jL Picks Perfecto’s Spot in NAVI’s Legendary 2021 CS:GO Lineup

Justinas “jL” Lekavicius has revealed which version of a dream Counter-Strike lineup he would most like to join — and his answer points directly to one of NAVI’s greatest eras.

Asked to build a team featuring any players, including retired professionals, jL chose NAVI’s 2021 lineup and said he would take the place of Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy. That hypothetical would put jL alongside s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4 and b1t in the core that dominated the biggest stages of 2021.

The comment is not a roster report or indication of a future move. Instead, it offers an interesting look at how jL views the NAVI lineup that won the Stockholm Major and completed the Intel Grand Slam before he eventually became a NAVI player himself.

jL celebrates with the trophy after NAVI's PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 triumph, one of the defining achievements of his career.

 

Quick Summary

 

What Did jL Say About NAVI’s 2021 Lineup?

During a video for TL;DR on CS2, jL was asked which players he would choose if he could play alongside anyone, including former professionals.

His answer was shaped partly by when he began following professional Counter-Strike. jL explained that he did not watch the game before 2020, meaning his reference point for legendary teams is relatively recent.

He therefore selected NAVI from 2021.

When subsequently asked whose position he would take in that lineup, jL gave a direct answer: Perfecto.

That produces the following hypothetical five:

Importantly, jL did not claim this version would have been stronger than the real 2021 roster. The source presents the answer as a dream-team exercise, so it should not be interpreted as criticism of Perfecto or as evidence of an intended roster move.

 

Why jL Choosing NAVI From 2021 Is Significant

Perfecto was the fifth member of NAVI's championship-winning 2021 lineup — and the player jL chose to replace in his hypothetical version of the team.

 

The choice carries more weight because the 2021 NAVI roster was not simply a popular lineup — it was the team responsible for one of the organization's defining Counter-Strike seasons.

The main five consisted of s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4, Perfecto and b1t. Cybersport.ru notes that the roster won PGL Major Stockholm 2021, IEM Cologne 2021 and BLAST Premier World Final 2021 during its extraordinary year.

NAVI's own historical record describes 2021 as the Counter-Strike division's greatest year to that point, highlighted by victory at the Stockholm Major. s1mple, electronic and b1t also finished inside HLTV's year-end top 10, with s1mple ranked No. 1.

s1mple was the superstar centerpiece of NAVI's historic 2021 campaign and finally secured his first Major title in Stockholm.

 

The Intel Grand Slam

NAVI also completed Intel Grand Slam Season 3 in September 2021.

The decisive championship came after NAVI defeated Vitality 3-2, securing the $1 million Grand Slam prize. Their qualifying trophy run included IEM Katowice 2020, DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 and IEM Cologne 2021.

That accomplishment helps explain why jL's answer is notable: he effectively chose to insert himself into a lineup already proven at the highest level.

 

NAVI’s Stockholm Major Run

The defining achievement came at PGL Major Stockholm 2021.

NAVI advanced through the Legends Stage before defeating Vitality 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Gambit 2-0 in the semifinals and G2 2-0 in the grand final.

The victory delivered NAVI's first CS:GO Major championship and a $1 million first-place prize. NAVI's contemporary tournament recap also noted that the team faced every member of the then-HLTV top five during its Major campaign and won every match.

2021 NAVI Timeline

 

Why Perfecto’s Position Is an Interesting Choice

Perfecto joined NAVI in January 2020 and remained part of the organization until his transfer to Cloud9 alongside electroNic in July 2023.

NAVI credits that era with the organization's first CS:GO Major championship, the Intel Grand Slam Season 3 victory and a 38-week run at No. 1 in HLTV's ranking.

That history makes jL's choice especially interesting from a role perspective.

The two players should not automatically be treated as direct tactical equivalents. Counter-Strike roles depend heavily on map, side, system and teammates, and jL did not provide a detailed explanation of how responsibilities would be redistributed in his hypothetical lineup.

As a result, any attempt to map jL directly onto Perfecto's complete 2021 role set would be speculative.

What is confirmed is much simpler: given the five players in NAVI's 2021 lineup, jL chose Perfecto as the player he would replace.

 

Historical Comparison: 2021 NAVI vs jL’s Dream Version

The original NAVI 2021 lineup became Major champions without dropping a series at PGL Major Stockholm.

 

There is no factual basis for claiming the hypothetical lineup would be better or worse.

The value of the comparison is instead historical: four pieces of one of Counter-Strike's most successful modern lineups remain untouched in jL's selection.

 

Why This Matters

For jL, the answer connects two different NAVI generations.

He ultimately became part of NAVI himself after the organization transitioned toward an international lineup in 2023. TL;DR's coverage at the time described NAVI adding Aleksib, jL and iM as part of that move into an English-speaking international roster.

His 2026 answer therefore creates an unusual retrospective: a player from a later NAVI era choosing an earlier NAVI lineup as the team he would most like to join.

It also demonstrates the lasting status of the 2021 roster. Five years later, that lineup remains a natural reference point when modern professionals discuss elite Counter-Strike teams.

 

Tactical Impact of the Hypothetical Swap

Because this is a fantasy lineup rather than an actual roster move, there is no competitive or VRS impact.

From a tactical perspective, replacing Perfecto with jL would require adjustments rather than a simple one-for-one substitution. Exact positions cannot responsibly be projected without map-specific role information and an intended tactical system.

The most defensible conclusion is that the other four players identified by jL — s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4 and b1t — would remain unchanged, while jL would occupy the fifth roster slot.

Anything more detailed would be hypothetical.

 

What Changes Now?

Nothing changes for NAVI as a direct consequence of the comments.

There has been no roster announcement connected to jL's dream lineup, and the discussion should not be treated as evidence that NAVI intends to recreate its 2021 roster.

There is therefore no ranking, VRS, tournament-seeding or transfer impact to report.

 

What to Watch Next

The most interesting follow-up would be whether jL expands on his choice and explains why Perfecto was the player he selected.

A detailed explanation could reveal whether the answer was based on preferred positions, personalities, tactical compatibility or simply the difficulty of removing one of the other four members of NAVI's championship lineup.

Until such comments emerge, assigning a deeper motive would be speculation.

 

Official NAVI highlights from PGL Major Stockholm 2021, featuring s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4, Perfecto and b1t during their championship run.

 

 

FAQ

Which player would jL replace in NAVI's 2021 roster?

jL said he would take Perfecto's place if he could insert himself into NAVI's 2021 lineup.

What would jL's dream NAVI lineup look like?

Based on his answer, it would feature s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4, b1t and jL.

Why did jL choose NAVI from 2021?

jL explained that he did not watch Counter-Strike before 2020, so his knowledge of professional teams is centered on the more recent era. He then identified NAVI's 2021 roster as the lineup he would choose.

What did NAVI win in 2021?

Among their major achievements were PGL Major Stockholm 2021, IEM Cologne 2021 and BLAST Premier World Final 2021, while the team also completed Intel Grand Slam Season 3.

Is jL replacing Perfecto in an actual NAVI roster?

No. The comment came from a hypothetical dream-team question. There is no roster move attached to it in the cited report.