Image: Rebellion Esports'
What's the connection between a dinosaur on a newspaper?
Rebellion Esports, one of the partnered Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) teams in the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Indonesia has teased that its future in the league will potentially involve Singaporean organisation Paper Rex.
In a post on the official Rebellion Esports Instagram page, the organisation posted an image of Karsten “Karss” William reading a newspaper while waiting for what's to come in MPL Indonesia Season 15.
The post didn't feature anything unusual at first glance, but if looked at more closely, the newspaper notably had an image of a dinosaur. The dinosaur in the newspaper is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, more commonly known as a T-Rex.
The Indonesian MLBB community quickly connected the dots, speculating that the T-Rex on the newspaper points toward Paper Rex. Therefore, this otherwise innocuous post is Rebellion Esports revealing the arrival of one of Southeast Asia's most successful organisations, Paper Rex, to MPL Indonesia.
While no official announcement has been made, fans speculated that Paper Rex would take over Rebellion Esports' roster to insert themselves into the franchise league for its 15th season.
Rebellion Esports joined MPL Indonesia in Season 8, four seasons after the league adopted the franchise system. The team took over the disbanded Aerowolf Pro Team's slot. However, Rebellion Esports' tenure hasn't been successful, with their highest achievements being 5th-6th place finishes in MPL Indonesia Seasons 10 and 12.
Rebellion Esports' performance in Season 14 wasn't a promising one either. They finished eighth in the league, tied on score with rock-bottom EVOS Glory, and only won by two points in game difference.
With the rumoured Paper Rex buyout, it will be interesting to see whether the team will have a better tenure in Season 15 onward.