Justinas “jL” Lekavicius is gradually finding his place in Vitality after a difficult start at BLAST Open Porto 2026. The Lithuanian is temporarily taking on part of mezii’s duties, but fundamentally does not want to fully copy his style: according to jL, he can show the best version of his game only when he remains himself.
The loss to Inner Circle helped Vitality
jL’s debut in Vitality’s roster started unsuccessfully — the team sensationally lost to Inner Circle. However, the player himself believes that this defeat helped identify problems in understanding faster and understand which moments needed to be discussed more inside the team.
After the loss, it became much easier for me to play, and I think for the guys as well, because I am not mezii. I don’t know all the reactions, I don’t know in which situations he supports, throws flashes or smokes.
On paper, I can understand his role, but not every round goes according to plan. We talked all of this through, and after that it became much easier to play.
This became a kind of reset point for Vitality. After the opening failure, the team managed to adapt its interactions around the new player and reach the playoffs, while jL gradually began to look much more comfortable in the new system.
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jL does not want to turn into a copy of mezii
The Lithuanian admits that he still has to perform certain duties of mezii. This concerns grenades, supporting teammates, going out first or second in specific rounds. But as soon as the round structure becomes more free, jL tries to return to his own style.
The duties, of course, have to be taken on, because there are many rounds where mezii throws grenades, uses utility, goes out first or second. I do that.
But in the mid-round, late-round, and sometimes even at the start of the round, if we play default without a specific plan, I simply remain myself and play my own game.
This balance is what jL considers the main difference from previous stand-in experiences. It is important for him to do the work the team needs, but not bind himself so rigidly to someone else’s game model that he loses his own strengths.
In MOUZ, jL tried to be someone he is not
jL has already had experience of short stints with other teams, so he can compare different approaches. In Liquid, he simply tried to win as many rounds as possible, while during his time with MOUZ he focused much more strongly on performing the role required of him as precisely as possible.
In MOUZ, I tried to be someone I actually am not. I just performed the role, tried to survive on the site, did everything to be the perfect teammate: helped, survived, threw flashes.
In Vitality, I take on mezii’s duties, but after that I try to remain myself. I feel that I cannot show my best game while being someone else.”
That is why the current experience in Vitality looks more comfortable for him. The team is not trying to get an exact copy of mezii, but allows jL to keep his own identity after performing the basic functions required for the system.
The whole team helps in Vitality
At the same time, adaptation does not rest solely on jL’s shoulders. According to him, his teammates actively help him understand the details of Vitality’s game, and flameZ was one of the first to notice the problem, suggesting after the opening match that the team should discuss specific situations more.
I think it is 50/50, but the guys are definitely trying to help me. Especially flameZ. After the first game, he realized that I felt uncomfortable and was the first to tell the team that we needed to talk more about certain things. But apEX, ZywOo, ropz also help — everyone helps. It is collective work.
This approach allows Vitality to gradually rebuild individual interactions without needing to completely change their own system. For a stand-in, this is especially important, because there is much less time for full integration than in a regular transfer.
mezii’s roles turned out to be comfortable for jL
Although some positions are new for the Lithuanian, he himself assesses his role in the current roster positively. jL even admitted that mezii’s duties suit him more than some positions he previously played in MOUZ and NAVI.
Some roles I had not played before, but it does not matter much — it is still a team game.
We have been playing Counter-Strike for so long that I think we can perform practically any role. Personally, I like mezii’s roles more than my old roles in MOUZ or NAVI. It is not easy, but I understand what I have to do.
This may be one of the reasons why, after a difficult debut, his individual form quickly started improving. Instead of mechanically copying another player, jL received a set of tasks that combine quite well with his versatility.
jL saw Vitality from the inside
Separately, the Lithuanian highlighted the opportunity to work alongside ZywOo, ropz, and apEX. According to him, watching demos does not allow you to fully understand the logic behind such players’ decisions, because many details are hidden in communication and in how the team develops a specific round.
ropz — I have never seen a player who works more than him. Maybe he is not talented, maybe he just works very hard. ZywOo is definitely talented, and apEX is special.
All of Vitality simply remain themselves, and that makes it more pleasant to play. Here, you don’t need to hide anything — I can make a joke or just be myself, and that helps a lot.
For jL, this stand-in period has therefore become not only an opportunity to play a big tournament, but also a chance to see one of the most successful teams of recent seasons from the inside. Such experience may be useful even after his short spell in Vitality ends.
Vitality are confident before the match against FURIA
The next test will be the quarter-final against FURIA. jL knows this opponent well from his time in NAVI and believes that Vitality have good chances, although he does not expect an easy series.
I think we are confident against any team — it does not matter who it is. Personally, I beat FURIA many times with NAVI, we understand how they play.
I feel that with every match at this tournament we have become better, and the fact that we did not get an easy path only helps.
It is the match-to-match progress that now looks like Vitality’s main argument. The team started the tournament with a painful loss, but managed to use it for adaptation, while jL gradually found a way to perform the necessary role without giving up his own identity.
jL found the right balance
jL’s story in Vitality so far shows an important difference between replacing a player and copying his functions. The Lithuanian takes on the necessary duties of mezii, but does not try to fully reproduce his style — and according to his own words, this is exactly what allows him to remain effective.
For Vitality, this approach is already working well enough for the team to reach the playoffs after an unsuccessful start. Now the main question is how far they can go if jL continues to adapt without sacrificing his own game.
