M7 World Championship Wildcard stage watch time up 30% year-on-year

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While the new esports season is only just getting underway for many titles, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang fans are already in the middle of the year’s biggest moment. The M7 World Championship is in full swing, and the tournament has just wrapped up its opening Wildcard stage. With the final two teams now locked in, the group stage is set to bring together the very best the scene has to offer, as the full title race and a sizable prize pool officially begin.

Even before the top contenders have entered the server, the tournament is already showing clear signs of growth. Viewership during the Wildcard stage has increased sharply year over year, with watch time numbers rising by approximately 30%. Below, we take a closer look at how the M7 World Championship is performing so far, breaking down the viewership dynamics and the matches that have drawn the most attention.

This year’s Wildcard stage was played under a slightly revised, more forgiving format. Instead of just one team advancing, two spots in the next stage were up for grabs, giving contenders more room for error. Across the two Wildcard groups, Team Zone and Virtus.pro emerged as the strongest performers, with Virtus.pro delivering a flawless group stage without dropping a single map.

  The dramatic nature of the first semifinal made it the most-watched match of the Wildcard stage   

The Wildcard playoffs, however, brought a very different story. Team Zone were pushed to the brink in their semifinal, forced to attempt the near-impossible after falling behind 2:0 vs. Guangzhou Gaming. Against the odds, they completed a dramatic comeback to turn the series around and move on. Virtus.pro’s run ended in far more painful fashion. Despite their dominant group performance, they fell in their semifinal against Boostgate Esports and were eliminated from the tournament, marking a brutal and unexpected exit.

The Wildcard stage delivered a dramatic conclusion, and if it’s any indication, the main event promises even more intense battles ahead.

This year’s Wildcard stage ran several hours longer than in the previous edition, but the added airtime did not dilute performance. On the contrary, audience engagement became more organic and sustained throughout the stage. Average concurrent viewership increased by approximately 20,000 viewers, or around 14% year-over-year. Combined with the longer broadcast duration, that growth translated into an overall 30% year-on-year increase in total watch time, showing that interest scaled alongside the expanded schedule rather than dropping off.

Growth was visible across multiple key demographics. Indonesia remained the largest and most influential audience segment, posting a solid 9% increase compared to last year. The most dramatic jump, however, came from Filipino viewers. Peak Tagalog-language viewership was around 1.5 times higher than a year ago, highlighting the Philippines’ growing role in driving Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports audiences.

While Malaysian viewership was slightly lower this time around, the Wildcard stage benefited from a broader international reach. English- and Russian-language broadcasts attracted more viewers than last year, pointing to expanding interest beyond the tournament’s traditional core markets and reinforcing the M7 World Championship’s increasingly global footprint even before the main stage begins.

The tournament continues on Saturday, January 10, with the opening matches of the group stage, where all the top contenders will finally enter the competition. Follow the M7 World Championship on Esports Charts to stay up to date with the latest viewership trends and key moments as the event unfolds.