Dan “apEX” Madesclaire explained on X why he did not ask Vitality to make additional roster changes to preserve his player sticker for PGL Singapore Major 2026.
The captain responded to criticism aimed at Vitality, saying the team already had to deal with absences involving both him and mezii across two tournaments and that he did not want to create another stand-in situation solely for his sticker.
apEX knew the roster rules
The situation developed after Justinas “jL” Lekavičius played enough matches for Vitality at PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 to affect the VRS invite roster used for the Major.
Some members of the community questioned why Vitality did not make another change before jL reached the required number of matches. apEX said the team were fully aware of the consequences.
Of course we knew the rules, but as both mezii and me were out for two tournaments, it wasn’t easy for the team to handle. jL served as a stand-in during the period in which Vitality had to play without members of the regular lineup.
“I couldn’t ask them to play with another stand-in”
One theoretical solution would have required Vitality to use another stand-in and prevent jL from becoming part of the relevant invite roster.
apEX said he was not comfortable asking the team to do that simply to protect his personal sticker.
I couldn’t ask them to play with another stand-in for my sticker. I already felt bad to leave them, could not ask too much.
@itzsagka I will answer that.
Ofc we knew the rules, but as both mezi and me were out for 2 tournaments, it wasn’t easy for the team to handle.
So i couldnt ask them to play with another stand in for my sticker …
I already felt bad to leave them, could not ask too much— Dan Madesclaire (@Vitality_apEX) October 31, 2026
His response came after criticism that Vitality should have managed the roster differently once the possible sticker consequence became clear.
Vitality accepted the consequence
The decision means apEX is expected to miss out on his player sticker despite remaining part of the regular Vitality lineup for PGL Singapore Major 2026.
The situation comes from the VRS invite-roster system rather than a decision to remove apEX from the team. Matches played with jL before the Major invitation cutoff changed which five-player lineup was recognized for the invitation process.
For apEX, however, avoiding further disruption to the team was more important than changing the lineup again for an individual sticker.
