As one of the Overwatch League teams aiming for a complete shakeup of their roster going into the 2022 season, the Florida Mayhem has continued the rebuild by welcoming back former player Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun. The team dropped him earlier this month alongside five other players.
The signing is one of few pickups the Mayhem has made in the offseason. In addition to re-signing DPS Kim “Yaki” Jun-ki, they announced the hiring of new head coach Jordan “Gunba” Graham and support Majed “SirMajed” Alrashied.
Although he first joined the team as a rookie DPS, Checkmate became the team’s main tank taking over Son “OGE” Min-seok’s role prior to being released. This was done during the middle of the season in the Summer Showdown tournament qualifiers.
The former DPS-turned-main-tank is back on DPS and is looking to showcase why he was initially brought onto the team in that role.
“Smoked our flex dps trials last year and destroyed them this year too,” said Albert Yeh, vice president of esports operations for the Mayhem, about Checkmate. “ We’re all very happy to have Checkmate back and the pieces are starting to come together. I’ll provide more insight into the pickup and how he fits perfectly once our roster is complete.”
Checkmate’s joining is a part of an ongoing overhaul process for the Florida Mayhem. Last week, Florida’s previous head coach Kim “KuKi” Dae-kuk parted ways with the team, later being replaced by Gunba. Both Gunba and Checkmate join the only remaining member from the 2021 roster, Kim “Yaki” Jun-ki, and new hire SirMajed.
