MPL MY S17 Week 1: RRQ Tora Dominates, Viewership Up 133%

The first week of the MPL Malaysia Season 17's Group Stage has ended, with seven matches in total played across three match days. A move to the franchising format for 2026 and its future has ensured the league — now following a Partnership Programme — has gotten more eyeballs on it, and that can be seen in the spike in early viewership interest.

Esports Charts presents a recap of the early matches in the Regular Season of this Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition, including results, the most popular match, and what fans can expect going forward.

Which teams shone during Week 1 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17?

Two teams emerged with maximum hauls of two wins during the first week: Selangor Red Giants and RRQ Tora. The former, the defending champion and the league's most dominant side in recent years, had a nervy second outing before finally closing out a 2:0 series win.

Tora, meanwhile, is a new side of the famed Indonesian multi-gaming organization, RRQ, and is participating in the Malaysian circuit. The side has gotten off to a perfect start, and if its audience engagement is anything to go by, a deep run in its maiden Mobile Legends Professional League outing in the country should boost its viewership to new heights.

Want to dive deeper into the viewership dynamics of this event? Unlock comprehensive statistics, peak viewer trends, and match-by-match metrics.

Which was the most popular match during Week 1 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17?

Viewership dynamics from the first week of the MPL Malaysia Season 17 Viewership dynamics from the first week of the MPL Malaysia Season 17

The Week 1, Day 1 clash between RRQ Tora and Team Rey hit 399,537 Peak Viewers (PV), signaling a rise of over 133% comapred to the previous season's first week. Tora's presence, which means bringing over audiences that the Indonesian organization usually sees in its homeland, played a major role in this positive development.

Most popular matches from Week 1 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17 Most popular matches from Week 1 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17

Both of RRQ Tora's matches topped the most popular games charts, meaning the debuting side is already the Malaysian MPL league's most popular side. This also had a knock-on effect on its two opponents, as Team Rey and Team Flash, another team in its first season after moving from the MPL Singapore, figured among the circuit's top sides by average viewership early on.

Read also: Team Flash moves to the franchising MPL Malaysia, leaving Singapore circuit behind

Moreover, the watch time and average viewership numbers enjoyed big jumps of 127.7% and 77.95% compared to the first week of the MPL Malaysia Season 16. The overall airtime was only three hours more, but the sheer consistency of audience engagement this time around aided in these improvements.

What were the other viewership trends to emerge during Week 1 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17?

As mentioned before, RRQ's expansion into Malaysia has meant that Indonesian interest in this popular Mobile Legends: Bang Bang league is at an all-time high. The language, with 68,752 PV, has already set a new record in the MPL Malaysia, and if Tora goes deep into the Playoffs, here's a good chance we see multiple new series viewership records.

Moreover, TikTok consolidated its reputation as the most preferred medium for fans to catch the action. The video-sharing app has already cornered over 58% of the MPL Malaysia Season 17's cumulative watch time, and the platform is only set to grow further in this market as mobile esports remains the top genre.

Week 2 of the MPL Malaysia Season 17 will run from April 10 to 12, with Selangor Red Giants' clashes with Bigetron MY by VIT and Team Flash the highlight matches. Readers can follow it for results, schedule, and viewership insights on the Esports Charts tournament page.