Is junior back?
Early in 2023, Jerric "wiz" Jiang was called up from Evil Geniuses Black to serve for the main team. His departure left an AWP-shaped hole in EG Black's lineup, and to fill the gap, EG went with a tried and true sniper, Paytyn "junior" Johnson.
junior has been a divisive figure in North American Counter-Strike. He emerged from the same class of up-and-comers as Michael "Grim" Wince and Ricky "floppy" Kemery, promising to inject young talent into the aging cores of American teams. However, when his time came to join FURIA, he left much to be desired. After less than five months, junior was benched and eventually dropped from the lineup, failing to meet expectations.
Back stateside, Junior linked up with Bad News Bears, and immediately showed his detractors why he was venerated in the first place. While unable to cut it in tier-one Counter-Strike on FURIA, junior showed up in spades on BNB, which earned him a shot on Complexity.
However, as North American viewers know, he failed to live up once more as he was benched just half a year in. History doesn't often repeat itself, but it does rhyme. After Complexity, junior has found his new home on EG Black, and wouldn't you know it, he's been fragging up a storm in NA CS recently.
Although it's only been a few months, junior's first showings on EG Black are very positive. In his 43 maps played thus far, Junior's posted a 1.00 rating or higher in 86% of them. He sits at an average rating of 1.28, which is much improved for the struggling AWPer.
In fact, by basically every metric, his first few weeks at EG have far surpassed what wiz was able to accomplish for the team. junior leads his predecessor in rating, KAST, and impact, generally outpacing wiz on the server.
His accomplishments are not just limited to individual results. EG Black recently finished third in NA Challenger League, only losing to ATK twice in the playoffs (junior had a 1.30 rating in ECL playoffs). Plus, EG Black have just qualified for ESL Challenger Melbourne, taking revenge on ATK in the qualification finals. They are a staple in the domestic scene, consistently showing up in semifinals, no doubt thanks to Junior.
Last weekend, he powered his team to a significant upset over his former Brazilian teammates where he was the clear star of the show. The young AWPer continued that momentum against Imperial, however it was not enough as EG Black would lose in two maps. It's clear that in this new opportunity, junior has not only stepped up, but shown that in the right environment he can become a tremendous asset.
Overall, it's positive to see that a second failed stint at tier one has not ruined junior's fragging ability. He still dominates in North America, and has propelled EG Black to good finishes at recent events. Junior is back to the level we know he can be at.
