MPL Insights: LATAM beats Singapore in average audience for the first time — all thanks to Indonesian streamers
Regional leagues MPL Singapore Season 8 and MPL LATAM Season 2 wrapped up on October 13, revealing two more teams that will compete in the M6 World Championship, the premier tournament in the professional Mobile Legends: Bang Bang scene.
According to Esports Charts, viewership in Singapore dropped significantly compared to the previous season, mainly due to a lack of TikTok broadcasts from the official channels of other MPL leagues. In contrast, Latin America saw a surprising increase in audience numbers, with average viewership climbing by nearly 50%, even surpassing that of MPL Singapore.
MPL Singapore Season 8 Viewership Results
The title of MPL Singapore Season 8 and a spot in the M6 World Championship went to NIP Flash, who claimed the title for the third straight season. They faced no challenges this time around: a solid performance in the group stage led to a well-deserved first-place finish, which carried over into a dominant playoff run. In the double-elimination bracket, NIP Flash swept all their semifinal matches, only allowing their opponents, EVIL, to take one game in the final match.
While the results of MPL Singapore Season 8 were largely expected, there are some noteworthy points regarding viewer statistics. First, the average number of viewers dropped significantly compared to the previous season, falling by 40%.
Second, total watch time for the season reached just 279,500 hours, marking one of the lowest figures in MPL Singapore history. The only season with fewer viewing hours was MPL Singapore Season 5.
The only metric that saw an increase during MPL Singapore Season 8 was peak viewership. The grand final between NIP Flash and EVIL drew around 40,300 concurrent viewers, a 38% increase from last season. However, this peak was only recorded for that one match, while all other series did not exceed 16,400 viewers at their highest.
Additionally, the number of unique broadcast channels declined slightly compared to last season. Several key channels, such as mpl.id.official, mplmy, and mplph_official, were absent this time, and these channels had previously attracted a solid audience on TikTok. As a result, the platform's share of total watch time dropped from 37% to just 9%. The same trend was seen with the MPL Philippines YouTube channel, which had been among the top four channels for peak viewership last season. Without support from affiliated channels in other MPL leagues, it has been tough for MPL Singapore to draw in a larger audience.
MPL LATAM Season 2 Viewership Statistics
MPL LATAM Season 2 was much more exciting than its Singapore counterpart. Notably, the champion was the new team from the Argentine organization Maycam Evolve, which launched its Mobile Legends: Bang Bang division just in August, bringing together a mix of players from other teams.
During the Swiss Stage, Maycam Evolve played confidently, losing only one series. But in the playoffs, the team was unstoppable: they first eliminated Infamous and Infinity, and then, in the final match, they crushed RRQ Akira, the previous season's champion, with a dominant 4-0 victory.
In terms of viewer statistics, MPL LATAM Season 2 surpassed the first season across all metrics. For instance, the Average Viewers number increased by 50%, and peak viewership more than doubled. At first glance, the league shows solid progress in audience reach, but community casting played a significant role in this growth.
Unlike the Singapore league, MPL LATAM Season 2 saw a slight uptick in the number of unique channels compared to the previous season. Notably, these were not official channels from other leagues but Indonesian streamers — BrandonKent Everything, Donkey BAR BAR, and Fiel Petra. They only streamed the final match, but that was enough to generate more watch time than other channels on that day. Thanks to this community casting, Indonesian emerged as the leading language for average and peak viewership in MPL LATAM Season 2, accounting for nearly 10% of the total watch time for the entire season.
Another important factor in the growth of metrics was the league's new broadcasts on TikTok. During MPL LATAM Season 2, the number of channels on the platform increased nearly threefold, with the addition of official channels like mlbbttofficial and mlbbesesports, which drew a solid audience.
While community casting by Indonesian streamers significantly impacted the metrics for MPL LATAM Season 2, the Latin American league itself came close to catching up with MPL Singapore. This is especially evident when comparing not just the finals but also the semifinals of the seasons.
