Justinas “jL” Lekavicius was one of the breakout stars of the BLAST.tv Paris Major. In France with Apeks the Lithuanian defied all expectations to make it to the semi-finals and only fell short due to playing the eventual winners of the tournament, Vitality.

Almost a year later, jL finds himself in a very different position — he is now playing for one of the most legendary organisations in the history of esports, Natus Vincere. In NAVI, there is a greater expectation to succeed, and so far, they are doing just that as they have made it to the playoffs of the first CS2 Major, the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.

In light of the team's upcoming quarterfinal match against Eternal Fire, Bo3 reporter Sam "AN1MO" McKenzie met with jL on the eve of this game to discuss how the feeling of playing in the Major has changed, the weight of expectations, and his own place in the tournament.  

It’s not surreal [to play at a Major] anymore

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius

Let's go back to the BLAST.tv Paris Major. It was your first Major and Apeks went further than anyone expected; how were you feeling back then?

jL: It felt surreal. We never expected to make it that far, getting to the Major was the only goal we had as a team and we managed to get through to the Challengers Stage, then Legends, then playoffs, and we even made it to the semi-finals against the best team in the tournament. We fell short, the games were close, 16-14 and 16-12, it felt a lot different and we didn't expect to perform at that high level, but it taught us a few good lessons that anyone can win a game with the right preparation and it just gave us the confidence to believe in ourselves. I got a lot of confidence from that Major and I'm trying to show it now at this Major.

Now that you're at this second Major, how has the feeling of playing at a Major changed?

jL: It's not surreal anymore, I feel like I deserve to be here for the amount of work I've put into this game, but also the expectations are really high as well. You put more pressure on yourself, whereas with Apeks we had no pressure at all. The higher-ups were already satisfied with the performance and we were satisfied with the performance, so now it's down to living up to your own standards and of the people in NAVI like staff, managers, and higher-ups, but most importantly, yourself.

How do you deal with the pressure of playing for a bigger organisation?

jL: I don't think there's a special way to deal with it, you just have to trust in your own game and your own team. You have to be confident that you can beat any team and truly want to beat them. It's not like 'We should beat them' and then it doesn't work out. 

Most teams that get upset by an underdog team it's because they underestimated them, and in this day and age I don't think any team should underestimate anyone and truly work for this win.

How do you feel you've played so far at this Major in an individual sense?

jL: I feel like I've performed above the expectations of the general public. In my eyes, I feel like I could've played way better in some maps in some games, for example, against Cloud9 I couldn't find my footing at all. I'm not sure what it was, it didn't feel like I had any pressure I was just low-energy. I fucked up with my food in the middle of the day, I didn't really have a good lunch, so I was really exhausted by the second and third maps, so I just have to learn to manage my energy well and eat before games. Even if you're not hungry, the calories and the energy will boost you through the game.

I’m not a star, but I have the potential to be one

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius

Back in Cologne HLTV suggested you might be a support player on this team, something you disagreed with at the time. It doesn't feel like you're a support player on this team, if anything it feels like you're more of a star on this team, how do you feel about your place in the team?

jL: I don't feel like I'm a star, not at all, but I do feel like I pull my weight. I'm not sure I'm the one that's supposed to be doing the lifting though. 

I'm not really much of a support player, on T side at least. On CT side I take some anchor spots, some more active ones, but it's more of a balance and where we feel the most comfortable as a team which is why you'll see me anchoring on Nuke or Ancient. 

Other than that, on T side I'm the aggressive lurk so that really doesn't put me as a support player, I'm not supporting anyone, I'm just playing off the team. That doesn't mean I'm a star, but I think I have the potential to be one.

On the idea of potential then, where do you think you're at in terms of reaching your potential?

jL: I feel like I'm far away from my peak. Every single year I've made massive improvements and month by month I’m improving in my own game, even the ratings are improving as well, so I feel like I'm moving on the right track but I still have to pave the way for me to peak. Realistically, that's probably a long way off, but I'm really happy with the people I have around and I can gather as much experience that is around me and use it to apply to my own game. I'm proud of myself, but I'm not there yet, not even close.

What's it like having someone like B1ad3 around to help you get there?

jL: It's amazing. Sometimes you don't even notice your own mistakes and he's always quick to point it out and it's no bullshit. Sometimes, I make a mistake and I'm like "It's fine, whatever, maybe next time I'll do it differently" and he says "No, that was a bullshit mistake that should never happen" and you're like "Okay, if that's never supposed to happen then I won't even think about it, I'll just say 'that's bullshit' and I won't repeat it" that helps me improve at the game because there's no sugarcoating. 

Fuck the haters

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius

Aleksib is an IGL who is quite divisive in the scene. A lot of people say he has failed upwards and that he shouldn't be on NAVI, but why is it in your opinion that people do doubt him and why are they wrong to doubt him?

jL: I feel like with a huge fanbase you're always doomed to have haters. The more fans you have and the more attention you attract, there's going to be more haters. You have to remember that the haters will outspeak the fans.

In my eyes, Aleksib is a great leader and with the pieces he has been given he is doing well with the puzzle. But yeah, fuck the haters man. 

In terms of the results then, I've seen people suggest this NAVI team that this NAVI team doesn't get enough credit but also that it overperforms and goes further than it should, what's your thoughts on that?

jL: I actually have no idea, there are so many mixed opinions but there is only one truth and that's what we believe in NAVI. I mean, personally, I feel like we've underperformed. I think our ceiling is way higher than we've shown but it just comes down to the critical moments. Maybe we feel under pressure at times, we don't play our game, and we struggle to show our way of CS when it matters. With time, we'll gain more experience and then we'll truly reveal what we have as a team but right now we have to work on it.

Do you think inexperience is the big thing then? iM, w0nderful, and yourself have probably still all spent more time in tier two than in tier one.

jL: I feel like it's less about inexperience and more about how we set our mindset. Even though I don't have much experience on stage or in playoffs, I feel like I don't get affected by the pressure, of course, it's there, but if you tell yourself pressure is your friend and that it helps you to perform on the big stage then so be it. You should never look at pressure as an enemy, pressure is there just to show you that you care and that you should play your best. Use it to enhance you, not to shy you away from the game.

We have to be ready for the relentless aggression

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius

You play on Friday against Eternal Fire, how are you feeling about it?

jL: I feel good, Eternal Fire is a good opponent and they are new to these playoffs and these stage games but I think they'll do just fine. They're all very passionate about the game and their team, they're a family that is just playing CS and I think that will help them and boost their performance. We have to be ready for the relentless aggression they will show and we have to play a good game against them.

Were you surprised to see them in the playoffs?

jL: Not really, no. I think Eternal Fire has been underrated for a long time and it's nice to see that they're showing their true colours right now. 

And you're confident about beating them?

jL: Yeah, I'm confident about beating them, but I am happy for them for making it this far.

You mentioned the relentless aggression, how do you tackle that?

jL: Just expect it, if you expect aggression then you make the plans as to how to counter it and then it's easy. Of course, the situations can be different, but you just have to know what you're doing and have a plan ready.

If you expect to beat them, how far are you expecting to go after that? Have you put much thought into it?

jL: I feel like it's our best chance to get to the grand final of a Major. I've never been there before, but we do have teammates who have been there, won it, lost it, and I feel like that will boost us and our motivation and our confidence. It's our best chance to get into the final, maybe even win it.

Spirit aren’t as strong as people say they are

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius

Who do you expect to see in the final if you get there?

jL: It could be any of the four teams on that side of the bracket, but I do believe it will be either FaZe or Cloud9. 

I'm not going for the default Spirit or Vitality pick, or even really FaZe, the game we had against Cloud9 on Overpass shows how much of a step ahead they can be when they put their 100% to it and if they show the same level against the other teams then those teams are in for big trouble. 

I think FaZe will beat Spirit, and I think Spirit aren't as strong as people say they are. We've faced them twice, taken a map off them, and if you look at FaZe or Vitality they should be able to take both from them.