Coach Yeb named member of Onic Esports coaching staff

MANILA -- (UPDATE) It's official. Onic Esports of Indonesia announced that it has signed Filipino Mobile Legends: Bang Bang wunderkind Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdesol, making the 16-year-old the first Filipino import in the game's professional play and confirming reports of his plans to go overseas.

• Mobile Legends: 'The Future' Kairi leaves Onic PH, amid overseas transfer reports

The news comes days after sister team, Onic Philippines, announced that Kairi will be leaving the team, further fueling rumors of his moves overseas based on leaked scrimmages between the star jungler and some of the Indonesian team's players.

Joining Kairi is his coach in Onic Philippines, Denver "Yeb" Miranda. Both were present in a press conference held in Indonesia, Monday morning. Yeb, who steered Onic Philippines to a world championship appearance, is now part of the Indonesian team's coaching staff.

Yeb is the third Pinoy ML:BB coach to go overseas after former Nexplay EVOS coach John Michael "Zico" Dizon (Burn x Flash of Cambodia, present) and Bren Esports coach Francis "Duckeyyy" Glindro (EVOS Legends, 2019-2020)

Kairi – who earned the moniker "The Future" for his mechanical gameplay and versatility – is expected to be a young presence in a veteran-laden squad that includes Muhammad Satrya "Butzzz" Sanubari, Calvin "CW" Winata, and Sanz "SANZ" Gilang, all of whom are coming from a shocking group stage exit in the ML:BB Southeast Asian Cup last May.

• This dad abandoned his Dota dreams. Now his son is a top Mobile Legends gamer at 15

Kairi racked a league-high tally of 197 kills in Season 9 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League, when the squad ended their campaign at 4th place. At the time, he averaged 4.10 kills, racking up a 4.18 kill-death-assist ratio.

Kairi, a native of Bataan, was born to an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) father who gave up his Dota 2 dreams to sustain his child. Under the in-game name Fullclip, Kairi started his professional career under Blacklist International in 2020, when the squad placed 5th to 8th place in Season 5 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League,

The same year, he transferred to Onic Philippines through a trade that included dynamic duo Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario and Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna.

In 2021, Kairi was one of the pillars in Onic Philippines' world championship appearance, where the squad punched the first grand finals slot in Singapore. They ended the tourney at 2nd place, losing to fellow Pinoys Blacklist.

In Season 9, Onic Philippines ended the tourney at 4th place after being booted off by Omega Esports in the playoffs. All players at the time were visibly emotional, fueling speculations that the team could face rebuild or disbandment.

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• This dad abandoned his Dota dreams. Now his son is a top Mobile Legends gamer at 15

Last June 20, Onic Philippines announced Coach Yeb's departure from the squad. Kairi's departure announcement came more than a week later, on June 28.

Ahead of this, Onic also released Mico "Micophobia" Quitlong and Ian "Beemo" Sergio.

And while there hasn't been an official announcement on their departures, some of the remaining players hinted at looking for teams before the MPL Philippines transfer window closes by the end of this week.