Justinas “jL” Lekavicius has found a better balance in Vitality’s lineup. Standing in for mezii, he is handling the responsibilities tied to that role without trying to copy the player he replaced, and he believes that freedom has helped him perform at his best.
Vitality opened BLAST Open Porto with a loss to underdogs Inner Circle, then recovered with wins over Legacy and FUT to reach the playoffs. Speaking with HLTV.org ahead of that stage, jL said the early setback made the rest of the campaign easier because both he and his teammates had to define how the stand-in arrangement would work.
“I feel like I cannot play my best game being someone else,” jL said. In his view, the opening defeat exposed small gaps that practice could not fully reveal, especially the timing of utility and the reactions that come naturally to a permanent teammate. He did not always know when mezii would support, throw flashes or smokes, or move first or second in a round.
HLTV.org also released the conversation as an audio episode.
jL is covering mezii’s duties without losing his own style
His responsibilities still matter. He takes on the grenades, support work, and entry positions that mezii normally handles, while default rounds and mid to late-round situations give him more room to trust his own decisions. The difference is less about copying every action and more about understanding when a role calls for a specific task.
That approach differs from his earlier stand-in spells. With Liquid, jL said he concentrated on playing and winning as many rounds as possible. At MOUZ, he tried to become a perfect teammate by surviving on site, helping wherever needed, and supplying utility. With Vitality, he has taken on the role’s responsibilities while still playing as himself.
The adjustment has also produced a personal result. His map against 9z was the second-best-rated LAN map of his career, and he said he prefers mezii’s roles to the ones he had at MOUZ or NAVI. He can support, entry, or even AWP when needed, although he does not see himself taking the IGL role.
Teammates helped create that room. flameZ was the first to call for more discussion after the Inner Circle loss, while apEX, ZywOo, and ropz also helped jL settle into the system. He described the process as a shared effort rather than a one-sided adjustment.
Working with the lineup has given jL a closer look at how top players communicate and build rounds. He praised ropz’s work ethic, called ZywOo talented, and described apEX as a player who wears his heart on his sleeve. Just as important, he said the group gives him room to speak and act naturally, which has made the stand-in job more comfortable.
Stand-in experience has broadened his understanding of different systems, but a permanent team remains his goal. Vitality will face FURIA in the playoffs, and jL entered the matchup confident after seeing the team repeatedly during his time with NAVI. He said Vitality had improved with every game in Porto, while the difficult route to the playoffs had given the team useful tests instead of an easy run.
Vitality’s stand-in experiment has given jL a role he prefers, but the playoff match against FURIA will test how far that adjustment can carry the team. Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
