FURIA add Junior to CSGO roster ahead of BLAST Premier Finals

FURIA have brought in their first non-Brazilian player in Paytyn ‘Junior’ Johnson to bolster their squad for 2021. The former Triumph AWPer will be thrown into the deep end with FURIA, competing in the BLAST Premier Global Finals on Jan. 19.

FURIA are getting acclimatized to North America by picking up some homegrown talent and adding some regional diversity to their roster.

The Brazilian team has picked up their first ever American player in Triumph’s Junior just before the 2021 season is set to kick off.

“Ever since FURIA moved to NA, they’ve been my favorite team on and off the server. I’ve looked up to their lineup, raw skill, and supportive fans for a long time now. I couldn’t be happier to join them and make the Brazilian community proud,” he said on Twitter after the announcement.

Triumph, alongside Chaos, made a mark on North American CS:GO during its darkest hour. While the plug was pulled on many teams ⁠— including Chaos themselves ⁠— Triumph thrived, ending the year on a high by coming second at IEM Beijing 2020.

Junior himself posted decent stats for the squad, sitting on an average rating of 1.13 for 2020. He was the leading force behind their unlikely surge to the top of NA, and he’s gotten the reward for his efforts.

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Junior’s pickup also comes after FURIA’s rise in 2020 to become arguably the best team in the Americas. They currently sit in sixth on the HLTV standings, with Liquid sitting behind them in ninth.

However, there have been concerns about the language barrier between Junior and his teammates. The Brazilian squad communicates in Portuguese, while Junior is an English native speaker.

The new squad will be instantly put to the test at the BLAST Premier Global Finals. They are set to face G2 on January 19 as their first major challenge, with no easing into this new project.