Cover-Credits:
ONIC Esports’ coach Paul "Yeb" Miranda shared how the star jungler Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol almost gave up his position in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9. According to the coach, the young jungler had problems adjusting to the meta which was dominated by tanks. As an assassin specialist, Kairi struggled to get on par with other teams who adjusted to using tank jungle heroes. Coach Yeb also mentioned that the team had internal problems during its Season 9 campaign which added to the issue of the team struggling to adjust to the jungle meta.
Kairi almost gave up his pro league spot due to the jungle meta, according to Coach Yeb
Kairi is currently one of the most successful Filipino imports in Indonesia. The pro player is currently playing under ONIC Esports and is on his way to competing in the upcoming M4 World Championship.
However, before Kairi’s massive resurgence in the MLBB esports scene, the pro player experienced a few struggles at the time under his former team, ONIC PH. Through a live interview with popular MPL caster Caisam "Wolf" Nopueto, Coach Yeb shared the team's struggles during MPL PH Season 9 and how he was able to cope with the team’s lackluster performance.
“I just think of it as a process. Because what happened during season 9, for us, it’s a big change in the meta,” stated Coach Yeb. “I usually don’t follow the meta, what I do is I find a hole in the meta.”
Coach Yeb continued that the Jungle Emblem meta was so effective that it became one of the most broken strategies in the game. This issue proved to be a big challenge for the team as Kairi was an assassin specialist.
“It’s a process, that Kairi needs to change. At first, I remember, he said ‘Coach can we choose Flick[Ralph Hamoy]? Can we still change? Choose Flick instead of me’,” stated Coach Yeb. “He [Kairi] thinks he can’t do it but of course, we have to push him.”
With dedication, Kairi pressed forward and played during Season 9. However, the team only finished fourth place after upsetting clean sweep defeats from RSG PH in the upper bracket and Omega Esports in the lower breaker playoffs.
When Wolf asked if Coach Yeb thinks Kairi can still maintain his MVP caliber performance if he ever returns to the Philippines, the coach explained that a lot of factors have to be considered.
“I believe Kairi wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t for his teammates,” explained Coach Yeb. “So he also needs teammates who will also play their role.”
“I don’t believe in stuff like that, this isn’t basketball where one player can carry [the whole team],” he added.
ONIC PH’s struggles during the MPL PH Season 9 may have given Kairi the strength and determination to improve himself, leading to his dominance in the MPL ID Season 10. It will be interesting to see what other surprises Kairi pulls off in the upcoming M4 World Championship.
