Vitality have once again reached the playoffs of an event with Justinas "jL" Lekavicius serving as a stand-in, taking down Natus Vincere to complete their run to the PGL Masters Bucharest playoffs. The match came with a little bit of extra spice as it was also a chance for jL to play against his old teammates in Natus Vincere.
"To be honest, I thought it was going to be a little bit tougher," jL said of facing off against his old team. "I came into the game with just the mindset that I'm going to have fun, I'm going to do my best, I'm going to try to help my teammates the most, and we'll see where it takes us."
That mentality helped jL and Vitality to victory, but the Lithuanian rifler credits his teammates with their ability to perform despite being without their full-time IGL. "mezii doesn't set it up as good as Dan, but this is normal, mezii's not an in-game leader[...] Vitality have the ability to cover for players. They have the ability to communicate more, to organize things and that's what we're doing so well right now."
After securing a ticket for the playoffs, jL sat down with HLTV to discuss how he feels about his current stand-in stint compared to BLAST Open Porto, his mindset as a stand-in, and his future beyond the Singapore Major.
You can listen to the interview here.
So first, congratulations. How did that feel? Any mixed feelings playing your old teammates?
To be honest, I thought it was going to be a little bit tougher. I feel like I held myself pretty well there. There was nothing personal, so I don't know why I expected it to be a lot harder or tougher in front of myself. I came into the game with just the mindset that I'm going to have fun, I'm going to do my best, I'm going to try to help my teammates the most, and we'll see where it takes us.
Does it feel a little bit more fun to beat friends?
Yes. Yes.
Just those bragging rights?
Not bragging... I won't say it's bragging rights, but, to be honest, even if they beat us, they cannot walk up to me and say, "Oh, we beat you." I'm the stand-in, you know what I mean? And of course not a full line-up, losing to a line-up as a stand-in, that is a little bit worse. But it's also hard to play against a stand-in, like some stuff that we do, we mix it up before every single game. Which is normal, but I feel like we mix it up even more with the stand-ins, so.
In general, how are you feeling in this version of Vitality versus the previous one? Are you more comfortable? Because I know the roles are mixed up compared to the previous time.
This version of Vitality requires a lot more communication. It's obvious because there's no Dan, mezii doesn't set it up as good as Dan, but this is normal, mezii's not an in-game leader. We have to help him, and this is what we're here for. This is why Vitality is one of... is the best team in the world, because they have the ability to cover for players. They have the ability to communicate more, to organize things and that's what we're doing so well right now.
Which version do you think is better?
Ooh. I feel like we'll just have to wait and see. I have a feeling... Ah, I don't want to be harsh to...
Anyone.
No, never mind. No, no, I don't... No, no. It's hard. I feel like in this roster I feel a lot more comfortable. So maybe I would lean towards this roster, but this doesn't answer the question of who's a stronger version of Vitality. Because it's not the first tournament that I play with these guys I feel more confident, more comfortable. I know what to do now, a lot more than I did previously. So maybe this roster, just because we have a little bit more experience with me.
I heard you say on the broadcast that you're not necessarily looking to show yourself, you're just kind of looking to do the best that you can for Vitality, right?
Yeah.
But are you hopeful that deep runs as a stand-in will put you in the shop window and maybe keep people a little bit more interested?
I feel like even if you make the final with this roster, people are not going to be giving me the praise or giving... you know what I mean? It's just Vitality, you know? They could get an academy player and still reach finals. I think it would be too egotistical of my side to expect, to come up here with the mindset that I have to play well so other teams notice me.
The deal is with Vitality that I help... I try to help them achieve the best they can, with a stand-in, because apEX and mezii took care of their families, which is very respectable in my opinion. And yeah, so I'm not looking for it. Of course, it's nice to play well, it's nice to shoot good, but that is not the goal.
Do you know what your plans are for post-Major, looking towards the next season? Do you have any ideas yet?
Ideally I would get a team and I could compete again for trophies, but if that doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world. To be honest, if I don't find a team after Singapore, I might just call it quits. And then just focus on content, focus on wife, focus on my kid because that's coming on the way.
Congratulations.
Thank you. And, yeah, I'd much rather do other things than be in a scenario where I don't want to be in.
Do it on your own terms.
Yes. Do it on my own terms, of course. Perfect scenario, I join a good team. We play, we practice, we learn together. Because that is... I love the process. I don't necessarily just love the trophies. I love the process of getting to a trophy, working with each other, playing around each other, just being there for each other, kind of creating a second family. If I don't see it happening, I'm not just going to sign a deal just to play.
Vitality
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan
William 'mezii' Merriman
Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam
Justinas 'jL' LekaviciusPast 3 months
Natus Vincere
Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen
Mihai 'iM' Ivan
Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy
Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov
Drin 'makazze' Shaqiri
Andrey 'B1ad3' Gorodenskiy