Can The Florida Mayhem Continue Their Rise In 2021?
Deafened by the noise of rosters eternally shuffling, one signal quietly pokes through the storm. One team that evolved past their goofy yet endearing walkouts, a team thought to be in contention for one of the worst teams in the Overwatch League, a team that is not talked about enough; the Florida Mayhem.
Debuting as the definition of lacklustre, the Mayhem have slowly crawled up the ranks, changing their identity from being the class clown of the Overwatch League to becoming a competitive peer. With a more than solid foundation and room to grow, fans of the Mayhem should be buzzing—the 2021 season could very likely be their best yet.
Click to enlarge(All statistics provided are all filtered by all stages with a minimum time played of sixty minutes)
Let’s start with what we know. The Mayhem have two players still under contract according to the Overwatch League’s 2021 Player Contract Status article. With incredible rookie seasons respectively, both Kim "Yaki" Jun-ki and Kang "Gangnamjin" Nam-jin are still contracted, as of writing this article. This leaves them with a ton of room to improve what was already a strong roster. Throughout the 2020 season, the Florida Mayhem battled and cemented themselves as a clear, top-five team in North America.
From his days on MVP Space, Yaki looked to be a prospect, the only thing that seemingly deterred people was his age. However, he’s stepped into the league not only showing that same stubborn power but also a shine of further promise—and that’s just a fancy way to say; the boy got an MVP nomination during his rookie season. We know what can happen once a team improves; there have been too many turnaround stories for everyone to just “level up”. Our perception of players in Overwatch is weighted, in varying degrees, on how the given team performs.
That said, Yaki looked great this season, on a Mayhem that had reached a new peak. If the team continues to improve and that results in furthered success, Yaki is going to look like an inarguable top-five player. To his credit, he’s already not too far off the mark, both in terms of eye test and in terms of objective metrics.
Yaki has shown the flexibility across not only his career, but this season, to be considered a colour-less player, someone so flexible that they can adapt however the team sees fit. He is a leader when it comes to Echo. He leads the league in final blows per ten minutes, is third in eliminations per ten minutes, and is second in solo kills per ten minutes. What might surprise someone is where Yaki finished when compared to his peers on Sombra. Finishing second in final blow per ten minutes and solo kills per ten minutes, there is enough there, alongside the eye test, to place a gold star next to another one of his heroes.
While the rankings are lower when it comes to his Tracer, we also have to account for just how many DPS players there are and how many lights-out Tracer aces there are in this league. With that in mind, Yaki is still sixth in final blows per ten minutes and seventh in eliminations per ten minutes. These are two stats that should command some respect on their own merits, but when you consider how flexible he’s been all season, his stock should only project higher.
Lest we forget the start of the season and his incredibly Mei performances. Across the season as a whole, Yaki finished third in hero damage done per ten minutes and fifth in solo kills per ten minutes. He takes, what effectively is a more supportive hero, one that slows her enemies and alters the terrain of the battlefield, and has made it an actual threat in terms of damage. You cannot ignore this.
And for those who will cry “cherry-picked statistics”; we agree, statistics are all contextual. However, you don’t put up strong statistical placings, across a number of heroes, across a number of metagames, and across the season as a whole, and get to erase all weight that carries. No matter how flimsy you think the statistics are, we cannot ignore the correlation between strong and consistent individual statistical rankings and good players. However, that isn’t the only Mayhem starter that is both staying and had a brilliant rookie debut in 2020.
Click to enlargeLooking across Overwatch history, you cannot ignore how impactful having a strong flex support can make you, can Gangnamjin be that player for the Mayhem? Showing versatility in picks, and strength in them as well, even if he didn’t shine in your eyes this season, Gangnamjin has a well of potential that the Mayhem can tap into in 2021.
For those who he didn’t impress, let’s take a look at some objective elements for a moment. Gangnamjin was second in hero damage done per ten minutes on Ana and on Zenyatta he tied for fourth in solo kills per ten minutes. He also shared stage time with now-former Mayhem support player Lee "Byrem" Seong-ju, something that undoubtedly skews his statistics at the very least.
Still not convinced? Let’s look historically for a moment. Gangnamjin comes from the 2019 RunAway core that dominated both domestically and internationally. He was a massive factor in their back-to-back Overwatch Contenders victories and the team’s strong performance during The Gauntlet. Gangnamjin is a stellar talent that deserves to stay with his former teammates and coaching staff from RunAway and continue to succeed on the Mayhem.
However, there is one crucial piece of the puzzle that remains undecided.
Click to enlargeThe big dilemma is when it comes to the role of main tank and the idea of “cores”. Koo "Fate" Pan-seung is listed, again per the Overwatch League’s 2021 Player Contract Status article, as someone who still has an option on the table, one the team can choose to enact by November 13. At this point, Fate should be considered a veteran presence on most teams in the league. With experience not only in the Overwatch League era but also in the APEX era, Fate has remained and has looked good throughout his tenure, which along with any preexisting synergy, should bold well for a re-signing.
However, there are some curious talking points.
To be fair, if the Mayhem chooses not to exercise his option, all is not lost. There are some main tanks that are on the market, that would be a solid investment, but that is neither here nor there, just know Fate isn’t the end all be all of main tanks. He is skilled, but lateral moves and even improvements are available. What is a fair point that could be levied against Florida is the loss of any synergy that was built up throughout the 2020 season, if they do not choose to option Fate. Breaking up that core of three players could narrow the impenetrable foundation that the Mayhem have to work with.
Also, we have to consider the potential that Mayhem declines the option, but signs him to a new contract. With the new contract details coming in 2021 and with the assumed decrease in the overall budget due to the pandemic, we could see an increase in the number of players re-signed by their former teams—and this goes farther than just applying to Fate’s case in particular. With how much that has already changed about Florida, ideally, taking the core from the team’s successful run through 2020 would make for a fantastic base to work from.
That said, trust has to be placed in the process. As cliche and tired as that saying is, this is a staff that fans of the Mayhem can hold in high regard. They have proven their intelligence, and the coaching staff has proved itself on the biggest stage in Overwatch, there should be no doubt that this team has what it takes to return this next season as a top team in North America.
Even with the pieces, they have already; the 2021 Mayhem look fierce. With a new wave of talent alongside a strong base of strong performers and a staff that has proven to be ironclad, 2021 looks very promising.
Images via Blizzard Entertainment
