WHAT IF Kelra Never Left Smart Omega?

There’s a theory in quantum physics that for every decision not made, a parallel reality is born—somewhere, somehow, playing out the version of life that never happened. And in one such universe, Grant Duane “Kelra” Pillas never left Smart Omega.

No ONIC. Just Kelra, still in Omega green, still with the Ch4knu and Z4pnu, still chasing that elusive world title under the same banner that raised him.

So what would have happened if the gold lane god—the MSC 2021 MVP, the Beatrix maestro, the king of Savages—never packed his bags?

Let’s entertain the fantasy.

Scene: The Choice

It’s February 2024. The Omega bootcamp is silent—eerily so.

A day has passed since MPL PH Season 13 ended, where Omega once again finished 7th. Another early vacation. Another meme run. The roster’s half-checked out. One’s queuing up ranked games. Another’s already asking around for MDL offers.

Kelra slumps in his chair, hoodie up, thinking if he’d ever be the Michael Jordan of MLBB.

But he’s just gotten the call. ONIC’s interested. Like We-want-to-build-around-you interested.

He glances across the room at the Omega logo on the wall. It’s faded now, the blue barely hanging on. The same team that gave him a second chance when the world branded him reckless. The same room where he pulled off that legendary MSC Savage.

Z4pnu walks in, tired but still smiling. “May offer na sila sa ’yo,” he says, trying not to sound disappointed. “Big team. Alam ko, deserve mo ’yun.”

Kelra doesn’t answer right away. He stares at the wall, eyes glassy.

“Pero kung ako tatanungin mo,” Z4pnu adds, “gusto ko bumawi tayo dito.”

Pause.

“Isa pa?”

Kelra looks at his hands—the same ones that held trophies, dropped 1v3s, and once punched the air after a last-second turn in a 30-minute game.

He doesn’t smile. He just nods.

“Isa pa.”

The Sniper Stays

And so in this version of history, Kelra stays.

Not out of obligation—but out of belief. Omega bets on him again. He bets on them back.

The management scrambles. They wipe the slate clean. New analyst. New jungle. Fresh players from MDL. The kind of players who grind in silence and don’t flinch when behind.

Omega knows it’s not a one-season fix. But with Kelra as anchor, they begin to rebuild—slowly, painfully, publicly.

Season 14: Last Place, Still Standing

They finish last.

The memes don’t stop. The casters try to be nice, calling their losses “developmental.” But it’s brutal. They bleed on stream.

But Kelra doesn’t jump ship. He streams less, scrims more. He calls out his own positioning mistakes in review. When a rookie gold laner from another team calls him washed, he doesn’t reply.

He just drops a silent 13-2 game against them two weeks later.

Season 15: Something Clicks

By MPL Season 15, the rebuild starts to show.

Omega doesn’t light the league on fire, but they play like a real team. Macro improves. Synergy builds. And Kelra?

Kelra becomes terrifying again.

Not just in the gold lane, but everywhere. He rotates early. He baits flickers. He plays Melissa like a puppet master, Beatrix like a surgeon. Not for show. For wins.

They reach the playoffs. A feat that, months ago, felt like a fantasy.

And when they do, the crowd doesn’t cheer for the team—they cheer for him. For staying. For believing. For turning a joke into a threat.

What Kelra Becomes

He’s no longer just “The Filipino Savage.”

He becomes the emotional spine of the team. A mentor to young players. The guy who texts, “Kaya mo ’yan” to rookies after a rough debut. The guy who still drops clutch 1v2s when the team needs a miracle.

He’s still flashy when it matters, but now he chooses his moments. The boy who once played on instinct now leads with vision.

What Omega Becomes

From a fallen giant to a dangerous dark horse.

Their bootcamp—once silent—is alive again. Internally, they still fight like siblings. But on the stage, they are one organism: tight, deliberate, deadly.

They never quite reach the mountaintop in this version of reality. No world title. No MSC repeat. But still the irreverent dark horse that shatters dreams, makes huge upsets, and cuts teams in the playoffs.

The Final What-If

What if Kelra never left Smart Omega?

Maybe they don’t win the world championship. Maybe they never become the next Blacklist or ECHO. Maybe they would even finish early in the playoffs again. 

But as Omega’s chief operating officer Patrick Cruz once told ALL-STAR, Kelra would not have become who he is today if he had stayed in Omega. He might not have won the world championship or the MPL. So in Smart Omega’s eyes, it was grateful they were once Kelra’s home.

In a previous interview with ALL-STAR, Coach Tony Senedrin, aka Ynot, weighed in on how crucial it was to form a team around Kelra.

When asked how crucial it was to build a team around Kelra, Coach Ynot explained:

“It was essential because, in Season 14, Kelra’s gameplay wasn’t as prominent. The strengths of his teammates took the spotlight, overshadowing the gold laner’s individual plays. This team setup highlighted the collective strength rather than relying solely on Kelra,” Ynot said.

Unlike his time with Omega, where Kelra often had to carry the entire team, ONIC’s current strategy allows him to shine when it matters most.

“Kelra’s clutch performance during the MPL-PH Season 14 Grand Finals showcased this perfectly. Even though he was limited in his hero selection, he delivered when it counted,” Coach Ynot said.

It’s not just a question of “What if Kelra stayed?” but rather, would he have the perfect teammates such as Frince, K1ngKong, Kirk, and Brusko?

So maybe staying wasn’t the story—maybe leaving was the legacy.