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The first day of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9 playoffs stage saw ECHO having one of its biggest upsets in the tournament. The team failed to win a single game against Omega Esports, resulting in the team being eliminated from the tournament. Despite this, ECHO was able give a commendable effort and surprised fans with Karl “KarlTzy” Gabriel Nepomuceno’s playstyle to fit the Jungle Emblem meta. The jungler prodigy delivered a stellar performance despite his shift in playstyle. However, it was not enough to carry his team against Omega Esports’ aggressive map rotations.
ECHO's KarlTzy Reveals Why He Switched to Jungle Emblem Playstyle
ECHO’s star jungler, KarlTzy was never fond of using the Jungle Emblem. The pro player believes that his playstyle doesn’t fit the emblem which reduces his potential to dominate in team fights. However, due to how he frequently gets out farmed by opponents, KarlTzy was forced to adjust to the meta.
“My team wanted it, when they said I needed to stick to being just a jungler, it’s fine by me,” stated KarlTzy. “But it wasn’t really our meta.”
He added that sometimes, he was the one carrying the game. This meant that he needed all the team fight advantage he could get, something that he would be lacking if he plays with the Jungle Emblem.
“We made huge adjustments before playoffs. In our scrims I always used the Jungle Emblem,” KarlTzy said.
Despite the team being late to adjust to the meta, the star jungler thinks that wasn’t the reason why the team had a lackluster performance in its first match in the MPL PH Season 9 playoffs.
“No, because I could take them all down. It’s just that, we lost our team fights,” said KarlTzy. “But overall, we’re still ahead even if I use the Jungle Emblem so I really can’t say we were too late.”
ECHO had an amazing run in the first half of the MPL PH Season 9 regular season. However, a major update was implemented in the game that completely changed the effectiveness of the Jungle Emblem for clearing and objective securing. Right after the shift in meta, ECHO started to lose its momentum, and KarlTzy struggled to keep up with other teams who use the jungle emblem.
Whether the team’s late adjustment to the meta was to blame for its early playoffs exit is up for debate. For now, ECHO will go back to the drawing board and plan its potential comeback in the next MPL season.
Keep up with the live scores, schedule, stream links, and more with AFK Gaming's hub for the MPL PH Season 9.
