David “FlapTzy” Canon’s ascent in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competitive scene was nothing short of meteoric.
Acquired to fill a significant gap in the team’s offlane, FlapTzy made his debut with Bren Esports in MPL Philippines Season 6 and immediately made an impact, teaming up with Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno to form one of the best, if not the best, duos the league has ever seen.
Together, the Tzy brothers steered Bren Esports to the Season 6 title, losing just one out of the 16 series they played, including their 4-2 grand finals victory over Omega Esports.
But FlapTzy’s rise to ML:BB glory did not stop there.
Just three months later, the former Cignal Ultra standout played a pivotal role in delivering the Philippines its first-ever title in the M-Series with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the hard-fighting Burmese Ghouls in the M2 World Championship grand finals.
At the time, his Baxia, Yu Zhong, and Benedetta were the best in the world, making him one of the most feared offlaners at the young age of 16.
However, as fast as FlapTzy’s rise to stardom had been, the fall was equally rapid.
“Feel ko that time ano lang talaga ako eh, parang depressed ako that time kasi yung sa nangyayari sa buhay ko,” FlapTzy told Tiebreaker Times in an exclusive interview after the MPL Philippines Grand Finals on Sunday night.
After a breakout year that saw them establish dominance all over the world, FlapTzy and Bren Esports immediately fell back to Earth, suffering a lower bracket semis exit in Season 7 before entirely missing the playoffs in Season 8.
The team tried to shake things up, adding up-and-coming talents to try to fill the void left by the sudden departures of Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, CJ “Ribo” Ribo, and Allan “Lusty” Castromayor, who left the team in successive seasons to pursue other opportunities.
It was also during this time when FlapTzy, who was supposed to take charge of the team alongside holdover Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel, struggled with personal issues, which affected his play.
“May problem ako sa relationship, ganun. Kaya nangyari yung ganun, na-depress ako kaya na-reserve ako,” who was put in a reserve role in Season 10.
When nothing else was going right, FlapTzy turned to the people he trusted the most for advice. That moment, without a doubt, served as one of the pivotal moments in his career that put him back on top of the MPL Philippines scene.
“Yung nagmo-motivate po sakin is yung family ko. Kasi parang pinangaralan nila ako kasi alam nilang gustong-gusto ko yung pangarap ko kaya doon daw ako mag-focus, ‘wag daw ako mag-focus sa ibang bagay kaya sinunod ko yung magulang ko,” recalled the 19-year-old FlapTzy.
“Ayun, yun yung nag-motivate sakin yung family ko talaga. After nun, parang inisip ko na mag-focus ako sa sarili ko kaya ngayon nandito na ako.”
From then on, things started to click for FlapTzy and AP Bren.
Kyle “KyleTzy” Sayson, Stephen “Super Marco” Requitano, and Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo finally made the leap from raw talents to legitimate MPL stars, while Pheww managed to recreate his old magic that made him one of the best players in the league a few years back.
(C) MPL PH
“Sobrang blessed namin ni Kuya Pheww saka sobrang thankful namin kasi yung mga baguhan naming kakampi, sila KyleTzy, Owgwen, Marco, tapos si Pando ayun, sobrang ano nila, sobrang passionate din nila abou sa paglalaro kaya nakamit namin yung championship.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
After back-to-back fourth-place finishes in Seasons 10 and 11, AP Bren finally got over the hump on Sunday night, dominating Blacklist International 4-1 in the MPL Philippines Season 12 championship at the EVM Convention Center.
At the center of it all was FlapTzy, who was awarded the Finals MVP award after putting on impressive performances on Arlott and Phoveus in the five-game series.
FlapTzy’s first encounter with glory was a swift and dazzling flash. So, that is why when he finally found his way back, his first and foremost thought was how to make it last.
“Kanina kasi chill lang talaga ako eh. Parang ‘di pa nagsi-sink in sakin na natapos na yung laro. Tapos nung nakita ko yung mga teammates ko na masaya sila, ayun natuwa ako sa kanila,” he said.
“Iniisip ko agad nun na parang hindi pa tapos ‘to, meron pang MPLI saka worlds. Doon ko pa ilalabas yung potential ko as a player.”
