MOONTON Games, the international video game developer behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), has officially expanded the MLBB Championship Tour (MCT) to Southeast Asia. With the launch of the MLBB Championship Tour Southeast Asia (MCT SEA), the premier regional championship will bring the region's top non-franchised contenders into one unified pathway to break into the world, with its strongest teams earning qualification to MLBB's flagship global tournament—the M Series.
Through the MCT SEA, Southeast Asia becomes the third regional chapter in MLBB's five-region global strategy that was unveiled this year. The structure spans Southeast Asia, the Americas (AMER), East Asia (EA), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), alongside MLBB Esports' established franchised leagues. At its centre, the M Series serves as the foundation of MLBB Esports' globalisation push, giving teams around the world a shared destination and supporting sustainable participation across the ecosystem.
Earlier, the MCT Americas (AMER) and MCT East Asia (EA) completed their first circuits, which saw Entity7 (E7) and Guangzhou Gaming (GZG) represent their regions at the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) at the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris, France. The MCT AMER covers North America, Central America, Latin America, and Brazil, while the MCT EA includes China, Mongolia, Japan, and Korea.
The road to the M8 World Championship (M8) continues in the second half of the year. The MCT SEA, featuring all 11 sovereign Southeast Asian countries, will open the M8 qualification cycle in Q4 2026, after the region's local qualifying events have concluded. The MCT AMER, MCT EA, MCT EECA, and MCT EMEA will follow in later phases, with further schedules and exciting new initiatives to be announced.
The launch of the MCT SEA coincides with MLBB's 10th Anniversary in September, offering the MLBB community the chance to partake in the milestone celebrations and look back upon MLBB's progression over the past decade—from its humble roots in Southeast Asia to an ecosystem that unites players, teams, and fans worldwide.
Dylan Chia, Head of Esports Southeast Asia at MOONTON Games, said: "Southeast Asia has built the foundation of MLBB Esports as we see today. As the M Series continues to bring MLBB Esports to a wider global stage, the MCT SEA builds on that foundation by giving qualifying teams from across the region a shared championship, where performance determines who earns a place at the M8. It brings the whole region into one regional test, where performance decides who moves forward. For emerging players and teams, it is an opportunity to prove themselves, build their profiles, reach new audiences, and take the next step towards the world stage. Qualifying also means more than a team's own journey: the teams that progress will represent the wider Southeast Asian community and show what the region can achieve when it moves forward together."
The M Series is MLBB's flagship international tournament and the most prestigious stage for competition, visibility, and commercial opportunity. In 2026, the M7 World Championship (M7) became the most-watched mobile esports tournament in history, attracting more than 5.68 million Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), according to Esports Charts. With global brand partners like Red Bull, Visa, and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the M7 generated €158 million in partner brand value (38% growth over the M6 World Championship), according to Shikenso.
The MCT SEA: Southeast Asia's Road to #BreakIntoTheWorld
Built on the region's existing local leagues and qualifiers, the MCT SEA will bring together 12 teams from 11 Southeast Asian markets, divided into four groups.
Group A, B, and C feature representatives from MLBB Super League (MSL) Myanmar; MLBB Professional League (MPL) Cambodia; MPL Singapore; and local qualifiers in Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Brunei, and Laos. MSL Thailand will have two representatives: one through its regular qualifying slot and a second through the host-country slot awarded to Thailand as host of the inaugural MCT SEA. Each future host country will receive an additional slot, recognising its role in hosting the regional championship.
The top two teams from each of Groups A, B, and C will advance to the MCT SEA Knockout Playoffs. The third-placed teams will compete in a best-of-one Last Chance Qualifier, with the winner securing the final Knockout Playoffs slot.
Group D, the Open League Qualifier Group, consists of the champions of the open leagues, namely the MLBB Development League (MDL) Philippines, the MDL Indonesia, and the MLBB Academy League (MAL) Malaysia. Separate from Groups A, B, and C, these teams will compete for only one slot in the MCT SEA Knockout Playoffs.
The Knockout Playoffs will feature two pools. Pool 1 will comprise the winner of the Open League Qualifier Group and the first-placed teams from Groups B, C, and D. Pool 2 will comprise the second-placed teams from Groups B, C, and D, alongside the Last Chance Qualifier winner.
The top two teams in the MCT SEA Knockout Playoffs will qualify directly for the M8 Main Stage in Istanbul, Türkiye. Meanwhile, the third- and fourth-placed teams will advance to the M8 Wild Card in Bangkok, Thailand. From there, three teams will progress to the M8 Main Stage. The MCT SEA offers a total prize pool of USD 50,000 and the inaugural MCT SEA trophy.
From regional strength to global participation
The launch of the MCT SEA comes as MLBB Esports continues to flourish from a regional success story into a more globally connected ecosystem. Across 2026 and early 2027, MLBB IPs are entering three new countries and international stages in rapid succession: (1) the European debuts of MSC and MWI in Paris, France; (2) MLBB's Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan; (3) the M8 Finals in Istanbul, Türkiye, the M Series' first edition in Europe.
