A fan favorite is returning to the scene. Vitality has announced that former NAVI player Justinas “jL” Lekavičius will temporarily join the team. The Lithuanian will replace William “mezii” Merriman and Dan “apEX” Madeskler at the BLAST Open Porto and PGL Masters Bucharest, respectively—both players will miss the tournaments due to paternity leave.
Vitality did not specify which tournament each player would miss. However, Sebastian “KRL” Pérez had previously reported that mezii would not play in the BLAST Open Porto, while apEX would miss the PGL Masters Bucharest.
jL’s return comes at a challenging time for Vitality. After an incredible streak of five consecutive tournament wins at the start of the year, the team has failed to make the top 4 in three straight tournaments.
For jL, this is another opportunity to return to active competition following his departure from NAVI in July. Earlier this year, the Lithuanian player already competed for MOUZ as a stand-in.
If mezii and apEX miss the tournaments, as previously reported, Vitality will field the following lineups:
BLAST Open Porto:
- 🇫🇷 Dan «apEX» Mădăsclescu
- 🇪🇪 Robin «ropz» Kool
- 🇫🇷 Mathieu «ZywOo» Herbaut
- 🇮🇱 Shahar «flameZ» Shushan
- 🇱🇹 Justinas «jL» Lekavicius
PGL Masters Bucharest:
- 🇬🇧 William «mezii» Merriman
- 🇪🇪 Robin «ropz» Kool
- 🇫🇷 Mathieu «ZywOo» Herbaut
- 🇮🇱 Shahar «flameZ» Shushan
- 🇱🇹 Justinas «jL» Lekavicius