NAVI and jL agree to mutual benching

NAVI has announced it has moved Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius to the bench following the player’s intention to take a break from Counter-Strike 2 esports.

The player revealed his unhappiness while competing under the banner of the Ukrainian esports organisation.

In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, jL shared more insight into the decision to step away from competing. The player revealed he wasn’t ‘happy playing anymore, purely of my own thoughts, and how I felt about the game and about myself.’

“I want to take a little break for six months, maybe less, maybe three, four, five,” said jL. “The sole reason for competing in tier one is being the best, and being the best requires a lot of sacrifice, and that’s what I cannot give anymore.”

jL signed for NAVI back in 2023 as the team transitioned to communicating in English. The player achieved a wealth of success during his two-year stint on the team, winning the PGL Copenhagen Major in 2024, earning an MVP medal for his performance.

As a result of jL stepping away from Counter-Strike, Drin ‘makazze’ Shaqiri takes his place on the starting lineup. Makazze was promoted from the NAVI Junior roster, which went up for sale on June 30th, 2025.

The new-look NAVI roster will make its tournament debut at IEM Cologne, where the team has already earned a place in Stage 2. Taking place from July 23rd to August 3rd, the event is the first Tier 1 tournament following the BLAST.tv Austin Major, where it finished in the top eight.

For jL, a break from the often gruelling Counter-Strike tournament schedule may reignite the passion for Valve’s first-person shooter title. For now, he will be placed on NAVI’s inactive roster alongside Andrij ‘npl’ Kukharsjkyk and Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyljev.