NAF returns to Liquid lineup

Liquid have once again assembled their main lineup. The club has confirmed that the Canadian Keith "NAF" Markovic has returned to the team base in Utrecht and is preparing for the upcoming matches.

The 28-year-old player missed IEM Krakow due to urgent family circumstances, but should now be back on the server at the next tournament — ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1.

The league starts with two online stages using the Swiss system. Liquid will start from the first stage, and their debut match against Passion UA is scheduled for 1 March 2026, 21:00 server time; details are available on the match page.

Liquid are under pressure from the tournament situation: in terms of Valve Regional Standings points they are currently 180 points short of an invitation to the IEM Cologne Major. Before the 6 April deadline, the team will also play at BLAST Open Rotterdam, which may become their last major chance to close the gap, unless the roster decides to pick up points at small LAN tournaments across Europe.