THE RUMOR mill continues to churn in anticipation of the eventual Mobile Legends Professional League-Philippines' Season 9. Setsuna "Akosi Dogie" Ignacio’s Nexplay will surely be looking to make changes in the backroom staff as well as their playing roster, especially with the departure of team analyst, Neil "Midnight" De Guzman.
Nexplay is complete, claims Dogie
In Dogie’s latest YouTube video entitled, "NXPE BUO NA!," Ignacio segues from gushing about his sports car to details that might interest Nexplay fans... and certainly fuel even more speculation.
He said that he had a conversation with coach John Michael "Zico" Dizon about how they are completely sold on the first five who will make up their playing roster. Renejay "Renejay" Barcarse, John Paul "H2wo" Salonga, and Jeniel "YellyHaze" Bata-Anon are the locked in members, but the other two remain a mystery.
"Yung lima ok na. Si H2(wo), si Renejay, (Yelly)Haze stay. Yung dalawa secret. Tapos yung second five secret," said Nexplay's team manager and streamer.
On the vlog, Zico confirmed Dogie's assertions. "Papunta na! Kumpleto na! Abangan niyo na kung kailan ilalabas!" replied Nexplay's head coach.
If those two mystery signees aren't veteran who'd played for another team, the new signees of Nexplay could also easily be rookies that have been scouted out by the org. Superstar performances from the likes of Dean Christian "Raizen" Samagui, Jonard Cedrix "Demonkite" Caranto, and Rion "Rk3" Kudo have shown that even rookies can consistently shake things up in the league. Nexplay could easily complete their roster with some new blood.
Another name bandied about in the vlog mentioned was MPL veteran Jeff Lenjesson "S4gitnu" Subang. who last played in Season 6. Dogie praised his unwavering determination.
Is Yawi officially out?
One name was conspicuously missing from Dogie's tentative starting five.
After confidently saying that the "Team is already done!", he went on to explain Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera's situation, should he decide to stay with the team.
"Paano kung si Yawi magsta-stay? Makakapaglaro ba siya sa Season 9? Hindi guys! Why? Kase yung time na sinabi niya na lilipat siya, naghanap na kami," Ignacio said.
He added: "So Yawi out na talaga sa Season 9. 100% na confirmed na!"
Besides Yawi, EXP laner and reserve player, James "Jeymz" Gloria, was also speculated to be leaving.
Replacing Midnight: Coach Lift?
Dogie is also looking for an analyst or maybe even an assistant coach to fill in the void left by Midnight’s departure. The first names that come to mind to fill in that mystery could likely be former TNC Coach, John Laurence "Lift" Ruiz.
"Si Lift pag-isipan pa niya daw kase may ibang kumuha sa kanya," said Zico.
But he wasn't the only former TNC member that was mentioned, as Douglas Joseph "ImbaDeejay" Astibe II has been consistently praised by Dogie for being a very great Mobile Legends mind. With him out of a team right now, he could easily be a target for Nexplay.
"Pero legit alam mo kung sino talaga... si ImbaDeejay talaga tol! Ang talino nun tol! Mas maganda kung coach siya, analyst, or assistant coach," Dogie mused.
"Nakausap ko na siya eh kaso gusto niya mag-player eh," replied Zico.
Besides the TNC members, two MPL legends and former Aether Main members were also mentioned: Renz "Pein" Reyes and Yuji "Yuji" Aizawa. Enthused the longtime impresario: "Si Pein tol! Magaling, mautak! Dati noong Season 2, kami nag-uusap tungkol sa meta! Si Yuji matalino yun. Pein and Yuji yun talaga matatalino."
If ever these two would join forces, Nexplay will feature a nostalgia-filled roster with Yuji, Pein, and YellyHaze who once played together in Aether Main/Bren Esports.
Nexplay could end up signing up to 15 players for their roster with the vast amount of Mobile Legends tournaments around Southeast Asia. Who would you like to see join the Nexplay organization?