SEA MPL league's show contrasting viewership fortunes ahead of M7 Worlds
With the year-end festivities fast approaching, most of the esports season across various titles has come to a close. Only a few games still have their seasons ongoing, with one of the major names, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, entering its final stretch.
Over the weekend, all the remaining major leagues that count towards qualification for the coveted M7 World Championship concluded. This included circuits in Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia, which will send a combined five representatives to the highly anticipated season finale.
The Malaysian league of the Mobile Legends Professional League maintained its reputation as the third biggest in the series, with two sides set to represent the nation at the M7 World Championship. The Cambodian circuit also experienced an improvement in its peak live viewership, although Singapore and Myanmar saw a decline in their split-on-split livestreaming numbers.
MPL Malaysia Season 16 viewership statistics
The MPL Malaysia Season 16 lasted for a little over two months and pitted the country's 10 best sides against each other for $100,000. The Playoffs took place at the MAEPS Serdang, Selangor, with the top two sealing their spots at the M7 World Championship.
In the end, it was Selangor Red Giants OG Esports who emerged as the champion, easing past CG Esports 4:0 in the Grand Final as both sides made it to the upcoming World Championship. This best-of-seven encounter was also the regional league's most popular match, reaching 600,905 Peak Viewers (PV), with no other game surpassing 400,000 PV.
It was SRG.OG's fourth straight victory in this Mobile Legends Professional League, a run that began at the start of 2024. Season 16 also outperformed the previous split's peak viewership by 20.69% and put it among the series' three most popular events.
It also became one of only four MPL Malaysia competitions to cross the 12 million Hours Watched (HW) mark. TikTok's rise to becoming the preferred mode for fans to catch the live action has been crucial to this growth, with the video-sharing application now above legacy names like YouTube and Facebook in the country.
Interestingly, the last four splits have easily been among the MPL series' most fruitful ones by viewership. This has, unsurprisingly, coincided with the elevation of Selangor Red Giants OG Esports as the dominant domestic name in Malaysia.
SRG.OG has also represented the nation well in its brief international sojourns, finishing in the top three at all three of its global tournaments: the last two MLBB Mid Season Cups and the M6 World Championship.
Led by SRG.OG's superiority and its rising global profile, the MPL Malaysia has solidified itself as the third-most prominent regional league in the Mobile Legends Professional League. Alongside CG Esports, the Season 16 winner will perhaps be the biggest threat to the continued success that sides from Indonesia and the Philippines have enjoyed at the MLBB World Championship.
Viewership statistics of other SEA MPL leagues
The MPL Cambodia Season 9 had one of the series's better outings by peak concurrent viewership. It became just the fifth split to surpass the 100,000 PV barrier, with the 1.9 million HW also putting it among the circuit's five most-watched events.
This Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament hit 103,248 Peak Viewers during the Grand Final between CFU Gaming and Galaxy Legends. The former clinched a thriller 4:3 to seal its place in the M7 World Championship, marking its second straight appearance at this marquee event.
What helped Season 9 far surpass the PV numbers of the previous split was the hype around CFU Gaming. The side was chasing history, aiming to become the first side to do the three-peat in this Cambodian regional league, with two sides having gone back-to-back previously: See You Soon and Team Flash KH.
Luckily for fans tuning in, CFU Gaming was able to pull off this feat and create some MLBB history of its own. The team will also look to represent Cambodia well at the upcoming MLBB World Championship by causing an upset or two, which would definitely shake up the entire Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition.
Among the remaining two leagues, the MLBB Super League Season 2 put up higher livestreaming numbers. These figures were still a fall from the inaugural split, although there are reasons to believe this fledgling circuit will come good as it gains a footing on the calendar.
Yangon Galacticos emerged as the champion in the second season after beating Team 7 in the Grand Final, which did 97,636 PV, around 28% less than the MLBB Super League Myanmar Season 1. Its watch time of just over 2 million HW was over 7.45% less than what we saw at the first split of the year, which is not much, reflecting the slight decrease in the airtime by around two and a half hours.
One big reason was the middling performance of the Season 1 winner Mythic Seal, which only finished in the 5th-6th bracket. AI Esports, one of the most popular sides by Average Viewers (AV) across the first two iterations, also finished in the third spot for the second consecutive time, meaning another early fan favorite was not going to the M7 World Championship.
Nevertheless, MLBB Super League Season 2 champion Yangon Galacticos has proven itself to be a worthy representative for the Southeast Asian nation at the upcoming season finale. It has established itself as the most consistent side in the league's early years, having also finished second at the MLBB Super League Myanmar Season 1.
Last comes the MPL Singapore Season 10, which continues its downward viewership trend after reaching its zenith at the end of 2023. In fact, it ended with the lowest numbers of all the circuits within the MLBB Professional League, despite being one of the oldest splits, with even newer regions like LATAM and CIS putting up better livestreaming numbers.
On the plus side, the circuit did crown a new winner for the first time since the sixth season. This MPL series saw EVIL beat reigning three-time champion Team Flash 4:1 to claim its first-ever domestic crown. It also sealed its spot in the M7 World Championship, although the Grand Final itself wasn't among the two most popular matches.
The number one game by peak live viewers was between Team Stallion SG and Kingdom Esports. Interestingly, the audiences in this league seem to be looking for some change in proceedings, as Team Stallion is a community team that finished as the Challengers Qualifier winner to make it to the main rounds. Meanwhile, Kingdom Esports remains relatively new to the MPL esports scene, and this was its first top-three finish in the Singapore circuit.
EVIL itself had been a nearly team in the MPL Singapore, finishing in the top four six times before finally going all the way. With no Singaporean side finishing above fourth at the MLBB World Championship, the side will look to break new ground at the seventh edition.
This lack of success at the global stage seems to be hurting this circuit the most, as fans seem to be tuning out or watching other, more popular MPL series instead. How the organizers fix this going forward remains to be seen, but some encouraging performances internationally are sure to pull some fans back in.
Teams participating in the M7 World Championship Swiss Stage
Teams participating in the M7 World Championship Wildcard Stage
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
With all the qualifying leagues done and dusted, the focus will now shift to preparations for the world championship. The seventh edition will be held from January 3 to 25, 2026, at multiple venues in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a total prize pool of $1 million on the line.
The biggest question on fans' minds will be whether the Philippines can maintain its incredible winning run at this mega event, or if a first-time winner emerges (we will definitely have a new champion as ONIC Philippines will not defend its world title after failing to qualify via the MPL Philippines Season 16). Esports Charts will come up with more articles on the M7 World Championship in the coming days, which readers can access on our news section.
Detailed Esports data at your fingertips.
Subscribe to & start exploring!
Mentioned events
Mentioned teams
