun who has shown some promise, there is strong hopes for the Mayhem going into 2023. Moreover, the addition of up and coming “Mer1t” from the Houston Outlaws, adds additional power to a fairly stacked lineup already.

Lookback on Decent Year

Florida Mayhem may end up being a roster to keep an eye on in 2023. In 2022, the roster was comprised of a mix of veteran and rookie talents, a roster that many pundits and fans considered a budget roster. That roster outperformed expectations and actually pushed favorites into cold sweats at times with the consistent performances.

The roster placed 10th overall during the regular season and achieved a fourth at the Summer Showdown. The roster defeated Atlanta Reign before falling to favorites Seoul Dynasty. They pushed Hangzhou Spark in the lower bracket, falling in 1-3 fashion to be eliminated finally.

Florida Mayhem’s new roster is as follows:

• Ham “SOMEONE” Jeong-wan
• Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun
• Paavo “Sauno” Ulmanen
• Choi “Mer1t” Tae-min
• Rupal “Rupal” Zaman
• Sung “Ch0R0NG” Yoo-min

Image credit: Florida Mayhem