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jL competing at IEM Cologne 2023.
Photo by Stephanie Lindgren via ESL FACEIT Group

‘Screw Aleksib haters’: jL defends CS:GO in-game leader after years of criticism

The 23-year-old cleared the air and defended his teammate.

CS:GO in-game leader Aleksib has received a lot of flak from the game’s community in the past couple of years. His new teammate jL has stood in his defense though, claiming it is unjustified.

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The Finnish IGL led Natus Vincere to victory over OG on July 31. After the game, jL took a minute to address Aleksib’s haters. He told them to screw themselves, and that the responsibility after a loss lies on the whole team, not the IGL himself.

“Screw Aleksib haters. Every single time [I] go to HLTV, [I see] ‘Aleksib is the problem, Aleksib is losing the game.’ No, it doesn’t happen like that. The team is responsible for the losses and the wins, it’s not just the in-game leader,” jL said.

The 23-year-old player admitted the IGL might have more problems to solve due to their role in the team, but in the end, the results of a team are the squad’s burden and responsibility, not just an issue for one player: “If we lose, it’s our fault.”

We can’t deny we feel as if jL’s comments were needed. Aleksib has been a part of a few international rosters for the past few years, including G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Each of these rosters failed to meet their expectations, though it felt like the community put all the blame on the Finnish player, forgetting that essentially CS:GO is a team game.

Related: Nostalgic Counter-Strike fans dream of their favorite pros returning for CS2

Aleksib is one of three new NAVI additions alongside jL and iM. The team had their first test at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023, where they managed to qualify for Fall Finals. So far, they played two matches at IEM Cologne 2023, overcoming OG and losing to MOUZ. They will play FaZe Clan for a spot in the group B lower bracket final on Aug. 1.


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Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.