RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, 15 November – Team Malaysia today continued its history-making year by winning the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) event at the World Esports Championship (WEC) 2024. They bested Team Philippines 2-0 in the Grand Finals to take home the championship title and USD 70,000 of the USD 160,000 prize pool. Team Malaysia's triumph will taste particularly sweet as it was served with a side of revenge; they had previously lost 1-2 to Team Philippines in the Group Stage.
Team Malaysia's victory is the nation's first at the WEC's MLBB event; they had previously never progressed to the Grand Finals. Their achievement saw the national anthem of Malaysia – the Negaraku – played for the first time on this stage.
Team Malaysia's triumph continues the nation's rise to international prominence this year. In July, Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants secured the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) 2024 at the inaugural Esports World Cup, marking the first time a Malaysian team has secured the top honours at a major MLBB esports tournament. All eyes will now be on Selangor Red Giants when they compete on the M6 World Championship stage later this month. The MLBB Professional League (MPL) Malaysia Season 14 champions will begin their quest 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) – against Türkiye's S2G Esports on 28 November at 2:00 PM GMT+8.
Team Malaysia are comprised predominantly of members of Selangor Red Giants – Muhammad Haqqullah "Sekys" Ahmad Shahrul Zaman, Hazziq "Stormie" Rizwan, Muhammad "Yums" Suhairi, Ilman "Gojes" Zulkifli, as well as Head Coach Michael "Arcadia" Bocado and Assistant Coach Poon "OzoraVeki" Kok Sing all belong to the team. They are joined in the WEC 2024 by Ealtond "Loleal" Rayner and Muhammad Amir Zakwan "Zakqt" Bin Mohd Noor, both from MPL Malaysia team, JP NINERS.
From left to right: Gojes yells in jubilation after their match-winning game while Sekys flashes a wide grin
The WEC 2024 is organised by the International Esports Federation (IESF), with the headline MLBB event running from 12 to 15 November. The MLBB event saw 88 regions compete in a challenging series of qualifiers spanning months, with the top 16 teams advancing to the Main Stage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The MLBB esports action will continue with the women's event, taking place from 16 to 19 November. The Group Stage will take place from 16 to 17 November, with the 12 teams split into two groups competing in a round-robin format featuring Best-Of-One (BO1) matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Upper Bracket, while the third-place team will move to the Lower Bracket. The Playoffs will be held from 18 to 19 November, and follow a double-elimination format with Best-Of-Three (BO3) matches.
