NAF: "Anything short of the final would be a disappointment"

We caught up with Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic during the media day ahead of BLAST Pro Series Miami to talk about all things Liquid.

Liquid are getting ready to play their second BLAST Pro Series in a row after coming in second in Brazil earlier this year. This time they will play at the Watsco Center in Miami, where they will face off against five other teams to try and bag the $125,000 lion's share of the prize pool.

NAF talked about the atmosphere in the team, the goals in Miami, playing against Astralis and Natus Vincere, what Stewie2K is bringing to the team after some adaptation time, the team's map pool, and the possible addition of Vertigo, among other topics.

Let's go back to São Paulo, where you played your last event. You made the final there, do you think you can repeat?

Yeah, I think we can definitely repeat our final, we've been practicing a lot and I guess it has been going decently, but I feel like when we come back to online we don't really feel as comfortable as we do on LAN. I feel like we play a lot better on LAN, but so far I'd say we are pretty confident.

I think all of the best teams are pretty much here, except ENCE, out of all the top teams, so it's a really stacked event and usually when we are playing against teams we know that are better than us we feel more comfortable. Especially like at the Katowice Major, we kind of felt a little bit of pressure that we knew we were heavy favorites against ENCE, so against the teams here we're going to feel really comfortable.

How about Astralis?

Yeah, of course, with Astralis it's also like another level than everyone else.

Do you guys think you can punch up to their weight?

Sometimes. Anytime they have a really strong map, it's a very strong map. So, with Inferno, they're like 16-0 and their Nuke is 29-0 and no matter what if we were to play them in a best-of-three we would definitely have to play one of those maps. It's obviously really tough, they're a very unique team, we've never seen a team as strong as them before, ever. So yeah, they're just on another level and I guess we'll see if any team can crack them at this event.

You beat them at iBUYPOWER, they beat you at BLAST, where do you think that's going? Do you think iBUYPOWER was a little bit of a fluke?

It definitely could have been, there were obviously a lot of issues at that event. We picked up Stewie so maybe that was a honeymoon phase that kind of helped us a little bit, and like I said, with the event's issues, maybe some players were frustrated and didn't handle it as well, but I don't know, I can't really credit iBUYPOWER that much. But then again, compared to every other team that played Astralis... [pauses] I think we did the best at taking maps off them. There was the MIBR team that did pretty well, but I think we are the only team that can really take maps off them.

You were talking about Stewie coming in and the honeymoon period, how has that evolved now that you are kind of settling into the new role changes, and how has that affected the atmosphere in the team?

There were no real issues with that at all. When Stewie first came to us we liked what we saw, he was very motivated and he works very hard. He brings a lot to our team, he's usually someone who likes to criticize a lot and he does it in a very productive way, so it kind of helps us as before a lot of our players were passive and maybe wouldn't call out people's mistakes so in-depth; but with Stewie, he brings a new element to the team, and so far I'd say it's going pretty well. Obviously, we had a little bit of a hiccup at the IEM Major, but that's bound to happen when you fall off the honeymoon phase.

You have had some time to practice since São Paulo. What have you practiced, and what have you tried to figure out as a team?

We just try to improve our map pool. Although some people praise us for having a good map pool, we honestly don't, in my opinion [laughs]. The only maps I really feel comfortable on are Dust2 and Cache, and Cache is being removed, so now you've either got to play Train or Vertigo.

Right now the only map I really feel super confident on is Dust2, and it could just be me getting in my own head, but even in our scrims we just feel dominated on all those other maps, well not dominated, but the matches are still close and the maps we don't feel extremely comfortable on where we could 30-0 a team in practice or something like that. But, it's been really up and down in terms of all our maps.

You touched upon Vertigo, is that a map you're going to try and include in your map pool? Have you started playing it at all?

No, we haven't really discussed starting it because there are a few more tournaments that are going to use Cache, like Pro League and IEM Sydney, so we're just staying on Cache. We've talked about Vertigo briefly, but haven't really come up with anything to use right now.

How do you feel going up against a team like Na`Vi?

Na`Vi is obviously a very strong team with electronic and s1mple, they are a fantastic duo and step up when needed. But with Na'Vi, we're very confident against them because we feel like it's always like a 2v5. I think in my entire career, I haven't lost a map to Na'Vi ever, so every time I play them I feel very confident because I know that the only real chance they have is if s1mple, flamie, and electronic go off altogether, and so far that doesn't really happen that often.

flamie had a really good Major and even now it's usually just electronic and s1mple who turn up. It's kind of hard to see them all rolling. I was watching StarSeries and remember seeing some games when the whole team was working their role really well: Zeus was going off, Edward was doing good, and so was flamie, and that is when they are playing at their best and they are able to win entire tournaments. If they can keep it up and keep it consistent, then I think they can compete with us.

You guys are a team with plenty of firepower which seems on paper reasonably sustainable, as everyone can step up. Do you think it is?

With our team everyone should know that we don't have to work on our aim as our aim is something we have down completely, it's not something we have to worry about, especially Twistzz... I think Twistzz has the best aim in the game. Now we just have to make sure we're positive, we don't get down, no one gets frustrated or tilted, and make sure we're keeping the spirits up and everyone is high energy. Even if stuff is not working at least say something to keep the ball rolling and keep ideas flowing because eventually, something will work. Right now on our team it's just about staying positive and keeping a good mental fortitude.

Talking about keeping the spirits up, you used to have zews who's a guy that does that. Now, you have adreN who is different, he's quieter and more of a tactician instead of an emotional leader. Has that taken a toll on the team?

Of course, when we had zews I saw him as more of a mental coach more than a strategic coach, although he did both very well. With adreN he's a little quieter and he does his best to ensure everything is going well. Even though we lost zews, I think it was also a good trade with Stewie because he is someone that's a very positive person that says like "hey, you're still in it, just keep it going" no matter what the score is. So, even though we lost zews, it was almost like an even trade in terms of personalities and what we need.

Stewie is known to have a bit of a temper as an emotional player, is that something that has been talked about or worked on?

So far with Stewie, I've heard a lot of stuff with him being frustrated and stuff like that, but even on our team, I haven't heard any major emotions. I think he's becoming older and wiser and learning from all the experiences he's had in the past. It's the same for everyone, even for myself when I was on OpTic, but so far he's been doing great. I don't have any major issues or anything that's going on with everyone regarding Stewie, but it's been going well and it's productive, and everyone is treating him with respect.

It's curious you mention that because the whole team is still a very young team. Have you noticed throughout your time on Liquid the progression of the team from where you were to where you are now, mentally?

Obviously, yeah [laughs]. Especially when I first joined the team there were a lot of issues, and there were stories in the past about the team, in 2017. But I think everyone is getting older and there's a big difference from when you're 17, 18, or even 19, compared to when you're in your 20s. Everyone is becoming more mature and wiser [laughs], thinking before they speak and keeping their attitudes in check.

Did having someone on the team like TACO in the past help with that at all?

I’m not sure how to word this... TACO's a very chill guy and has learned a lot. Coming from FalleN's team he's brought experience in the way you should act and the way you should do things. TACO was a good teammate and I loved playing with him. But yeah, he was a great asset and it was sad to lose him to MIBR.

You have your training facilities in LA and I'm not sure if some of you live in LA and if some of you don't. Can you explain to me how that works, and how you bootcamp?

I'm from Canada, and nitr0 lives in Louisana, but EliGE and Twistzz are usually at the facility, and also Stewie—since he's from California. So, for the most part, they are in California at the facility and some of us are at our homes. With bootcamping, if we want to bootcamp in NA, we go to the facility, but we also have facilities in Europe and we can bootcamp there as well. Luckily we have a great organization behind us, so yeah, shoutout to Liquid [laughs].

What are the expectations for the team at this event?

We've got a lot of second places over time losing to Astralis, but it's the way Astralis are playing. If you ever lose to them you can't feel that bad because the way they are playing is insane. Anything short of the final would be a disappointment, but we're obviously aiming to win. If we get any placing short of the finals, we will have to step up in the upcoming tournaments.