Team Spirit celebrates its MSC victory at the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC). Photo by Esports Foundation.

A new powerhouse region has arrived in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Esports! Team Spirit (TS) became the first team outside Southeast Asia (SEA) to win an official international MLBB major tournament after claiming the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) at the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris, France. The champions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) defeated Yangon Galacticos (YG) of Myanmar, 4-3, yesterday (1 August) to secure a USD 1 million purse in a high-octane Grand Final that went the full series—a summit clash befitting the MSC's European debut.

Team Spirit's victory capped an MSC that witnessed some of the most competitive displays from emerging regions in the tournament's nine-year history. Traditional powerhouse regions suffered early exits at the hands of emerging regions, with defending MSC champions—Team Liquid Philippines (2025) and Selangor Red Giants (2024)—crashing out in the Group Stages. Team Spirit themselves swept Team Vamos (Malaysia) and ONIC (Indonesia) in the Knockout Stage to earn EECA the right of being only the fourth region to lift the MSC trophy, joining Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. ONIC crushed Team Falcons PH, 3-0, in the Third Place Match to secure a podium finish.

Tiger Xu, Global Head of MLBB Esports at MOONTON Games, said: "Congratulations to Team Spirit on a historic MSC victory! Bringing MSC to Europe for the first time marked an important milestone in the continued globalisation of MLBB Esports, and this tournament has demonstrated the progress our ecosystem has made. Crowning our first international MLBB champion from outside Southeast Asia reflects the competitive depth of MLBB Esports and the impact of expanding competitive pathways across all regions. As more teams gain access to sustained competition and international opportunities, our competitive field becomes stronger and more diverse. Our ambition is to continue building an ecosystem in which world-class talent can emerge from every region and compete at the highest level."

Fabian Scheuermann, Chief Games Officer, the Esports Foundation, said: "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at EWC continues to showcase the huge global potential of mobile esports. After establishing its position as an esports powerhouse in Southeast Asia, MLBB has made a huge global statement at EWC 2026 in Paris. French Club, Team Vitality defended its title at this year's MLBB Women's International. Meanwhile, Team Spirit has made history, becoming the first team outside of Southeast Asia to win the MLBB Mid Season Cup, which was also hosted in Europe for the first time. MLBB continues to break down barriers and, with EWC's global audience, has shown the world the power of mobile esports."

Team Spirit's roster comprises Anton "Hiko" Pak (Gold Laner), Kemiran "Sunset Lover" Kochkarov (Mid Laner), Mathaios "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos (EXP Laner), Stanislav "SAWO" Reshniak (Roamer), and Zaur "zauregoist" Magomadov (Jungler). Kid Bomba was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP) after impeccably holding Team Spirit's frontline on his wide repertoire of tank heroes, while 16-year-old prodigy, zauregoist, captured the imaginations of assassin mains worldwide with his deft plays on heroes like Hirara.

Team Spirit's EXP Laner, Mathaios "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos, strides down the tunnel during the Grand Finals. Photo by Esports Foundation.

Mathaios "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos, EXP Laner of Team Spirit, said: "We deserved this win because of the work we put in. We trained hard, prepared well, and made the most of our bootcamp [in Malaysia]. We had scrimmages with Asian teams which helped us. It was also really nice that my mom got to witness our win. I think that was really a nice memory for her and me, and her support means a lot."

MSC tops EWC 26 viewership charts

Credit: Esports Charts

The MSC at EWC 26 became the event's most-watched tournament to date with 2,888,884 Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), according to Esports Charts. The tournament also amassed 45,212,422 Hours Watched (HW) and 511,357 Average Concurrent Viewers (ACV), further reinforcing MLBB's sustained global appeal and position at the forefront of international esports.

Artyom Odintsov, Co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts, shared: "While not surpassing last year's all-time Esports World Cup viewership record, MSC 2026 peaked at 2.9 million viewers during the Knockout Stage, making it the second most-popular edition of MSC in Esports World Cup history. As of today, it also stands as the most-watched tournament of EWC 2026. We also observed a notable shift in viewing behavior: compared to 2025, community streamers accounted for 34% of the event's total viewership—the highest share ever recorded for an MLBB tournament at the Esports World Cup. Notably, for the first time, a community caster's channel, Zay Casting Channel, ranked among the event's top three channels by Hours Watched, reaching 3.2 million Hours Watched. This indicates that community broadcasts are becoming an increasingly important part of the esports overall audience mix, complementing the official broadcast and contributing a growing share of total viewership."

Two Champions, One Game

MLBB returns to EWC for a third consecutive year with the expanded MSC and the rebranded MLBB Women's International (MWI)—as "Two Champions, One Game". Together, the tournaments form MLBB Esports' international mid-season circuit and build on the game's legacy as the most-watched esport in Esports World Cup history.

The championship marked the first edition of MWI following its evolution from the MLBB Women's Invitational into a fully realised global championship, reinforcing MOONTON Games' long-term commitment to creating equal opportunities for men and women to compete on the world's biggest esports stage.

MLBB's globalisation accelerated in the Esports Nations Cup

The EECA champions' MSC triumph validates MLBB's international expansion strategy—unveiled in January by MOONTON Games' Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cloud Zhang, ahead of the game's 10th anniversary. This includes debuts for two MLBB properties in new regions—(1) MLBB at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan; and (2) the M Series in Europe via the M8 World Championship Finals in Istanbul, Türkiye.

MLBB Esports' partnership with the Esports Foundation (EF) will continue at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026. As the ENC's first confirmed title, MLBB will bring 16 national teams to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 23 to 29 November. The national-team format opens the global stage to players from both established and emerging regions, while giving fans a country to rally behind.