Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno isn’t called the “Young GOAT” for nothing. Time and time again, he’s proven why he’s one of the greatest to ever touch the game.
It all began in the 2019 SEA Games, where a young KarlTzy and the Sibol squad clawed their way out of the lower bracket to dethrone Indonesia, the reigning world champion region and secure the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal in Esports. That was only the beginning. In the M2 World Championship, he carried Bren Esports through another lower bracket gauntlet—knocking out RRQ Hoshi from Indonesia and overpowering Malaysia in a finals rematch—to bring home the Philippines’ first Mobile Legends world title.
Fast forward to the M4 World Championship, KarlTzy made history again. This time with ECHO Philippines, he took on the defending champions Blacklist International and claimed his second world title. He wasn’t done yet. In MPL Philippines Season 13, he led Team Liquid Echo to a dominant 4-0 sweep over Falcons AP Bren—the reigning MPL S12 champs and M5 World Champions. In the ESL Snapdragon Pro Series Season 5, he also ended the defending MSC 2024 champions Selangor Red Giants’ historic 126-day win streak in the upper bracket finals. And now, he’s done it once again. In a heart-pounding seven-game series, KarlTzy guided the cavalry to a 4-3 victory over ONIC Philippines—the feared “Super Family”, MPL Season 14 titleholders, and M6 World Champions.
It was far from easy for Team Liquid Philippines. ONIC Philippines came into the playoffs as a juggernaut—cruising through the regular season with an 11-3 record and finishing just behind TLPH in the standings. They looked unstoppable after a 3-0 sweep in the Upper Bracket Finals, handing Team Liquid a brutal wake-up call. But true champions rise under pressure—and that’s exactly what TLPH did.
Game 1 saw Team Liquid come out swinging. Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz anchored the team with a flawless 2/0/15 KDA on Mathilda. ONIC made key adjustments—starting with a Mathilda ban in Game 2. They secured the better team composition in the draft, but TLPH controlled the early game. However, the momentum shifted when Frince Miguel “Super Frince” Ramirez executed a perfect Diversion play on Luo Yi, sneaking into the backline to take down Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, tying the series at 1-1.
Game 3 was back-and-forth but TLPH eventually got the upperhand with KarlTzy on Joy stealing the lord. However, ONIC defended the lord push well, securing 3 kills and made it back-to-back wins for ONIC. Sanji’s Selena was the difference-maker in Game 4—his arrows were on point, propelling TLPH to as much as a 10k gold lead. Team Liquid never let up, sealing the win in a lightning-fast 14 minutes.
TLPH threw a surprise in Game 5 with a Lolita pick for Jaypee, and he delivered massive value. The match was neck-and-neck until Borris James “Brusko” Parro made a daring dive that claimed two kills. But just when ONIC looked to seize control, Sanji struck again—executing another genius Diversion play that led to a game-winning segway push. TLPH up 3-2. ONIC responded like champions in Game 6, dominating from start to finish and forcing a do-or-die game.
Game 7 went down to the wire, but a critical error from Kelra triggered ONIC’s collapse, handing TLPH a nail-biting 4-3 victory. Sanji was named Finals MVP with his stellar performance, delivering consistent playmaking and high-impact moments throughout the series.
