Last week in this column, I said that Ryan Hayakawa was the only person to officially win two Shonen Jump Championships. I promised that I’d explain that comment the following week, and now it’s time for me to make good.

John Jensen has also won two Shonen Jump Championships . . .

 . . . well, sort of.

Before Team NeXus was founded, Jensen played with groups of friends. He attended Orlando last year as part of such a group, which included Andrew Fredella. As fate would have it, both made it to the finals of the tournament. While both duelists were friends and teammates, a Shonen Jump Championship must result in a champion, so Jensen and Fredella played off for the trophy and title anyway. It was extremely late and the tournament venue was actually closing, so the two friends played fast and loose. If they’d had it their way, it would have been a draw.

As a somewhat unfortunate result, Fredella got the credit for the win and Jensen didn’t become a household name until his successive victory in Atlanta. Now that Jensen’s a star player known worldwide (and a huge asset to Team NeXus), he’s escaped the potential obscurity that he once faced. Here’s a look at his stats!

Name: John Jensen

Age: 16

Occupation: Student, Part Time Worker

Location: Coral Springs, Florida

Team: Team NeXus

Accomplishments:

—Co-Winner of Shonen Jump Championship Orlando 2005

—Winner of Shonen Jump Championship Atlanta 2005

Jensen has also won a plethora of local tournaments around Florida, where his name was well-known long before Shonen Jump Championship action hit the Sunshine State. His reputation for excellence got him a spot on Team NeXus, one of the most well-sponsored teams in the country (endorsed by Ultra Pro and B.R.A.D.’s Sportscards & Collectibles).

Jensen explains, “Rich Brody and his wife Denise Brody, the owners of B.R.A.D.’s, have been willing to sponsor us and allow us to maintain full control of our team. In return, we have given Rich a vote whenever we hold our team meetings. Our team votes on any major thing that will affect the team, and by giving our sponsor a vote also, he can contribute to the overall success of the team. Also, through Rich, we were able to acquire Ultra Pro as sponsors. This definitely lightens the load whenever we need supplies or when we travel. Rich has a lot of things planned to help out our team.”

I’ve met Rich and Denise, and they’ve always seemed like awesome people. Their efforts to support Team NeXus have gone far beyond the boundaries of what a sponsor would normally do, and it doesn’t just end at money and cards. It was something Jensen wanted to address and give the Brodys credit for. “During Hurricane Wilma, when most of South Florida was without electricity, the Brodys still had power. They attempted to contact the entire team to offer us a place to stay with them until we each got power back. We don’t consider Rich and Denise sponsors—they’re more like family, friends, and honorary team members.”

With Jensen’s gratitude expressed, I asked him one of my favorite two-part questions. First, whether or not he classified himself as a gamer, and second, when he started playing. “I do classify myself as a gamer,” he answered. “I’ve been playing games of one [kind] or another since I was very young. I’ve always been a competitive person, and even though I enjoy playing TCGs, my gaming originated by playing videogames. I’m also a black belt in Karate.” I had no idea that Jensen practiced martial arts, but I’m pretty sure he was serious.

His favorite gaming experiences aside from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG? “I enjoy playing Super Smash Brothers Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube and Halo 2 Online for the Xbox.” Since these are both social games, they paint a good picture of his attitude towards gaming. When you meet John Jensen, he’s a friendly individual, but he carries an unmistakable air of competition.

In fact, it was competition that brought Jensen to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in the first place. “I first began playing to be competitive with a friend. I keep playing because a lot of my friends play it.” More than competition keeps him dueling, though. “My teammates and I are not only teammates,” Jensen continued, “but we’re all close friends. They keep me in check, and as long as we keep this close-knit family together, I think I’ll continue playing.”

Being at the top of his game (as well as the game), Jensen had a few people on his mind when I asked him who he respected—who he considered the best duelists out there right now. “It’s kind of tough to classify any single individual as better than another,” he admitted. “But there are a few people I believe to have been very consistent of late: Anthony Alvarado from Team Overdose and Paul Levitin from Team Scoop.” It would be hard to argue with him on those choices. Still, he wasn’t finished. “I do think that Glenn Lightfoot, a fellow teammate of mine, also deserves to be included, even though he does not get enough national recognition because he’s unable to travel with the team. I also know that if I don’t mention Miguel Garcia and Gary Kuchta [also teammates], they might get a little angry at me.” He laughed. Garcia took the team to the finals of the US National Championships last year and made the Top 8 at Durham scant weeks ago. Kuchta put forth an impressive showing there too, falling just short of making Day 2 due to tiebreakers, taking a wince-worthy ninth place.

Of course, the question of who a duelist thinks is overrated can sometimes be a lot more interesting than who they think is deserving of praise. Like most, though, Jensen showed his class and refused to give me a solid answer. “I do believe there are a few players out there that are overrated, but I’m not the type of person to step on anyone’s toes,” he smiled politely.

I asked him to expand a bit on how he got into the game, and Jensen was happy to oblige. “My longtime friend, Cody Majewski, showed me the anime one day, and I was hooked. Most cartoons and anime series at the time had TCGs based on them. Once we found out that Yu-Gi-Oh! also had a TCG, we tried it out, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

His favorite card? “In the previous format, I used to like Injection Fairy Lily, only because it was a means to end the game fast. In this format, I like Breaker the Magical Warrior.”

He went on to discuss some of his fond tournament memories. “My favorite tournament experience will have to be Orlando [last year]. It was my second major event (my first was Nationals 2004), and I was doing really well and all my friends were there supporting me. I knew most of the players in the Top 8. I reached the finals and I had to face a friend, Andrew Fredella. We had decided to split the Top 2, but we played out a game for fun to see who would have their picture taken with the card and so there could be a final matchup. Both Andrew and I consider ourselves to be co-champions, even though he was the one that got the credit for it.”

I asked him if he was working on any cool tech or new deck ideas. “Not really. If it happens, it does. Nothing is really new tech, just cards that are rarely played in current decks.”

Shifting gears, I asked him what his three favorite possessions were. It’s a cheesy question, but it’s always pretty revealing. “I really can’t think of three things as I’m not a very materialistic person, but to answer the question and give you something to write about,” he smiled, “I would just have to say my laptop, Xbox, and why not? My deck.”

We continued discussing Jensen’s involvement with Team NeXus, and the conversation turned to how he joined. “Frank Debrito and Paul Lyn created the team [with] myself, Feroze Ramcharan, and former teammate Mitchell Rabsatt [already] in mind.” You might remember Feroze Ramcharan from his Top 8 performance with Cyber-Stein OTK at Shonen Jump LA, as well as our coverage on him at Shonen Jump Durham. “We were all close friends and were already doing the things that teams did, but we didn’t really have a name. Frank came up with a name and we went with it from there.”

When NeXus debuted in major competition, they came out of nowhere and instantly started making an impact. I was curious as to what it was like to be a part of that, so I asked. “We always won the local tournaments we attended and the Regional qualifiers,” answered Jensen, “and we felt confident we could also be an impact on the national level if we were just able to travel. Once we traveled and earned respect [for] our accomplishments, well, it felt really nice to be part of something that you know is doing well.”

With a championship and a half under his belt, I wondered to what Jensen attributed his success. Was it his competitive nature? Luck? Teamwork?

“Drinking milk. It does a body good. Haven’t you seen the commercials?” Jensen grinned. “Also, to good friends that stick by me and help me when I need it, my teammates for the helpful deckbuilding advice here and there, Feroze Ramcharan, Frank Debrito, and Paul Lyn for always pushing me and driving me to the major tournaments, and to Rich at B.R.A.D.’s for taking care of the team.” Aww, it was teamwork after all. Take that, milk!

While they’re not particularly outspoken, Team NeXus is one of the strongest dueling groups in North America. With three level 3 judges in their ranks, a Nationals finalist, multiple Shonen Jump Championship Top 8 performances, and two Shonen Jump Champions (Fredella has represented NeXus on many occasions), they continue to show the world why Florida is, and always has been, a hotbed for Yu-Gi-Oh! play. With new recruits like Daniel Fitzgerald, who made it to the semi-finals in Orlando this past week, NeXus continues to get more powerful with each passing week. Both the team, and John Jensen, have nowhere to go but up!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer