MLBB Mid Season Cup to be held at Esports World Cup

Video game developer Moonton Gameshas announced a partnership with Esports World Cup Foundation (EWC)an international esports series backed by the government of Saudi Arabia. As a result of the agreement, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang will be present at this year’s Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The competition will feature the largest prize giveaway in Mobile Legends history, with $3M.

In addition, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang will also feature its own MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) at the EWC. The event will feature a prize money of $500,000 and, for the first time, both the MWI and MSC will be held outside Southeast Asia.

MLBB is one of the biggest mobile titles outside of China, and is gaining popularity in Southeast Asia. Last year’s MLBB World Championship (M5) was the fourth most popular esports tournament of all time, excluding Chinese viewers.

The mobile MOBA will be one of many esports titles participating in the Esports World Cup, an international multi-tournament series that is part of Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy. Earlier this year, news surfaced that Riot Games might also host a League of Legends tournament at the event.

Regarding the possible negative reaction, from the community, that Mobile Legends’ decision to participate in the Esports World Cup could cause, Ray NG made a number of statements.

In general, as we have been with the MPL MENA for five years now, we do not see any negative reaction from our community. Also, the fact that top teams from the Middle East and North Africa represent the region in our international event has not provoked any negative comments or feelings. One interesting thing is that Saudi Arabia and the entire MENA region are Muslim cultures. And if you look at Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia, they also tend to belong to that Muslim culture, which naturally fits very well. The purpose is to bring everyone together, in line with our vision, which is, esports for everyone, regardless of race, diversity or background. We have a lot of players from all over the world

Ray NG, Head of Esports Ecosystem, MOONTON Games

On the other hand, Ray pointed out that the talks between Esports World Cup and Mobile Legends began early last year. Among other things, they traveled to the country to present MLBB as a product to the Saudi Esports Federation, in addition to highlighting the title’s globalization ambitions and its initiatives in the MENA region. In recent years, Moonton has focused on the MENA region with MPL MENA, in addition to other initiatives to develop the region’s ecosystem as a whole.

MSC 2024 will be held between July 1 and 14.with a main stage and a Wildcard stage. Teams will qualify for the MSC through the respective regional title leagues, with 16 teams competing in the Main Stage. This includes competitors from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, MENA and the Philippines, among others.

No further details have yet been revealed about the format of the MLBB Women’s InvitationalFor now, Ray Ng has emphasized that an important notice will be sent to the community that everyone can participate at the highest level of competition, giving women the opportunity to compete in a safe environment.