John Lucian Goins probably isn’t a name that a lot of people outside of the Florida pickleball space are familiar with.

Well, that was true. But not anymore.

The 16-year-old picked up the biggest win of his budding career Thursday afternoon, an 8-11, 11-1, 11-7 triumph over top seed Ben Johns, who was fresh off a title at last month’s Carvana Mesa Cup presented by Proton.

After dropping a tightly contested opening game, Goins caught fire and began ripping winners from the baseline.

That precision—combined with impressive length and touch in cat-and-mouse rallies at the kitchen line—helped the junior tennis (and, obviously, pickleball) star comfortably take Game 2 and jump out to a 9-3 lead in the decider.

As he’s done countless times throughout his career, Johns admirably fought his way back into the contest and cut the deficit to just two.

But Goins would not be denied and forced an errant forehand volley from Johns a few moments later to secure a marquee victory in Cape Coral.

These two actually faced off in Virginia Beach last October, with Johns prevailing 11-4, 11-9. Despite the loss, that experience—and the knowledge that he almost forced a third game—gave Goins some extra confidence and belief coming into Thursday’s bout.

“I’ve played Ben before, so I knew I could do it,” he said. “I was there with him the last time in the second set, so I knew I just had to put my head down and get to work.”

Well, the work is finished, at least for a few minutes.

Goins will look to continue his run and make his first career PPA Tour final when he faces No. 6 seed Jaume Martinez Vich next.