FOKUS have announced the addition of Ricardo "JTR" Júnior as head coach, who comes in to replace Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński after he was benched earlier today as the organization opted to "move forward with a new direction for the team."
JTR arrives having made a name for himself as the coach of Nigma Galaxy from 2021-2023, during which time he oversaw the female squad's dominance of the ESL Impact scene, including wins in the first two seasons of ESL Impact and ESL Impact Valencia and Katowice.
The Portuguese coach then spent a year at the helm of ODDIK, narrowly missing out on taking the team to PGL Major Copenhagen via the Americas RMR, before serving as as assistant coach at FlyQuest from 2024-2026, briefly serving as head coach for the team at BLAST Open London 2025.
JTR joins a FOKUS squad currently ranked 55th in the global VRS, the team having had a mixed start to the season following the summer departures of Georgi "Jorko" Mitev and Sebastian "volt" Maloș and the arrivals of Paavo "podi" Heiskanen and Jacob "jocab" Nerheden. They notably finished 9th-16th in BLAST Bounty, 17th-32nd in the EWC open qualifier, and 9th-12th at Stake Pulse Beat II.
Erik "ztr" Gustafsson's team has been invited to the playoff stage of NODWIN Clutch Series 12 and signed up for ROG Journey Autumn, a $20,000 event in Skövde, Sweden.
FOKUS are now:
Matias "Banjo" Kivistö Mateo "Matheos" Prišlin Erik "ztr" Gustafsson Paavo "podi" Heiskanen Jacob "jocab" Nerheden
Ricardo "JTR" Júnior (coach)
Jakub 'kuben' GurczyńskiPast 3 months
Erik 'ztr' GustafssonPast 3 months
Sebastian 'volt' MaloșPast 3 months
Jacob 'jocab' NerhedenPast 3 months
Nigma Galaxy
Georgi 'Jorko' MitevPast 3 months
Mateo 'Matheos' PrišlinPast 3 months
FlyQuest
Justin 'jks' Savage
Alistair 'aliStair' Johnston
Joshua 'INS' Potter
Declan 'Vexite' Portelli
Corey 'nettik' Browne
Aaron 'AZR' Ward
Matias 'Banjo' KivistöPast 3 months
FOKUS
Erik 'ztr' Gustafsson
Matias 'Banjo' Kivistö
Paavo 'podi' Heiskanen
Jacob 'jocab' Nerheden
Mateo 'Matheos' Prišlin
Jakub 'kuben' Gurczyński
Ricardo 'JTR' Júnior
Paavo 'podi' HeiskanenPast 3 months
ODDIK
FOKUS
Erik 'ztr' Gustafsson
Matias 'Banjo' Kivistö
Paavo 'podi' Heiskanen
Jacob 'jocab' Nerheden
Mateo 'Matheos' Prišlin