When we look at the Mayhem Classic, or any of the other Semi Finals, there are 4 questions we should ask to determine if they were successful. 4 basic questions to create a simple measure of if an elite competition crushed it, or missed the mark.
As we dive in, you might be surprised to find out that none of these questions involve squats.
Did games caliber athletes earn the spots to the CrossFit Games?
In the PGA, a golf course makes the tournament. Amen Corner at Augusta, the 17th green at The Players Championship or the Stadium Hole at Waste Management Open all create memorable but different moments.
While these differences exist, the best still golfers rise to the top.
The same can happen with Semi finals. Different events, different programming, the best athletes advancing to the Games.
Now, not all programming impacts athletes the same. While Austin Hatfield won Mayhem, if he went against the same field of athletes at the Syndicate Crown, he may not win. And that’s ok.
Semifinals don’t need to find the Fittest on Earth, but they do need the right people to the Games.
When it comes to the Mayhem Classic, without a doubt the 4 Games tickets found worthy homes.. Austin Hatfield, Colten Mertens, Fee Saghafi and Abigail Domit have all been to the Games before, and all deserve to go back in 2025.
Was it entertaining to watch?
For the sport to grow, people need to watch. Ideally in person, but at the very least online. This puts the ownership on the organizers to create entertaining events, which will highlight the best CrossFitters in the world. If fans aren’t watching the Semi Finals, the sport is in some trouble.
Fans tuned into the Mayhem Classic, and rather enthusiastically. Less than a week after the Mayhem Classic, the Day 1 livestream is sitting at over 198K views, while day 2 sits at 188K views. In comparison, Day 2 of the Individuals from Wodapalooza is sitting at 209K live stream views, two and a half months after the action stopped in Miami.
Did the athletes get paid?
In an ideal world, all athletes win enough to cover their travel expenses for themselves and a coach or support person.
Unfortunately the sport isn’t there even at the highest level. At the 2025 CrossFit Games only the top 20 athletes will receive a check.
So when it comes to the Semifinals, if the top handful of athletes can earn enough to cover their expenses for this stage I’d call it a win. If the athletes who are lucky enough to advance to the CrossFit Games could also cover costs for their trip to Albany, New York, even better.
The Mayhem Classic had a total of $87,000 in prize money, with $15,000 going to first place, $10,000 for second and $5,000 to third.
Did Mayhem make money?
Yes, this is something we should think about. Organizers running profitable competitions is critical for the long term development of the sport. If they can’t recover the costs of running the competition, they’ll stop running them. It’s as easy as that.
Part of this involves CrossFit HQ maintaining a season structure for multiple years for these competitions to gain momentum. With new ownership on the horizon, who knows what the future brings.
At the end of the day, a successful competition ecosystem involves the competitions making money.
Did Mayhem make money is going to be more complicated than the other Semi finals. Mayhem has a number of revenue streams, and the Mayhem Classic may just be a marketing tool for the larger book of business. It might be a few months before Mayhem can determine if they received a positive return on the Mayhem Classic.
