Liquid have confirmed that Keith “NAF” Markovic has rejoined the organisation’s starting roster. The 28-year-old Canadian, who missed Liquid’s previous outing at IEM Krakow due to urgent family matters, was shown back at the team’s training facility in Utrecht as the squad finalises preparations for upcoming events.
NAF’s return comes ahead of ESL Pro League Season 23, which opens with two online Swiss stages. Liquid will begin in Stage 1; their first scheduled match is against Passion UA on Sunday, March 1, 2026, with a 19:00 start time listed for that fixture.
The timing of NAF’s comeback is significant because Liquid head into Pro League under pressure in the regional race for Major qualification. Current projections place the team some 180 points short of the threshold needed to receive an invite to the IEM Cologne Major on Valve’s Regional Standings.
The April 6 invite cutoff means Liquid have a narrow window to make up ground. One of the most important opportunities on the calendar before that deadline is BLAST Open Rotterdam, an event the organisation intends to attend. A strong showing there would be the most direct way to claw back points and improve their Major prospects.
Beyond the scheduled events, the team could also pursue additional opportunities by entering last-minute open LAN tournaments held around Europe. Those smaller events could provide further ranking points or match practice, but they also come with travel and scheduling trade-offs.
Liquid will hope that having NAF back in the active lineup restores stability and experience to the roster as they chase better results in Pro League and try to reverse their current trajectory on the road to the Major.