ML:BB Professional League becomes first esports series to reach one billion hours of watch time

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In a new record, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League recently became the first esports event series to reach 1 Billion Hours Watched in Esports Charts database, which has been maintained since 2016. Since its inception, the MPL has grown to become one of the industry-leading esports series and some of esports’ largest and most passionate regional audiences. Although the MPL is the first billion-hours-watched event series, it will soon be joined by another circuit.

The ML:BB Professional League was announced in 2017 as Moonton Games established an official top-level esports scene for their mobile gaming title. Originally only taking place in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, it’s quickly grown and expanded to more regions around the globe. The first MPL events received thousands of viewers, but this quickly became hundreds of thousands and millions across only a few short years.

Since then, the league has expanded into Myanmar, Cambodia, Latin America, and the MENA region. Brazil and the Middle East & North Africa are prime mobile gaming audiences, and Moonton are rapidly developing a foothold in these regions. Just this year, the first ML:BB international tournament took place outside Asia in collaboration with the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia. 

While all this expansion has taken place, the founding regions remain the strongest. Indonesia and the Philippines quickly emerged as the two strongest regions as the MPL developed, and now Indonesia has separated itself from the rest of the pack, emerging as the record-setting region for the series.

Although the MPL was the first event series to reach 1B, it won't be the only one for long. The League of Legends World Championship series is close behind, with 1 Billion Hours Watched ensured by the ongoing Worlds 2024 event. In fact, League of Legends was the only esports title to contribute two event series to the top 5 here. 

The League of Legends Champions Korea having collected 960M Hours Watched shows just how critical the Korean audience is to League of Legends. The LoL Worlds series is particularly popular thanks to its wide international audience, something the MPL also benefits from. As the MPL and LCK are seasonal events, they have a unique advantage against the annual Worlds series.

To contextualise ML:BB’s achievement in the mobile gaming industry, the MPL has received about quadruple the viewership of the PUBG Mobile Pro League, which has a similar total Airtime to the MPL. It also recorded more than triple the watch time of Twitch Rivals, which not only has over 600 tournaments but appeals to the large, loyal audiences of famous internet personalities. 

Lastly, the Valorant Champions Tour and The International made the cut, with The International’s total watch time closer to Worlds than some may expect. The International’s official coverage of qualifiers helped it to generate extra viewership each year on top of the main event; with over a decade of history, this viewership quickly adds up for the Dota 2 event series.

The VCT also recorded strong watch time, and considering past performance of the tour, it should break the 1B HW mark in 2025. The title has a slightly inflated tournaments figure, as many small, local tournaments were considered as part of the VCT during its early years. 

While many other esports event series got close, the MPL was the first to reach the billion-hours-watched mark. The mobile gaming esports title continues to break records and highlight the power of the mobile gaming industry. As ML:BB continues its expansion into Latin America and MENA, it cements itself as a contender for the world’s favourite esports game.