EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 tops Esports World Cup's ranking of most popular tournaments

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EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 concluded on July 14th in Riyadh, marking a pivotal event in the Esports World Cup series for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. With a peak of over 2.38 million concurrent viewers, it solidified its status as the most popular championship in both the EWC and the MLBB esports for 2024. At least for now.

Following the MLBB Southeast Asia Cup, this edition was the first held outside Southeast Asia and boasted the largest prize pool in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang history, totaling $3 million. The tournament featured top teams from regional MPL leagues and winners of national qualifiers from countries like China, Mongolia, and Myanmar.

Previously dominant in MLBB tournaments, Indonesian teams consistently reached the playoffs. However, this time around, there was a notable upset at the EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024. All Indonesian teams, including Fnatic ONIC and EVOS Glory, were eliminated after the group stage.

The playoffs showcased renowned teams such as Liquid Echo, Falcons AP.Bren, and NIP Flash. However, it was the Selangor Red Giants, champions of MPL Malaysia Season 13, who emerged as the strongest, advancing confidently to the grand final. In a thrilling showdown, they secured a hard-fought 4:3 victory over Falcons AP.Bren, clinching a million-dollar prize that marked a historic triumph for the club and Malaysia's first international victory in MLBB tournaments.

The EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 garnered a total of 29.1 million hours of watch time, with 406,600 Average Viewers and 2.38 million Peak Viewers during the grand final. However, across all these metrics, this tournament fell short compared to last year's MLBB Southeast Asia Cup 2023. Despite its potential for broader audience engagement, several factors impeded its success.

The primary reason for the decreased viewership compared to previous years was the disappointing performance of Indonesian teams. Indonesia holds significant importance in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang community and the early elimination of these teams notably affected viewership on Indonesian streams, including MPL Indonesia's YouTube and TikTok channels.

Another factor was the inconvenient timing for viewers in Southeast Asia, a region that traditionally makes up the core audience for the game. This issue was further exacerbated by inconsistent broadcasting schedules on some regional channels. While it's challenging to pinpoint the precise impact on overall viewer statistics, these factors combined surely influenced the tournament's reach and engagement.

The most popular MSC (Mid Season Cup) series tournaments

Had Fnatic ONIC progressed to the playoffs, the overall viewership for the EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 could have seen a significant increase. This is supported by the fact that the top two most-watched matches of the tournament were Fnatic ONIC's games during the group stage, with peak online viewership second only to the grand final.

The most popular Esports tournaments in 2024

Despite not reaching its full potential, the EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 still attained a prominent position within MLBB and esports in general. It currently ranks third in peak online viewership among all events in 2024, surpassed only by the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 and LCK Spring 2024.

“We’re elated to have achieved this milestone at the Esports World Cup. The EWC x MLBB MSC 2024 is the first time we’ve held the MSC outside of Southeast Asia, so we’re pleased to have achieved our goal of providing a platform for our teams and audiences to #SeeTheWorld. This truly reflects the status of MLBB Esports as a global brand. A massive thank you to all of the fans who completely filled our arena”. 

Ray Ng, Head of Esports Ecosystem at Moonton Games

As of now, the EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 holds the title of the most popular tournament in the Esports World Cup 2024 series. In second place is the League of Legends championship, which attracted a concurrent audience of 1.11 million viewers.