Mobile Legends Professional League: everything you need to know about the upcoming seasons
The 2023 seasons of the pro league for mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MPL) has just begun. Here’s what you can look forward to!
MPL 2023 overview
Since 2017, professional teams have proved themselves in the MPL. Starting with three regions — the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia/Singapore — the league has grown internationally throughout the years. Now, we can expect MPL matches in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, and the Middle East. This year didn’t see many additions to the MPL. However, the game’s developer Moonton has added other Mobile Legends tournaments to expand its esports scene.
The largest of them is the MLBB LATAM Super League 2023 Season 1. In each region, North and South, eight teams will fight each other through a Group Stage and the Playoffs. The North and South iterations will begin on March 4. Both regions have already invited three squads each. The remaining spots will be filled with teams from the Qualifier. Other event additions include the World Cyber Games, the Women’s Invitational, and the Snapdragon Pro Series. This expansion allows MLBB fans to watch over 170 teams from 55 regions play nearly 1,600 matches.
The new season already kicked off last week, with the MPL Cambodia Spring 2023 and the MPL Malaysia Season 11. The former will feature eight teams: See You Soon, Logic Esports, Impunity KH, BURN x FLASH, CFU Gaming, Team Max, ZD Gaming, and PRO Esports. It’ll be interesting to find out whether Impunity can take first place like the previous year. In contrast, ten squads will participate in the MPL Malaysia Season 11. Last year’s winner, Team HAQ, is joining once more.
One month later, we’ll get to watch the MPL Singapore Season 5. Six teams are already locked in for the tournament: RSG Slate GG, Slate Esports, Evil, Revival, Stellark SG, and Team SMG SG. But two teams can still join through the Open Qualifier. The first half of the MPL year ends with the MPL Mena Spring 2023. The MENA tournament is also the one with the biggest prize pool of the four. Participating teams will play for $107,500. Last year’s prize pool was $130,500, with winner GX Squad taking home $31,300.
In August, the MPL will continue with its second half. November marks the start of the ONE Esports MPL Invitational. Lastly, 2023’s exciting final is the M5 World Championship in the Philippines. Until then, MLBB fans can tune in to many more events, such as the National Leagues in NA and Turkey and the Mobile Legends: Southwest Asia Cup 2023.
Indonesia region with strong viewership
Indonesia leads in Hours Watched and Peak Viewers
In 2022, Indonesia was the most-watched region among MPL participants. MLBB fans watched the Fall tournament for a total of 81 million hours. The most popular match was the Grand Final between ONIC Esports and RRQ Hoshi, which peaked at 2.4 million viewers. ONIC emerged as the winner. Viewers also loved the MPL edition in the Philippines. More than 830,000 Peak Viewers witnessed Blacklist International take home $45,000 after their final match against ECHO. The third most-watched region was Malaysia. 230,000 fans watched the Season 10 final between Team HAQ and TODAK. While Cambodia reached about half of that in PV, other regions struggled even more. None of them reached the 1 million mark in terms of Hours Watched. In addition, MENA’s PV stayed underneath 10,000.
With viewership so varied between regions, we’re curious how the regional MPL tournaments will be perceived in 2023. Will Indonesia remain the most popular MPL country? Which teams will make it to the final stages? And which regions could be potentially added or dropped in 2024? No matter the answers, MLBB fans can look forward towards an exciting year!
Detailed Esports data at your fingertips.
Subscribe to & start exploring!
