MANILA - "KarlTusok" is back indeed.

Audiences watching MPL Season 10 at the ICITE Auditorium were in for a treat as wunderkind Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno picked up the Lancelot that brought him the world championship and MVP win in 2021.

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Now two seasons with Echo Philippines, the 17-year-old jungler showed no rust as he sliced and diced through opponents in Game 3 of their 2-1 win against Onic Philippines, giving the "Echo Express" their second straight win last Sunday.

Speaking to MPL host Mara Aquino after their match, the 18-year-old said now was the right time to wield assassin heroes such as Lancelot, and the Natalia he wielded when they lost Game 1 over Onic.

"Ang daming nagre-request tapos goods na goods kasi hindi na po nanggugulo ng jungle kaya ang sarap ng assassin," the former Bren Esports star said.

Asked later on regarding his performance, he remarked: "'Di pa kinakalawang."

For the last three seasons, sustain junglers such as Barats, Akai, and balmond became meta -- or typical -- picks, while assassin heroes such as Lancelot, Ling, and Fanny were hardly touched in drafts and if they were, it resulted in low win rates.

Assassin heroes are slowly returning into the meta, after some game adjustments, with said heroes coming out more often in drafts, such as that of Bren's new jungler Michael "KyleTzy" Sayson -- a self-professed fan of KarlTzy himself.

Both junglers will be facing each other again on Saturday, as Bren Esports tries to get its fifth straight win. Echo dealt Bren the loss in their first bout, and is looking to repeat next week.

In an interview with reporters, KarlTzy had this message for his former coach, Francis "Duckeyyy" Glindro.

"Duckeyyy, maghanda ka na," he said with a playful chuckle. "Tatalunin ko ulit bata mo."

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