JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA, 4 November – Selangor Red Giants defeated Team Vamos 4-2 last night in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Malaysia Season 14 Grand Finals, becoming the first team to claim back-to-back MPL Malaysia titles. The history-makers had previously claimed Malaysia's first international Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Esports title in July, at the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) in Saudi Arabia.
Selangor Red Giants will continue their march for the Golden Road – the feat of winning all MLBB Esports events in the same year (MSC 2024, MPL Malaysia Season 14, and M6 World Championship) – at the M6, which commences with the Wild Card Stage on 21 November. Both Selangor Red Giants and Team Vamos qualify for the M6 Main Stage, which takes place from 28 November, where they will compete for the USD 1 million purse.
Malaysia's leaders endorse esports ahead of M6
From left to right: YB Tuan Mohd Hairi bin Mad Shah, Chairman of the Johor State Committee for Youth, Sports, Entrepreneur Development, and Cooperatives; YB Tan Sri Dato' Dr. HJ Azmi bin Rohani, Johor State Secretary; YAB Dato’ Onn Hafiz Bin Ghazi, Chief Minister of Johor; YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Zahid bin Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia; YB Dato' Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir, Minister of Higher Education; YB Dato' Seri Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister of Works; YB Dato' Sri Abdul Rahman bin Mohamad, Deputy Minister of Human Resources.
Malaysia's leaders graced the Grand Finals in a display of support for esports. In an exclusive press conference with media, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Zahid bin Hamidi reiterated the government's support for the esports industry and expressed hopes that more will be done to continue its growth.
The Deputy Prime Minister applauded Malaysia's recently announced MYR 20 million Madani Budget 2025 allocation to enhance the esports ecosystem and revealed that "MYR 10 million will be used to develop a stadium specifically for esports, while the remainder will be used for training and other esports-related activities."
He praised plans from the Sarawak government to build its own esports stadium, as well as to integrate Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) into hafiz secondary schools throughout the state, which will include a course for content creation, including on match reporting. He highlighted the importance of creators, anticipating that "in the future, content creators will be key to providing more success in this industry."
Malaysia's leaders pose with cosplayers of MLBB heroes. From left to right: YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Zahid bin Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia; YB Tan Sri Dato' Dr. HJ Azmi bin Rohani, Johor State Secretary; YAB Dato’ Onn Hafiz Bin Ghazi, Chief Minister of Johor.
Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Adam Adli also shared his well wishes with Selangor Red Giants and Team Vamos, telling media in a press conference: "I hope that this success in MPL Malaysia will snowball to M6, not just in terms of team performance but support from overall fans."
Audience and viewership records smashed!
MPL Malaysia set a record for the most-watched Malaysian esports event of all time. The Season 14 Grand Finals had 812,911 Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), according to esports analytics platform, Esports Charts.
Photo credit: Esports Charts
The Season 14 PCV eclipses the previous national record of 610,943 PCV also set by MPL Malaysia in Season 13 and continues the league's track consistent growth record season-on-season.
"Since the split between Malaysia and Singapore leagues, MPL Malaysia has consistently raised the bar, setting new viewership records for eight seasons in a row. This season's remarkable turnout further solidifies MPL Malaysia's position as a top esports event in the region, ranking as the third most-watched league within the MPL series, only behind the powerhouses of Indonesia and the Philippines. The strong fan engagement in Season 14 reflects the deepening connection between the MPL brand and the Malaysian esports community, making it a pivotal contributor to the regional esports landscape,” shared https://escharts.com/tournaments/mobile-legends/mpl-malaysia-season-13-mobile-legends.
The MPL recently became the first esports event series to surpass 1 billion hours of watch time globally, according to Esports Charts.
Photo credit: Esports Charts
The Grand Finals also had the biggest offline audience in league history, with more than 15,000 fans descending upon the Educity Sports Complex in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru. The Season 14 Playoffs was the first time MPL Malaysia ventured outside the Klang Valley area in its six-year history. Fikri Rizal Mahruddin, Marketing and Business Development Lead at MOONTON Games, said: "With Season 14 having concluded as the most successful MPL Malaysia so far, all eyes turn to the M6 later this month. The biggest accolade in MLBB history – an M Series championship title – still eludes Malaysia. In front of home fans, our national representatives will show the world our esports prowess and prove that Malaysian esports is #GreaterThanEver."
Roller coaster Playoffs for Selangor Red Giants
The Season 14 Playoffs sent Selangor Red Giants on a roller coaster of results – and emotions – after beginning their first match with a stunning 1-3 loss to TODAK in the Upper Bracket Semi Finals. The defending champions had to navigate the rest of the tournament via the Lower Brackets, knowing that one more loss would send them out of the competition. However, they displayed a champion's mentality to secure a comprehensive 3-0 win over RED Esports before securing the Grand Finals spot and sweet revenge over TODAK in the Lower Bracket Finals.
The summit clash saw Selangor Red Giants take Game 1 in convincing fashion after putting in a disciplined display. Team Vamos upped the aggression in Game 2 to overwhelm the Red Giants and tie up the series. However, Game 3 and 4 went the way of the defending champions, with the former lasting a mere 10 minutes, the fastest in Season 14. With Selangor Red Giants at match point in the Best-of-Seven (BO7) clash, Team Vamos rallied impressively to take Game 5, but were systematically dismantled by the eventual champions in Game 6 after being able to content with their backline-focused draft.
Please see below for the results of the Season 14 Playoffs:
Selangor Red Giants comprises Coach, Michael "Arcadia" Angelo Bocado; Assistant Coach, Poon "OzoraVeki" Kok Sing; Mid Laner, Hazziq Danish "Stormie" bin Mohamad Rizwan; Jungler, Muhammad Haqqullah "Sekys" bin Ahmad Shahrul Zaman; EXP Laner, Mark "Kramm" Genzon Sojero Rusiana; Gold Laner, John "Innocent" Vincent Banal; Roamer, Muhammad Qayyum Ariffin "YumS" bin Mohd Suhairi; and substitute Ilman Zareef "Gojes" bin Zulkifli. Selangor Red Giants' mage prodigy, Stormie, was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP), marking the first time a Mid Laner was named FMVP in MPL Malaysia.
Team Vamos is composed of Coach, Khairul Azman "Pabz" bin Mohd Sharif; Tactical Coach, Paolo "Paoweeburn" Lobaton; Mid Laner, Rizky "Warlord" Agustian; Jungler, Muhammad Nazhan "Chibi" bin Mohd Nor; EXP Laner, Aeliff Adam "Smooth" bin Md Ariff; Gold Laner, Kenneth "Nets" Sablande Barro; Roamer, Mohammad Zul Hisham "Xorn" bin Mohd Noor; and substitute, Muhammad Irfan "Sepat" bin Aujang.
Season 14 is jointly organised by MOONTON Games and KPRJ Sports Sdn Bhd (KSSB), a subsidiary of Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd (KPRJ), with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), Esports Integrated (ESI), and the Malaysia Electronic Sports Federation (MESF). As the Malaysia Presenter, Hotlink is on hand to fully optimise the league's network to deliver the best gaming experience for MLBB. ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) and JD Sports are the league's Official Sponsors, while Head & Shoulders is the Partner in Esports. The league also has strategic partners TNTCO and Majlis Sukan Negeri Johor (MSNJ).
