junior is currently North America's second-highest rated NA AWPer behind oSee

Report: Extra Salt targeting junior for 2022 roster

If Extra Salt and FURIA are able to come to a deal, junior would take over as Extra Salt's AWPer.

Dust2.us has learned from sources close to the situation that Extra Salt are in discussions to acquire Paytyn "junior" Johnson from FURIA. The 21-year-old would come into the team to replace Josh "oSee" Ohm, who is reportedly headed to Liquid as first reported by neL of 1pv.fr.

At the start of 2021, junior was thrust into the tier one scene after being signed by Brazilian organization FURIA to replace the outgoing Henrique "HEN1" Teles. Despite impressing early in the year at IEM Katowice 2021, lackluster performances later in the year saw junior sidelined in favor of Lucas "honda" Honda.

FURIA's coach, Nicholas "guerri" Nogueira, told HLTV.org at the time that junior stepped down from the team due to unexpected performance issues and pressure due to the language barrier with the all-Brazilian team. 

After a brief period out of action, junior was loaned out to Bad News Bears following the departure of Jonathan "Jonji" Carey. Despite the team falling flat at ESL Pro League Season 14, junior has been a key component in Bad News Bears' domestic success, with the team most notably winning Fragadelphia 15 over Party Astronauts. 

junior is currently Bad News Bears' highest rated player in the past three months with a 1.30 rating while also boasting a year to date 1.13 rating over 191 maps, albeit against largely domestic opponents. 

With junior, Extra Salt would look as follows:

  •  Johnny "JT" Theodosiou
  • Canada Justin "FaNg" Coakley
  • Mexico Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado
  • United States Ricky "floppy" Kemery
  • United States Paytyn "junior" Johnson
  •  Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen (Coach)
  •  Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek (Inactive)

However, Dust2.us knows that this may not be the final form of the team as Extra Salt are currently in discussions regarding additional changes to the squad. Dust2.us reached out to junior and Extra Salt for comment, with both parties declining to comment at this time.

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