  The first three observing runs with Advanced LIGO and Virgo have resulted in
the detection of binary black hole mergers (BBH) with highly unequal mass
components, which are difficult to reconcile with standard formation paradigms.
The most representative of these is GW190814, a highly asymmetric merger
between a 23 M$_{\odot}$ black hole and a 2.6 M$_{\odot}$ compact object. Here,
we explore recent results suggesting that a sizeable fraction of stars with
pre-collapse carbon-oxygen core masses above 10 M$_{\odot}$, and extending up
to at least 30 M$_{\odot}$, may produce objects inside the so-called lower mass
gap that bridges the division between massive pulsars and BHs in Galactic X-ray
binaries. We demonstrate that such an explosion landscape would naturally cause
a fraction of massive binaries to produce GW190814-like systems instead of
symmetric-mass BBHs. We present examples of specific evolutionary channels
leading to the formation of GW190814 and GW200210, a 24+2.8 M$_{\odot}$ merger
discovered during the O3b observing run. We estimate the merger-rate density of
these events in our scenario to be $\mathcal{O}$(5%) of the total BBH merger
rate. Finally, we discuss the broader implications of this formation channel
for compact object populations, and its possible relevance to less asymmetric
merger events such as GW200105 and GW200115
