Overwatch: Breaking Down the Mayhem Academy Roster

Last week, Mayhem Academy unveiled their roster for the third season of Overwatch Contenders. With several new faces joining the squad, the Florida Mayhem’s academy team already looks very different. Here, we take a look at Mayhem Academy’s six-man roster, and discuss both the players’ history and potential dynamics moving forward.

DPS: Johannes “Shax” Nielsen and Damon “Apply” Conti

Courtesy of Mayhem Academy

Apply made Overwatch League news earlier in the year when the Florida Mayhem announced that he had been picked up on a two-way contract. The projectile specialist can potentially play on both the OWL team and its Contenders counterpart. However, Mayhem Academy currently only has six active players, meaning that Apply will likely spend most of his time with them.

Hitscan player Shax joins Apply on the team’s DPS lineup. Shax returns to the Mayhem Academy roster for a second season after a solid performance with Team Denmark at the Overwatch World Cup. Confident players in both projectile and hitscan roles will prove useful for Mayhem Academy’s flexibility, and Apply and Shax have familiarity on their side, since they played together in season two. However, the pair shares a fairly shallow Hero pool, which may pose a problem with potential meta shifts during the season.

Support: Nolan “Paintbrush” Edwards and Andreas “Epzz” Wallvingskog

Main support player Paintbrush has been on Mayhem Academy the longest, and that seniority gives him the opportunity to build off of his prior experiences with the team. New pickup Epzz joins him in the support role – he arrives from European Contenders team Orgless and Hungry.

Epzz has proven skill in both main and off support roles, and also boasts leadership experience from his previous team. He could prove a particularly powerful pickup in the season to come. Both he and Paintbrush bring experience and a solid hero pool to Mayhem Academy, and combining the two creates a strong backline to work with.

Tank: Russell “FCTFCTN” Campbell and Tim “Manneten” Bylund

Russel “FCTFCTN” Campbell. Courtesy of Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment.

Mayhem Academy finds itself in an unusual position for a Contenders team, with a tank line made up entirely of former Overwatch League players. FCTFCTN joins the squad after the Houston Outlaws released him. He has proven to be a flexible tank player who performed well with FaZe Clan and on the United States’ 2017 World Cup squad. However, he fell to the sidelines as the season progressed and fellow main tank Austin “Muma” Wilmot started on the Outlaws roster more frequently. Hopefully, FCTFCTN’s time on Mayhem Academy gives him the chance to shine once again. 

Manneten’s pickup, on the other hand, came as a surprise. He joins Mayhem Academy after his release from the Florida Mayhem roster (TGH writer Zach Stenzel breaks down the move here). After Florida’s difficult first season, Manneten could benefit from the shift to Contenders. In turn, the academy team has the chance to take advantage of its tank line’s major-league experience. Both FCTFCTN and Manneten know what the Overwatch League entails, and that knowledge could serve the whole team well as they work their way there.

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Featured image courtesy of Mayhem Academy on Twitter. 

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