Ricardo ‘JTR’ Júnior named FOKUS head coach
Ricardo ‘JTR’ Júnior has been named head coach of FOKUS, replacing Jakub ‘kuben’ Gurczyński, who was benched as the organization said it would “move forward with a new direction for the team.”
FOKUS announced earlier today that Ricardo ‘JTR’ Júnior will take over as head coach, replacing Jakub ‘kuben’ Gurczyński, who was benched. The organization said it would “move forward with a new direction for the team.”
The club did not provide a timeline for JTR’s first match in charge. The announcement follows a series of roster moves over the summer and a run of mixed results in recent events.
JTR is a Portuguese coach who led Nigma Galaxy’s women’s squad from 2021 to 2023. During that period the team won the first two seasons of ESL Impact and took titles at ESL Impact Valencia and Katowice.
After leaving Nigma Galaxy he spent a year coaching ODDIK and narrowly missed qualification for the PGL Major Copenhagen via the Americas RMR. He served as an assistant coach at FlyQuest from 2024 to 2026 and briefly stepped in as head coach at BLAST Open London 2025.
FOKUS is ranked 55th in the global VRS standings. The roster saw the departures of Georgi ‘Jorko’ Mitev and Sebastian ‘volt’ Maloș and the arrivals of Paavo ‘podi’ Heiskanen and Jacob ‘jocab’ Nerheden. Since those changes the team finished 9th–16th at BLAST Bounty, 17th–32nd in the EWC open qualifier and 9th–12th at Stake Pulse Beat II.
Erik ‘ztr’ Gustafsson remains in the active lineup alongside Matias ‘Banjo’ Kivistö, Mateo ‘Matheos’ Prišlin, podi and jocab. FOKUS has been invited to the playoff stage of NODWIN Clutch Series 12 and is signed for ROG Journey Autumn, a $20,000 event in Skövde, Sweden.
FOKUS provided no further comment on kuben’s benching beyond the announcement about the new direction. JTR joins the staff as the team prepares for the upcoming events.
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