By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
The rivalry between Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno and John “1rrad” Tuazon may not be as intense as it appears on-screen.
Despite their banter and exchange of words, one of the players has considered reaching out to the other.
Karltzy admitted that he had thought about starting a conversation with 1rrad but hesitated to take the first step of adding him on Facebook.
Karltzy revealed that the playful exchanges and rivalries observed by fans are primarily for show, designed to create hype for the MPL. He even believed this interaction was beneficial, as it could serve as motivation for both players.
“Hindi eh. Walang nag-iinitiate sa amin mag-add sa FB pero para sa akin ano lang naman ‘to, clout lang naman. ‘Tas nakaka-enjoy din. ‘Tas baka namo-motivate din siya, namo-motivate din ako. So, good para sa aming dalawa,” he told Tiebreaker Times after Team Liquid’s win over RSG.
There have been moments when the two-time world champion considered cooling things down with the RSG jungler.
He reflected on whether his words might have hurt 1rrad’s feelings, expressing a hint of regret.
“Minsan po naiisip ko na parang chat ko siya, nice game ganon kasi baka nasasaktan ko siya sa mga sinasabi ko. Pero may mga times din naman na parang ako din naman nasasaktan sa sinabi niya eh. Pagalingan na lang talaga. May the best man win na lang,” Karltzy shared.
With 1rrad’s return to the MPL, Karltzy noticed significant improvement in his gameplay. He pointed out that 1rrad’s performance has become more refined, though their recent match-up wasn’t at his best.
“Masasabi ko, feeling ko nga-improve siya lalo [kaysa] sa mga last season. Feel ko lang hindi niya parang forte yung Julian na hero. Kase yung Julian parang more on tumutulong sa kakampi compared sa mga Fanny, mga heroes niya talaga,” Karltzy observed.
Coming from RRQ Hoshi, 1rrad has also shown growth in his maturity, particularly in interviews, and his playstyle has become more polished, Karltzy added.
“Pinagkaiba lang [last season] para sa akin, yung maturity niya sa mga sagot sa interviews tsaka yung mas maganda yung playstyle niya ngayon sa RSG,” Karltzy noted.
