Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to be at SEA Games 2025 in Thailand

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has been presented as the main esports title of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) 2025, an international multi-sport event that will hold its 33rd edition in Thailand. MLBB will be a medalist esports and will feature both men’s and women’s tournaments.

E-sports were first included in the SEA Games in 2019 and its 2023 edition hosted titles for nine events in total and the games selected were Crossfire, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile, VALORANT and Attack Online 2. It is unknown if any new ones will arrive for this new edition.

Along with this announcement, the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, MOONTON Games, has partnered with the Thai Esports Federation (TESF).. The aim of the partnership is to “unlock economic and tourism opportunities” through e-sports.including initiatives such as community engagement activities, promotional and marketing opportunities, and the sharing of analytics.

Founded in 2013, TESF is a regulatory authority created to manage e-sports in Thailand. It is currently recognized by the Sports Authority of Thailand and is a member of the International Esports Federation (IESF).

The SEA Games will be held from December 9 to 20, 2025. in several cities in Thailand, with Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Chonburi and Songkhla as the main venues. A number of participants from 11 Southeast Asian countries are expected to participate in the 11-day event. These countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.

One of MLBB’s key success factors has been our deliberate strategy to make the competitive eSports ecosystem accessible and inclusive for aspiring athletes. International esports events such as the SEA Games empower esports players, organizations and federations by providing them with a globally recognized competitive platform to bring glory to their respective nations. The return of MLBB as a medal event is another positive step for esports, which is increasingly accepted by the Thai and global esports community as a competitive sport.

Ray Ng, head of eSports ecosystem at MOONTON Games.