When you think of Keith “NAF” Markovic you think of North American Counter-Strike. With a longer stint on first OpTic Gaming and subsequently the NA flagship of Team Liquid, NAF has been one of the most influential and successful players in the region throughout history. 

But as so often said; All good things must come to an end.

Because in a recent [link:{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxFkfXktJeM&t","isNewTab":true,"text":"interview "}]on the ‘The Mauisnake Show’ hosted by Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg, NAF reveals that he’s hoping to get the chance to play and live over the Atlantic in the future. 

- I actually think about it from time to time, the rifler said when Mauisnake brought up the topic. At one point in my career, I hope to play on a full five-man European lineup in Europe. You can see the inspiration with Twistzz and what he's done on FaZe, he's done a phenomenal job and I spend a lot of time talking with him… I hope one day I get to play on a top European team.

- We have spent so much time playing in Europe that I’m already accustomed to it – honestly, I don’t care, I could live anywhere in the world. Just give me a mouse and keyboard and I will play… who knows maybe one day there’s a European team in store for me and hopefully, I get a chance, NAF stated. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"video-story-naf","isNewTab":true}]

NAF points towards numerous disadvantages of playing in North America when speaking with Mauisnake. Most problematic is the constant flying between Europe and home but also the practice level in the otherwise massive region.

- I get to live in Europe and play Counter-Strike full-time, whereas the thing that has bothered and annoyed me with playing in North America is how we have to fly back and forth.

- I get to fly home, adjust to jetlag, handle any personal things I need to handle and then try to find scrims in North America – but then again, the players in NA aren’t even playing the same way as the European players and don’t have the same understanding. Me practicing in NA is essentially just a waste of time, NAF honestly explained.

You can watch the entire episode with NAF down below. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"naf-state-liquid-its-about-players-whats-going-internally-anymore","isNewTab":true}]

NAF is currently tied to Team Liquid through 2024. 

Team Liquid

IHC has been the big upset team at IEM Katowice. At the Play-in stage the Mongolians wiped out all Brazilian hope taking down both paiN and FURIA. Today they came close to continuing their American vendetta against Team Liquid.

On Inferno, IHC started out brilliantly and quickly established a firm lead. At 9-1, the commentators were left in disbelief. But then the impressive T side from IHC got dismantled. Team Liquid used several of their tactical pauses to get themselves back on the right track. EliGE and NAF stepped up and helped Liquid back in the match only trailing 6-9 at the break.

Unfortunately for IHC, their impressive start to the match did not last. Liquid won Inferno after a good T side, and on Overpass it was one-way traffic on the scoreboard. Here Liquid demonstrated that they were much more comfortable on the map. Again EliGE and NAF stole the show with above 100 ADR each on the map. Liquid won 16-6 and is now ready to face NAVI tomorrow in the upper bracket.

IHC drops down to the lower bracket where another tough opponent awaits in Cloud9.

MVP: {cflag:CA} Keith 'NAF' Markovic - 1.65 rating / 52-22 K-D / 98.5 ADR

EliGE

Poland has hosted a CS:GO Major four times, while Sweden, USA, and Germany have done it three times. But who should host the 20th edition of the World Championship of CS:GO? 

In May 2023 Paris and France will host the event for the first time, while the location of the second CS:GO Major of the year has yet to be revealed. At the BLAST World Finals in Abu Dhabi, we asked Nemanja "nexa" Isaković, Keith "NAF" Markovic, and Emil "Magisk" Reif.

The three players gave very different answers which could have something to do with their nationality... For Emil "Magisk" Reif a CS:GO Championship on home soil would be 

- We are the country in the world with the most Majors. The Danish fans deserve a Major in Denmark, but I'm obviously biased so that's me. But I am glad that Brazil also had one. It was an amazing Major and an amazing experience. For me, it is time for a Danish Major to be honest.

Denmark currently hold the record for most CS:GO Championships. 21 times a Dane has won a CS:GO Major, while Sweden is at 20. Emil "Magisk" Reif won a CS:GO Major three times with Astralis in 2018-19.

You can see what NAF and nexa had to say in the video below.

Magisk

nexa

Team Vitality

Team Liquid has made it to the Semi-Final after the North American team took down NAVI in the Quater-finals. 

Keith "NAF" Markovic was clearly a happy man when we spoke with him at BLAST World Final after Liquid's impressive win over NAVI.

One year ago at BLAST Fall Finals 2021 in Copenhagen, the Team Liquid roster was in shambles. The tensions were high on the team, that entered the tournament without any practice at all and with the label "Dead Team" sticking to their backs.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"heroic-qualifies-grand-final-home-turf-copenhagen","isNewTab":true}]

Fast forward to this year's edition of the Fall Finals, where the North Americans made it to the playoffs in the Royal Arena before being knocked out by Heroic. After the match, we spoke with Keith "NAF" Markovic about the match and how he sees the team right now compared to last year.

One of the most decorated and accomplished players in North American Counter-Strike history, Keith “NAF” Markovic has been taking names and winning hardware for years against the best teams in the world of CS:GO.

But until now, no one had ever heard the behind the scenes story of NAF’s mindset and how he approached the game of Counter-Strike.

In the video you can her from EliGE, YEKINDAR, Keith’s girlfriend, his pet sloth Gilbert, and more as they share their experiences of what it’s like to play with NAF and be around him.

Spirit are through to the Champions Stage after taking down the North American squad from Team Liquid, who now are eliminated from the event. The Russian side will see themselves in yet another Major playoff appearance, where they will be taking upon cadiaN’s men from Heroic on Friday at 18:00 (CET).

Spirit’s map pick of Vertigo was where the series kicked off. Here, it was the North Americans who got off to the best start by snatching the pistol, before they added three of the following four rounds to go 4-1 up on the scoreboard. From that point, it was a Spirit show for the rest of the half. The Russian squad put up a strong defense on the CT-side, which Liquid had no answers for as we saw the North Americans only being able to add one single round before Spirit’s wonder boy, Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov sent his team into the offense with a five-round lead on the back of an impressive 1v3 clutch.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"video-w0nderful-ends-half-with-1v3-clutch-against-liquid","isNewTab":true}]

That gave Spirit the right energy going into the second half, in which they grabbed the first two rounds of play. Team Liquid looked to find a way into the game, but it got a way too late as Spirit were already sitting on match point as Liquid hit their tenth round on the scoreboard after stringing together three rounds in a row. With money in their pocket once again, Spirit didn’t face any struggles as they went on to close their map pick with a 16-10 scoreline.

The action between the two teams moved to Mirage, where we saw a Team Liquid on fire in the first half. YEKINDAR and company lost the pistol, but bounced back right away and continued on to dominate the first half, leaving Spirit’s CT-side looking useless. With a 5 rounds advantage going into the CT-side, Liquid didn’t capitalize on the momentum straight away, instead, we saw Spirit nearly catching up with the North Americans. But despite their best efforts, they never got dangerous enough when it mattered the most, resulting in Team Liquid securing their own map pick and sending the series to the decider of Ancient.

On the decider of Ancient, we saw magixx and company clinch the victory with a 16-13 scoreline after a hard-fought battle against the North Americans from Liquid. 19-year-old magixx finished on top of the scoreboard with the highest number of kills (26) and a 1.42 Rating.

IEM Rio Major – Legends Stage 2022 | Spirit vs. Liquid 2-1

 {cflag:CA} Keith “NAF” Markovic – 1.21 Rating | 58-49 K/D | 83.7 ADR | 84.3% KAST

magixx

Spirit

With Vitality, NAVI, and FaZe struggling in the Legends Stage of IEM Rio there is no doubt, that the field of contender teams is expanding as the days go by.

Team Liquid could be one of those teams after their win against NAVI today.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"navi-vitality-knocked-down-1-2-bracket","isNewTab":true}]

We spoke with Liquid's Canadian rifler Keith "NAF" Markovic after the match.

The addition of Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis as a temporary player has clearly made Liquid better and more competitive in the current CS:GO landscape. However, bringing in the Latvian rifler has also caused changes in the dynamics and hierarchy on the North American squad.

In an [link:{"url":"https://www.hltv.org/news/34667/naf-any-time-we-have-to-face-cloud9-i-think-a-lot-of-us-are-very-confident","isNewTab":true,"text":"interview"}] with HLTV, long-standing Liquid member Keith “NAF” Markovic explains how he has “taken a hit” since YEKINDAR arrived.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"elige-yekindar-gives-lot-confidence","isNewTab":true}]

NAF before YEKINDAR joined - (1st January – 7th July 2022)

1.17 Rating / 83.5 ADR / 1.04 Impact rating

NAF after YEKINDAR joined - (7th July – 30th September 2022):

1.09 Rating / 77.5 ADR / 0.96 Impact rating

NAF’s words are backed by the statistics if you take a look at some of his numbers from the time before YEKINDAR joined and after. Here you’ll see that the Canadian rifler has less impact and a significantly lower ranking now – where he in the first seven months of 2022 was the highest-rated Liquid player. 

Since YEKINDAR dropped by, both the Latvian and Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonkowski has surpassed NAF.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/BLAST_Fall_Groups_2022-513_1_nmrjy6","originalWidth":8192,"originalHeight":5464,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: BLAST Premier"}]

YEKINDAR rocking the Liquid jersey at BLAST Premier Fall Groups (Credit: BLAST Premier)

In the interview with HLTV, NAF further describes how he personally has had to make sacrifices for the team to work.

You can read the full interview by HLTV down below. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"new-vp-ceo-virtus-pro-yekindar-are-stage-finalizing-terms-parting","isNewTab":true}]

YEKINDAR

Fans of North American Counter-Strike can again begin to look forward to tier-1 CS:GO. With Team Liquid back in shape, the future looks a lot better than just a couple of months ago. 

At BLAST Fall Groups, Team Liquid has given themselves two chances to qualify for the Fall Finals with a win against NIP today. After the match, we spoke with Keith "NAF" Markovic about the current situation on the team, and how the Canadian is filling in some of the more difficult positions on the different maps.

Team Liquid is playing Heroic tomorrow at BLAST Fall Groups.

North American Counter-Strike has been the subject of many jokes over the course of the years. Whilst it might be true that there are few great North American CS:GO rosters at this current moment of time, Team Liquid acts as the shining beacon that can bring hope to the North American Counter-Strike scene. They have just managed to secure a spot in the playoffs of IEM Cologne 2022 after beating FURIA in two close maps. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"liquid-send-furia-home","isNewTab":true}]

Team Liquid have not always been performing as great as they currently are. The recent decision to add "nitro" back as an IGL and with superstar "YEKINDAR" stepping in as a stand-in for the roster has seemingly elevated Team Liquid and meant a more cohesive and dangerous roster all-in-all. When asked about the role of "YEKINDAR" in the current roster, rifler "NAF" had the following to say: 

To hear more from "NAF" about the recent victory against FURIA as well as the upcoming future of the exciting Liquid roster, you can watch the exclusive interview posted down below: 

Team Liquid, unfortunately, lost their first match of IEM Cologne against Team Spirit after winning the first map and having two match points on the deciding map of Dust2. Playing with a stand-in, it was maybe due to "inexperience as a team", but Keith 'NAF' Markovic still enjoyed playing alongside 'YEKINDAR'.

He's super talented, he's super smart, he's super motivated(...) I loved playing with him.

You can watch the entire interview with 'NAF' below.

The group stage at IEM Dallas is about to reach its dying stages with both Group A and Group being determined this Wednesday. There are both elimination matches and progression matches on the program today, going live at 18:00 (CET) with the first two series. 

The first elimination match of the Legends Stage saw Vitality squaring up against Liquid. The two sides were not able to find their rhythm on Day 1 and now had to play knowing that this game could be their last.

Vitality had a great start to the series as they went 13-2 on the CT side of Liquid pick, Mirage. Everyone on the team was far and above pulling their weight, but "ZywOo" and "Magisk" were a bit ahead of the rest as they were playing completely flawless CS. On the other side of the coin, NAF's play was the only thing Liquid had to get excited about after 15 rounds.

The Europeans quickly found match point at 15-2 but needed six match points before they managed to end it, as Liquid took some crucial rounds to boost their confidence going into the next map.

On the second map of Dust2, Liquid got off to a much better start. They took a 7-4 lead, and "EliGE" was popping off. But with really passive setups and no real information plays the North Americans had to play reactively which Vitality exploited and took back the halftime lead at 8-7.

The French/Danish mix continued their successful streak and put another four rounds on the board and were all of a sudden in a commanding position. Liquid got back onto the board with three rounds of their own, but their streak was abruptly broken by "Magisk" who two rounds in a row shut the North Americans down with a quad kill and an ace. Team Liquid did not have much more to offer, and Vitality swiftly ended the map and closed the series.

With the loss, Liquid is the first team to leave the Major, while the victors of Vitality live to tell the tale.

Vitality - Liquid 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Legends Stage

16-7 (Mirage) | {cflag:DK} Magisk - 1.54 Rating / 20-11 K-D / 97.5 ADR

16-11 (Dust2) | {cflag:DK} Magisk - 1.42 Rating / 22-15 K-D / 89.1 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} Emil "Magisk" Reif - 1.47 Rating / 42-26 K-D / 93.0 ADR

ZywOo

It was a North American matchup for survival when Liquid and Complexity battled it out on the server. It was not a very long battle though as Liquid managed to win in just two maps.

On Liquid's pick of Ancient, Complexity managed to put up an acceptable defensive half of 8-7, but that did not leave much margin for error on the T side where they struggled. Liquid's ended the first map on a solid defensive 8-1 streak.

The second map of Overpass was entirely different. Here "nitr0" and co put up an impressive defensive performance in the first half which landed them a 12-3 lead. Complexity, now only four rounds away from elimination, fought bravely and managed to amass 12 rounds before Liquid put the final nail in the coffin.

Complexity leave the Major at 1-3, while Liquid will have the chance to qualify for Legends Stage tomorrow.

Liquid - Complexity 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage

16-12 (Ancient) | {cflag:FR} shox - 1.35 Rating / 25-19 K-D / 89.4 ADR

16-12 (Vertigo) | {cflag:CA} NAF - 1.64 Rating / 29-13 K-D / 100.0 ADR

MVP: {cflag:CA} Keith "NAF" Markovic - 1.35 Rating / 47-31 K-D / 88.4 ADR

Interesting scoreline: {cflag:US} Ricky "floppy" Kemery - 1.31 Rating / 51-43 K-D / 103.9 ADR

shox

compLexity Gaming

Elimination was on the cards when Team Liquid faced 9z in a crucial Bo3. While the South Americans were one of the underdogs coming into the Challengers Stage, it was a massive surprise that the North American superpower might be done after only two days.

The do-or-die match started on Liquid's pick of Ancient where 9z delivered a somewhat disappointing CT side. The South Americans won the pistol round and managed to convert the following two. But even with the three early rounds the underdogs only managed to take eight rounds before the break, which is definitely not enough on a map that favors the CTs so heavily.

Liquid did what their opponents could not and delivered a dominant half on the defense. Especially Mr. consistent "NAF" was having a great game and made sure that the North Americans won their own map pick without too much trouble.

Down one map, 9z had their backs against the wall as they concrete of Overpass. Fortunately for them, they had a great start on the T-side even though “shox” was a constant threat. Luckily, they had their own threat in “dgt” who was breaking the skulls of Liquid. The North Americans recovered nicely from the rough start and could at the half be happy with a one-round deficit.

9z was now on the favored side and had the lead and it was looking like a third map was going to be needed. But Liquid who had the momentum coming into the second half capitalized on it and with more experience and firepower the favorites seized Overpass.

This was the last chance for 9z who now unfortunately were out of the tournament. Team Liquid will play to survive once again tomorrow.

Liquid - 9z 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage

16-11 (Ancient) | {cflag:CA} NAF - 1.39 Rating / 26-14 K-D / 93.9 ADR

16-11 (Overpass) | {cflag:US} EliGE - 1.47 Rating / 25-14 K-D / 91.8 ADR

MVP: {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon - 1.32 Rating / 43-35 K-D / 93.9 ADR

Liquid and paiN went head-to-head in the last match of the day at BLAST. The Brazilians ended up outlasting the North Americans after a long and hard-fought battle.

“hardzao” got his team off to a great start on their pick of Vertigo. They went up 4-0 on the T-side and were now in a great position. Liquid had a great run in the middle of the half led by a flourishing “NAF”, but after fifteen rounds it was the Brazilians who had the lead at 9-6.

The second half did not bring more fortune for the North Americans who only managed to secure three rounds after the break. paiN, who played an all-around solid team game, took Vertigo 16-9.

Even with the big loss on Vertigo, Liquid had not lost confidence, and they looked reinvigorated as they arrived on their pick of Ancient. 

On the hardest T-side in the map pool, Liquid, spearheaded by a soaring “oSee”, managed to take nine satisfying rounds before the break, leaving the Brazilians to play catch-up.

paiN, taking a page out of Liquid’s book, got off to a great start on the T-side and quickly secured their first lead of the map. But just as quickly as they found the advantage, they lost it again, and the North Americans secured their map pick and sent the match to a decider.

Overpass was selected as the final map of the series and paiN started it out with some of the magic they showed on Vertigo. After losing the pistol round, they forced their way to a 5-1 lead on the T-side. This is where the fun stopped for the Brazilians as they got run over in the last part of the half, and Liquid were up by three rounds at halftime.

After switching sides, Liquid quickly grew their lead to 12-6, and for the first time in the series “nitr0” and co. had a lead of more than five rounds. paiN, knowing that this is do-or-die, suddenly came alive and, led by “biguzera”, forced their way back into the game. The Brazilians hit match point but a quad-kill from “nitr0” sent the map into overtime.

paiN swept the CT-side and after failing to convert on two map points they finally managed to win on the third and are thereby moving on to the semi-finals.

Liquid - paiN 1-2 | BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2022 NA

9-16 (Vertigo) | {cflag:CA} NAF - 1.52 Rating / 28-17 K-D / 118.8 ADR

16-13 (Ancient) | {cflag:US} oSee - 1.43 Rating / 28-19 K-D / 91.8 ADR

17-19 (Overpass) | {cflag:BR} biguzera - 1.59 Rating / 39-23 K-D / 109.4 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt - 1.35 Rating / 77-59 K-D / 89.7 ADR

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"Affiliation/SKINS_reklame_Pley_tr1buq","originalWidth":1920,"originalHeight":480,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","url":"https://bit.ly/3CWWVHW","isNewTab":true}]

hardzao

oSee

biguzera

nitr0

paiN

The second North American CS:GO team is ready for the Antwerp Major next month. A fact that was set in stone already before the match between the two NA teams from Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses.

Team Liquid was the big favorite before the match, which quickly showed. Richard "shox" Papillon was in excellent shape on Vertigo, where Liquid had no problems taking down EG.

On Inferno, it got more even, but unfortunately, Evil Geniuses could not hold on to the fine start, that the team had established in the first half. After the break, EliGE and NAF stepped up and left no doubt about the strength of the two teams.

Team Liquid is ready for PGL Antwerp, while EG still has a chance to make it through.

In the lower end of the Swiss Group, Isurus and Case played out an early elimination match. Here it was Case who stood the distance and stays alive in the tournament, while Isurus is out.

Evil Geniuses

The battle for the prestigious major spots continues at the PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR this Tuesday. Here FURIA, Imperial, Complexity and MIBR will fight for further progression, while 9z, TeamOne, Leviatan and Bad News Bears all face elimination. You can watch today's schedule down below:

Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid went head to head last night in an entertaining match at ESL Pro League. 

Both teams gave it all in the match that went all three maps. During the game, both Keith "NAF" Markovic and Fredrik "REZ" Sterner produced two superb 1vs3 clutches, that we have combined in today's Pley of the Day. Watch them both in the clip down below.

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	5	15
Maps count	10	34

NAF

Player stats

Articles mentioning NAF

NAF reveals a desire to play in Europe: Hopefully I get the chance

Liquid survives shock start on Inferno and win against IHC

Magisk: I think it is time for a Danish Major

NAF after beating NAVI: We caught them off guard on Overpass

NAF on the state of Liquid: It’s not about the players or what’s going on internally anymore

Video: The story of NAF

Spirit eliminate Team Liquid from the IEM Rio Major

NAF: This Major is wide open

NAF is now a “fill player” on Liquid: I have taken a hit after YEKINDAR arrived

NAF after NIP win: We are getting there slowly but surely

NAF: YEKINDAR reminds me so much of Stewie2k

NAF on YEKINDAR: I love playing with him

Today in CS:GO - Wednesday 1/6 - 2022

Liquid first team eliminated from Legends Stage

Liquid Eliminate Complexity From The Major

9z Done At The Major, Liquid Survives

paiN upset Liquid!

Team Liquid book PGL Major ahead of Evil Geniuses

Today in CS:GO - Tuesday 12/4 - 2022

Pley of the Day: NAF + REZ 1vs3 clutch

Follow Pley