NAF on EG Management: Some of the worst I have ever talked to in my life
One of the most consistent and highest performers in North America over the last few years, Keith "NAF" Markovic almost left the dominant Liquid team for Evil Geniuses towards the end of 2021. In a roster that was torn apart with the departures of Jake "Stewie2k" Yip and Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, NAF ended up staying with Liquid despite being heavily courted by their regional rival.
While NAF and Liquid have faced struggles in the Major, he was part of the historic American squad that would win the second-ever Intel Grand Slam in a record 63 days during their peak in 2019. Despite that accomplishment, the squad has struggled with players not meshing as a whole and the roster not achieving the same heights since Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken left to begin a career in Europe.
In an exclusive podcast interview with Alex "Mauisnake" Ellenberg, NAF spoke about his lengthy career, the emotional attachment to the "-FLY" as part of his tag, his time on OpTic, and almost joining NRG's squad.
In the interview, NAF also opened up about Michael "Grim" Wince's time in Liquid and compared his performances to another newcomer in Josh "oSee" Ohm. As Mauisnake commented on the situation with Grim, he stated that "it felt like from the outside it was a shut up and don't eff this up for the rest of us" for which NAF agreed that it was "unfortunately how it was".
In comparing Grim's time with oSee, in what are two incredibly different Liquid teams, he notes that oSee has been a good influence with the squad as his communication and willingness made him the perfect fit for the team.
Finally, NAF and Mauisnake began to talk about the much-rumored move to Evil Geniuses and why the rifler didn't end up going through with the move. "I didn't want to play with Liquid towards the end of 2021. I was having some issues with how the team was being run, how it operated at times, how some players could act sometimes.", NAF explained.
He further elaborated on the state of the management team as well after a one hour meeting before he fully joined;
When I was talking to EG management, I don't want to go into detail… that was some of the worst management I think I have ever talked to, probably in my life. EG surely knows that as well. They're clearly not handling their team properly at all. I was like: Liquid is light-years ahead of this organization and I would be an idiot to go and join this team."
The full interview with NAF thanks to Mauisnake is available on YouTube.
