Jonathan “Jonji” Carey will be stepping onto the server one final time for the Bad News Bears at the IEM Fall North American RMR, Rush B Media has learned. This change in direction follows Jonji’s recent announcement that he would be permanently stepping down from the organizationless team.
The initial move was sparked by the team’s loss to Team oNe last Friday, subsequently eliminating them from DreamHack Open September entirely. The 22-year-old rifler had been a part of the roster since January, this being his second stint playing under the Bad News Bears banner.
This iteration of the team saw them revelling in success on the domestic front — having most recently won Fragadelphia 15, as well as ESEA Premier S36 and a plethora of ESEA & Mythic Cash Cups. Unfortunately, the roster has struggled to translate their domestic performances to the international stage, failing to claim even a single map on their trips over the Atlantic to Europe at IEM Cologne and ESL Pro League Season 14.
As of now, it is unclear who Jonji’s replacement will be, having played the most recent ESEA Cash Cup with their coach — Nathan “madcow” Retterath. The lineup surprisingly still managed to come out victorious at the weekend tournament despite this, beating Party Astronauts in the grand final with a 2-1 scoreline. The IEM Fall RMR will prove to be vitally important for Bad News Bears as this will be their final opportunity to qualify for the upcoming PGL Major in Stockholm next month; they will need to place 5th or better to secure enough points in the rankings for a qualification spot.
The bears’ next tournament is the North American QualiFiRe where they are expected to field a stand-in for their rematch against Team oNe on October 1st. Following that, they begin their IEM Fall campaign on October 5th at 15:00 EDT with their first match being versus Team Liquid.
Bad News Bears’ roster at IEM Fall will therefore be:
- Jonathan “Jonji” Carey
- Michael “Swisher” Schmid
- Gabe “Spongey” Greiner
- Alan “Shakezullah” Hardeman
- Paytyn “junior” Johnson
- Nathan “madcow” Retterath (Registered Substitute)
