- The opening match between Selangor Red
Giants and Homebois set a new record for peak viewership, reflecting the
league's continued growth despite already being Malaysia's oldest and most
popular esports tournament.
- Fans witnessed one of the longest games
in MPL Malaysia history – the match between former MPL Malaysia champions,
RSG Malaysia and Team HAQ, ran for a whopping 39 minutes and 33 seconds.
- After Week 1 of the Season 14 Regular
Season, Selangor Red Giants tops the table with 5 points, followed by Team
Vamos on 3 points, and JP NINERS on 2 points.
Selangor Red Giants Gold Laner John
"Innocent" Vincent Banal holds the MPL Malaysia trophy
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 9 September – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) flexed its credentials as
Malaysia's leading esports title over the weekend. The MLBB Professional League
(MPL) Malaysia set a new viewership record during the opening week of Season
14, which took place on 7 and 8 September.
MPL Malaysia is supported by the Ministry of
Youth and Sports (KBS) and Esports Integrated (ESI). As the nation's pioneering
esports event, MPL Malaysia offers talented MLBB players the gateway to pursue
their esports ambitions on the international stage. This includes the M6 World
Championship, MLBB's flagship international event, which will be hosted by
Malaysia this year with two teams.
New
Season, New Viewership Record
The league set a new Regular Season record
for online viewership during the opening match between Selangor Red Giants and
Homebois. The battle between last season's champion and first-runner-up had
245,841 Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), according to Esports Charts,
eclipsing the previous Regular Season record of 228,679 PCV set by Homebois and
Team HAQ during Week 2 of Season 13. The highest-ever PCV achieved by MPL
Malaysia was last season's Grand Finals, also between Selangor Red Giants and
Homebois, which had 631,186 PCV, according to Esports Charts.
Fikri
Rizal Mahruddin, Marketing and Business Development Lead at MOONTON Games, said: "The league has experienced
steady and significant growth since being established in 2017. Then, we only
had 6,544 PCV.
Today, we are the most-watched tournament in Malaysia. Much of the league's
success is due to our constant innovation and commitment to never stay
stagnant, as well as the efforts and investments from our teams and partners.
These have all contributed into making a competitive and entertaining league
enjoyed by hundreds of thousands across Malaysia each match."
Selangor
Red Giants start strong, Team Vamos' commanding debut
Week 1 of the Season 14 Regular
Season was one of the league's most competitive ever, with four of the six
matches having 2-1 scorelines.
After Week 1, Selangor Red Giants tops the
table with 5 points, followed by Team Vamos on 3 points, and JP NINERS on 2
points
Selangor Red Giants completed back-to-back
wins in Week 1 to top the Regular Season table on 5 points. While the defending
champions will be happy to be top, they will be less pleased at having conceded
a game to Homebois in their 2-1 victory. Homebois had fielded a new-look team
after losing five of its team members to Team Vamos in the off season; only
Mid-Laner Muhammad
"Udil" Julian Ardiansyah remains from last season. Udil leads
Homebois as Malaysia's most expensive esports athlete; his transfer from
Indonesian team, Alter Ego Esports, took place in January and cost MYR 330,000.
Homebois Captain Udil leads his new team out of
the tunnel
Homebois' battling performance showed that
Selangor Red Giants is not as untouchable this season; the Red Giants made
history as the only team to not drop a single game during last season's Regular
Season. In the post-match press conference, Selangor Red Giants expressed
regret at not being able to match their perfect run last season, especially so
early on in Season 14. However, they believe the current assassin meta suits
their playstyle better, attributing this to one of the reasons why they were
able to win Malaysia's first-ever international MLBB tournament, the MLBB Mid
Season Cup (MSC) 2024 at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.
Team Vamos could not have asked for a better
debut after dispatching RED Esports 2-0 to take second place. Muhammad Nazhan "Chibi" bin Mohd Nor was named "Most Valuable Player (MVP)
of the Match" after a commanding display that saw him accumulate an
impressive 15 kills, 12 assists, and 0 deaths. Lauded as one of Malaysia's best
Junglers, Chibi will be looking to power Team Vamos to victory this season with
his strong mechanical skill and macro play. Team Vamos is co-owned by ex-MPL
Malaysia professional athlete and Malaysia's most-watched content creator, Mohd Faris "Soloz" bin Zakaria. RED Esports was relegated in Season 12
after finishing 10th-place but returns this season after becoming the first
MLBB Academy League Malaysia (MAL MY) team to qualify to MPL Malaysia via
promotion.
Team Vamos Jungler Chibi flashes two thumbs up
after being named MVP
MPL Malaysia saw one of its longest-ever
games in league history on Day 2, with Game 1 between former MPL Malaysia
champions, RSG Malaysia and Team HAQ, running for a whopping 39 minutes and 33
seconds. Team HAQ eventually emerged victorious after the Best-of-Three (BO3)
match went the full series. Notably, Team HAQ won the match despite not having
a coach; Team HAQ said in the post-match press conference that their coach
would only arrive in Week 3.
Teams
look to stamp their authority in Week 2
Teams will be looking to establish themselves
in Week 2 of the Regular Season, which will run from 13 to 15 September.
Day 1 will see RSG Malaysia take on TODAK at
5:45 PM GMT+8 in a clash of former league champions. Their old rivalry will
have even more meaning to RSG Malaysia's coach Gian "Behave" Carl Lamintao, who brought TODAK their last MPL Malaysia
title in Season 11. On the other hand, TODAK coach, Ajwad "Kuja"
Yusof, also
has a history with RSG, having held various coaching roles with the Singapore
and Malaysia outfits from 2022 to 2023.
TODAK will lock horns with Selangor Red
Giants on Day 2 at 3:00 PM GMT+8 in a battle between the new and old guard.
TODAK is the most decorated team in MPL Malaysia history, having won the league
thrice. However, Malaysia's most storied esports organisation has experienced a
period of decline, which has coincided with the rise of Selangor Red Giants.
The Red Giants have arguably achieved more glory for Malaysia despite being the
newer team after their MSC 2024 Cinderella story.
Day 3 will see Homebois clash with Team Rey
at 5:30 PM GMT+8. With Homebois having brought in Mohammad "Izanami"
Lim from RSG Malaysia, who has the moniker "The Prince Of Mage", fans
will be eager to see who if he will usurp Malaysia's most expensive esports
athlete in the Mid-Lane role.
Please see below for the full Week 2
schedule:
As the Malaysia Presenter, Hotlink is on hand
to fully optimise the league's network to deliver the best gaming experience
for MLBB. The esports fraternity can look forward to leveraging Hotlink's 5G
network to obtain unmatched network latency and improved gameplay experiences.
Season 14 is jointly organised by Kumpulan
Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd (KPRJ) and MOONTON Games. 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 the Subang Jaya City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Subang Jaya, MBSJ).
Download the MPL Malaysia Season 14 press kit
here.
The PR Materials, including logos, team rosters, and match photos, may be
downloaded here.
For the latest news and updates
on MPL Malaysia, please like and follow the social channels:
###
About
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the most popular
mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game worldwide that brings
communities together through teamwork and strategy. With over 1.465 billion
installations and 110 million active monthly users, the award-winning game is
among the top 10 most played in over 80 countries. With an extensive reach
across the Asia Pacific region, the multiplayer is available in 139 countries
with an expansive global esports presence.
About
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports
Established in 2017, Mobile Legends: Bang
Bang (MLBB) Esports serves as a platform for players to pursue their dreams of
becoming esports athletes and illuminate opportunities within the international
esports ecosystem. MLBB Esports has since expanded to multiple leagues,
including the MLBB Professional League (MPL) series hosted in Southeast Asia,
the Middle East, and Latin America.
About
MOONTON Games
Established in 2014, MOONTON is a global
video game company dedicated to gaming development, publication and esports.
With more than 1,600 employees worldwide, the company operates offices in
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Latin America, Hong Kong, and
mainland China. It has successfully launched a number of high-profile mobile
games globally and has built long-term relationships with governments and
esports organizations in more than 30 countries around the world. Mobile
Legends: Bang Bang is its current star game and the leading mobile Multiplayer
Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game worldwide. For more information, visit https://en.moonton.com.
For media queries or interview requests, please contact:
Marcus Lim
Senior Regional PR Manager at MOONTON Games
Mobile: +65 9069 2651
Email: marcuslim@moonton.com
