Florida Mayhem is an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Miami and Orlando, Florida. The team competes in the Overwatch League as a member of the league's Atlantic South Division. Founded in 2017, Florida Mayhem is one of the league's twelve founding members and is owned and operated by Florida-based esports organization Misfits Gaming and CEO Ben Spoont. The organization also runs Mayhem Academy, an academy team for the Mayhem that competed in Overwatch Contenders, but the team has temporarily ceased play. They will host home matches in the Watsco Center at the University of Miami and the Full Sail Live Venue at Full Sail University. Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis was appointed the team's first head coach, but after finishing second-to-last in 2018 and a poor start to 2019, we was replaced mid-season by Oh "Unread" Nam-hun. Florida ended the 2019 season in last place.
Franchise history
Team creation: 2016–2017
The team that would become the Florida Mayhem was formed in June 2016 as the first foray into Overwatch for Misfits Gaming, after Misfits picked up the European team Graviton Surge. The original roster included Sebastian "Zebbosai" Olsson, who would play in the inaugural season of the Overwatch League as the main support player for the Mayhem. On July 12, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that Misfits, which is partially owned by the NBA team Miami Heat, had acquired an Overwatch League franchise for the Miami–Orlando area. On November 2, the organization revealed that the franchise would be named the Florida Mayhem and announced the transfer of the existing Misfits Overwatch roster to the Mayhem. With no further roster moves, the Mayhem headed into the inaugural Overwatch League season with only six players, the minimum required for the Overwatch League and the fewest players among the 12 inaugural season teams.
Early years: 2018–present
On January 11, 2018, the Mayhem played their first Overwatch League match, a 1–3 loss to the London Spitfire. The following week, on January 19, they notched their first-ever victory after defeating the Shanghai Dragons 4–0; this would be their only win during Stage 1 of the season. On May 2, head coach Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis temporarily stepped down from his position, citing that he had been experiencing "various health issues" and burnout since stage two. Assistant coach Choi "r2der" Hyun-jin and analyst Albert Yeh lead the team in his absence until his return at the beginning of Stage 4. The team ended the 2018 regular season with a record, second-to-last in the League. The Mayhem were not able to find much more success in their 2019 season. After finishing Stage 1 with only one win, the Mayhem announced their intention to implement an all-Korean team and fired two coaches, including head coach Mineral. The team's struggles continued in Stage 2, as they did not win a single match. Prior to Stage 3, the Mayhem's all-Korean overhaul continued, as they made several roster changes. Florida hired Oh "Unread" Nam-hun amidst a one-win Stage 3 as the team's new head coach. The Mayhem found success in Stage 4, when the league implemented a 2-2-2 role lock, as they were able to win four of their final five matches. For the 2020 season, the Mayhem debuted new colors, trading the yellow and red color scheme that the team had used for two years in favor of a 1980s Miami color scheme, featuring pink, teal, and black.
Team identity
The Mayhem's branding was officially unveiled on November 2, 2017. The team's logo features the letter M inscribed in a bomb with a palm tree-shaped fuse. The team colors were originally red, to pay homage to the original Misfits team; yellow, to represent Florida, the "Sunshine State;" and black, tying in with the Miami Heat. Prior to the 2020 season, the colors were changed to black, pink, and teal, similar to the Miami Vice-inspired alternate jerseys that were used in the 2019 season.
On February 22, 2018, the Mayhem formally announced their academy team for Overwatch Contenders North America would be called "Mayhem Academy". In 2019 Season One, Mayhem Academy became the first team ever to defeat Fusion University, which had never lost a regular season or playoff match in three seasons of play. Mayhem Academy temporarily ceased play following 2019 Season One to "retool" the team as a whole. Many of the former MA players formed Revival, a team that competed in 2019 Season Two.
