- MLBB esports has a cultural influence, global growth, and unmatched competitive momentum.
- We explore whether MLBB esports is becoming the Super Bowl of esports.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has stepped into its 7th edition of the M Series event with the M7 World Championship tournament. The journey has gathered tons of memories and experiences. But the biggest impact was on the overall esports industry, beyond the premise of mobile games. So, it is now a debate whether the M7 has become or is becoming the Super Bowl of Mobile Esports.
To give you an update on the current progress with the M7 championship, the event kicked off on the 3rd of January 2026 and will end on the 25th. MOONTON is celebrating the achievement quite in style, as it took multiple initiatives to celebrate the tournament. It brought a multi-year lineup of M Series collectible cards, and an M7 Pass Event. MOONTON Games is trying to put up quite a show this time, bigger than ever.
From roadmap to reality, a year full of commitment
MOONTON announced the esports roadmap for MLBB and MCGG before we started counting 2025. The overwhelming number of events, spanning across national, regional, and international stages, wasn’t easy to perform smoothly. Besides, the community expectation, coping with new demands, and also regulating the player movements, and even keeping the game in a loop without making it boring for the players, is a mammoth task that always runs behind the company. But you know, with great power comes great responsibility!
Yes, the company has successfully carried out all the obligations and has taken it even further. Historically, MOONTON was often perceived as SEA-centric in the competitive mobile gaming arena.
However, the consistency and commitment finally paid off, honoring the game with the highest viewership in esports. While some may argue that the biggest viewership still comes from certain national leagues, the MSC 2025 figures speak loudly enough on their own, firmly establishing the game’s global presence.
The journey of mobile esports is about a couple of games
Mobile esports hasn’t been around for a long time, but it quickly took a distinct place among the games and events with a separate fanbase and market. The initial kickstart was generated by the hands of PUBG Mobile and some contributions from Mobile Legends Bang Bang as well.
It wasn’t a decade ago that mobile esports was a niche thing. The gaming market for mobile devices was dominated by casual and fun titles like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, etc. But by the end of the second decade of this century, the capacity and performance of mobile devices pushed the games to their limits and provided us with titles we could only imagine enjoying on bigger platforms.
However, games like PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends created a difference in thoughts and reality, and other titles soon joined to establish a separate platform in the mobile gaming sector. And the rest became history.
M7 is creating a gap in the esports viewership race
After the early days of Mobile Legends Bang Bang, the game decided to expand its horizon. It broke the boundary and took one of its flagship events to the Middle East region. The success was unprecedented, with more and more organisations joining the league.
This boost in the title’s growth not only made it the top esports title among the mobile esports titles category, rather placed it among the top two games in terms of viewership. Read our 2025 esports year in review to know more about that.
After the end of this year, even without counting the upcoming global championship, the game obtained five positions among ten on the list of most-viewed esports events. How surprising it is to see that no other mobile esports titles even came close! But I hope that this gap will soon be covered, good for the overall health of mobile esports as an industry.
M7 World Championship is binding cultures in the same thread
What once involved only a few regions has now expanded into a genuinely global spectacle. With elite teams from Southeast Asia, MENA, EECA, and other parts of the world, M7 has become more than just an international event. It has become a cultural mosaic. And that’s precisely why the Super Bowl analogy fits. It’s not just about the matches anymore, it’s about shared emotions, cultural moments, and collective celebration.
The Super Bowl, the biggest soccer event in America, receives over a hundred million viewers. And similar to it, Mobile Legends Bang Bang is also doing the same, with hundreds of millions of hours watched, driven by mobile-first accessibility and deep regional fandoms.
The mass gatherings, livestreams, watch parties, and social media converge into one massive conversation. Beyond being a tournament, M7 has become a full-scale entertainment production.
MLBB M7 opening ceremony represented Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage
As we already know, the M7 is taking place in Indonesia this year. MOONTON arranged a beautiful opening ceremony for the M7 World Championship, by blending the passion of MLBB Esports with Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage. Tiger Xu, Global Head of MLBB Esports at MOONTON Games, said, “The M7 Opening Ceremony will celebrate MLBB Esports’ rise as an integral part of Indonesia’s sporting landscape.”
The reason behind such a word is that MPL Indonesia alone is piling up viewership numbers each season by drawing more than 100 million watch hours each season. So, the opening ceremony is a marker for the entire nation as well as the world that MLBB Esports’ journey is now a national sporting phenomenon.
On the 9th of January, the opening ceremony of the M7 World Championship took place, and it transformed Jakarta into a living esports stage. It blended tradition with modernity by featuring 60 dancers in traditional attire representing regions across the archipelago.
Besides, elements of Indonesia’s rich mythology were also woven throughout the performance. With the presence of esports athletes, officials, and other members, the opening ceremony stitched the country in a frame!
Other forms of celebrations are making the M7 the ultimate esports event for mobile
The event also introduced the M7 Carnival, so the whole competition will become a convention of the gaming, music, and pop culture communities. “With various activations from 23 to 25 January, the city will come alive with watch parties, live performances, exclusive meet-and-greets, and more“, said the organizers.
Another initiative by the game is the debut of the M7 Talent Show, a platform highlighting emerging talents from the MLBB community. This will be dedicated to the fans, where they can express their creativity in forms of music, dance, cosplay, and more.
When you combine its cultural richness, its evolving legacy, its global reach, and the sheer spectacle of the event, the conclusion is obvious: call it the Super Bowl of esports or not, nothing else comes close at the moment. Mobile Legends is miles ahead when we speak globally, and the rest of the industry is still trying to catch up.
Read our other esports articles:
- FIFAe Club World Cup 26 takes shape as registrations officially go live
- PUBG MOBILE announces 2026 Esports Roadmap
- Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) 2026
- 33rd SEA Games 2025 begins this December 13 in Thailand
What do you think? Is Mobile Legends Bang Bang really the Super Bowl of mobile esports? Do let us know in the comments!
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