Team Liquid PH head coach Archie "Tictac" Reyes explained the rationale behind the benching of two-time world champion Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno for Justine "Zaida" Palma in their sweep over Omega on Week 4 Day 3 of MPL Season 14 last Sunday.
KarlTzy, touted as one of the GOATs if not the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in competitive Mobile Legends history, was benched for the first time this season coming off a 0-2 loss against Aurora this past Saturday.
"We could have played better the past few weeks so we thought now might be a good time to try Zaida. Let him show what he can do," Tictac told Daily Tribune.
Team Liquid PH, the defending MPL champion and M4 world champion, has gone 3-3 in the first half of the regular season with KarlTzy as its jungler. According to Tictac, the plan is to mix it up moving forward to give more variety in their playstyle.
"Mechanically speaking, right now, Zaida is better while KarlTzy has the edge in IQ and experience. KarlTzy will be back, he will definitely play again," Tictac said.