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Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup

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Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup
Tournament information
SportMobile Legends: Bang Bang
LocationWorldwide (2024–present)
Regional SEA (2017–2023)
Month playedSeptember (2017)
July (2018)
June (2019–present)
Established2017; 7 years ago (2017)
Number of
tournaments
7
AdministratorMoonton
Tournament
format(s)
Host(s)
List
  • Jakarta (2017, 2018)
  • Manila (2019)
  • Cancelled (2020)
  • Online Tournament (2021)
  • Kuala Lumpur (2022)
  • Phnom Penh (2023)
  • Riyadh (2024)
Participants
  • 8 teams (2017)
  • 10 teams (2018)
  • 12 teams (2019–2023)
  • 23 teams (2024–present)
Websitemcl.mobilelegends.com
Current champion
Indonesia ONIC Esports (2nd title)
Most recent tournament
MSC 2024 (upcoming)

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup, (previously known as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup) referred to as MSC, is an annual international tournament for professional esport teams for the MOBA game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hosted by Moonton in the middle of years, since 2017.

On 1 January 2024, Moonton announced the rebranding of the formerly SEA-based tournament, "Southeast Asia Cup" to the "Mid Season Cup" as the first international tournament before the second leg of MLBB professional leagues.[1] The Mid Season Cup will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This year saw the introduction of the wildcard format, which will bring in eight international teams to fight for a slot in the group stage happening in July.

Indonesia's ONIC Esports won the most recent edition of the tournament in 2023, defeating Blacklist International, 4–2.[2]

History[edit]

As the Southeast Asia Cup (2017–2023)[edit]

Mall Taman Anggrek, the venue for MSC 2017.

The first iteration of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup was held in Indonesia in 2017 during the start of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang's growth into the mainstream gaming scene. A total of eight participating teams qualified in MSC 2017, two from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia while one team qualifying from Thailand and Singapore. No group stage was held for MSC 2017 and a direct playoff, double-elimination bracket was staged for the eight participating teams. The Philippines' Salty Salad advanced to the Grand Finals after defeating Thailand's IDONOTSLEEP 2–1 in the Upper Bracket but fell to the team in the Grand Finals in a 3–0, hailing Thailand the first MSC Cup champions.[3][4]

The second iteration of the Southeast Asia Cup remained in Indonesia for 2018 and this was during the time the inaugural MPL seasons have been held in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. Defending champions IDONOTSLEEP, Myanmar's Burmese Ghouls and Vietnam's Fantasy Main all qualified through regional qualifiers meanwhile, the Philippines, Indonesia and the combined league for Malaysia and Singapore sent its champions and runner-up to the tournament. MSC 2018 is the first tournament in the MSC scene to have a Group Stage with both Filipino squads topping the seeds. Only the top 2 teams from both groups qualifies to the playoff bracket. MSC 2018 saw the first Philippines vs. Philippines final and a rematch of the MPL Philippines Season 1 grand finals between Aether Main and Digital Devils Pro with Aether Main sweeping DD in the Grand Finals.[5]

Smart Araneta Coliseum, the venue for MSC 2019.

MSC 2019 was held in the Philippines for the first time and from 10 teams, the participating teams grew to 12. The roster of the defending champions Aether Main qualified under the organization of Bren Esports.[6] MSC 2019 became the first tournament in MSC history to have an Indonesia vs. Indonesia Grand Finals. ONIC Esports swept MSC 2017 champions IDONOTSLEEP in the Upper Bracket Semifinals and won 2–1 against co-Indonesian team Louvre Esports to advance to the Grand Finals. Initially, ArkAngel won 2–1 against Vietnam's Overclockers but fell to a 2–0 sweep from Louvre, eliminating the Philippines' champions from the tournament.[7] ONIC Esports won Indonesia its first MSC title since the tournament was established.[8]

COVID-19 Pandemic (2020–2021)[edit]

The COVID-19 pandemic began on March 2020 following the sudden growth and spread of the virus around the world, especially in Southeast Asia where Mobile Legends' primary players were located. Majority of the Governments of Southeast Asia including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore shut and closed its countries from foreign visitors and tightened border security and patrol. On May 2020, game developers Moonton have announced the cancellation of MSC 2020 in order to comply with the "laws set to fight against the pandemic."[9]

Following the easing of restrictions in the region, MSC 2021 became the first iteration of MSC following the 2020 iteration's cancellation. Twelve teams participated in the online tournament with four teams in Cybe EXE, IDONOTSLEEP, Impunity KH and Nightmare Esports being directly invited to compete. MSC 2021 saw the resurgence in the Philippines' dominance in Mobile Legends, having an all Filipino grand finals after a 3–0 win by Blacklist International in the Upper Bracket Finals and a 3–1 win by Execration in the Lower Bracket Finals against Indonesia's EVOS Legends.[10][11] Execration won MSC 2021 and won the title for the Philippines since 2018.

Post the COVID-19 pandemic (2021–2023)[edit]

Main article: MSC 2023

MSC 2022 and MSC 2023 were the first two iterations of the tournaments to feature a live audience since the COVID-19 pandemic's easing of restrictions from hosts Malaysia and Cambodia, respectively.

As the Mid Season Cup (2024–present)[edit]

Main article: MSC 2024
Boulevard City, the expected venue for MSC 2024

MSC 2024 will be the first tournament bearing the rebranded name "Mid Season Cup". This iteration of the tournament is significant because it will be the first tournament outside of the Southeast Asian region, being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first iteration of the tournament to be part of the 2024 Esports World Cup, and having the largest prize pool for any MLBB international and regional tournament with a prize purse of US$3,000,000.00.[12]

Format[edit]

Two teams from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional Leagues (MPL) in different Southeast Asian countries are invited to MSC. For countries without MPL, local qualifiers are hosted. The tournaments start with a group stage where teams fight for the spot in the upper bracket through the best of 3 round robin. Teams winning the best of 3 in the group stage get the spot in the upper bracket. The other two teams compete on play-ins where the winning team gets to the lower bracket and the losing team is eliminated. After the group stage is the tournament proper. Losing teams from the upper bracket are demoted to the lower bracket while losing teams from the lower bracket are eliminated. One finalist will come from each bracket and compete in the Grand Finals.[13] From 2017 to 2019, the Grand Finals are played in best of 5, but since the 2021 version, it is played in best of 7.

Venue[edit]

Mall Taman Anggrek atrium used for MSC 2017 main event.

Viewership[edit]

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid-Season Cup is streamed live on Facebook Gaming, TikTok and YouTube.

Year Peak Viewers Average Viewers Hours Watched Reference
Southeast Asia Cup
2017 53,837 20,102 353,451 [14][better source needed]
2018 100,000+ N/A N/A [15]
2019 276,579 68,220 2,887,965 [16][better source needed]
2020
Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2,284,012 514,618 29,461,866 [17][better source needed]
2022 2,800,606 477,042 35,181,778 [18]
2023 3,650,305 659,399 40,552,979 [19]
Mid Season Cup
2024 TBD

Participating teams[edit]

MSC 2017[edit]

Five-Nations Finals
Team Seed
Malaysia Team Saiyan MSC 2017 Malaysia Winner
Malaysia MYA JR MSC 2017 Malaysia Runner-Up
Philippines Solid Gaming Alpha MSC 2017 Philippines Winner
Philippines Salty Salad MSC 2017 Philippines Runner-Up
Indonesia Saints Indo MSC 2017 Indonesia Winner
Indonesia Elite8 Esports MSC 2017 Indonesia Runner-Up
Thailand IDNS MSC 2017 Thailand Winner
Singapore Impunity MSC 2017 Singapore Winner

References:[20]

MSC 2018[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Indonesia Aerowolf Roxy1 MPL-ID S1 Winner Philippines Bren Esports4 MPL-PH S1 Winner
Singapore Bigetron Esports2 MPL-MY/SG S1 Winner Indonesia EVOS Esports MPL-ID S1 Runner-Up
Malaysia AirAsia Saiyan3 MPL-MY/SG S1 Runner-Up Indonesia RRQ.O2 MPL-ID S1 3rd Place
Philippines Digital Devils Pro Gaming MPL-PH S1 Runner-Up Thailand IDNS Thailand Local Qualifiers
Myanmar Burmese Ghouls Myanmar Local Qualifiers Vietnam Fantasy Main Vietnam Local Qualifiers

1 = Formerly known as Team NXL

2 = Formerly known as IDNS SG

3 = Formerly known as Team Saiyan

4 = Played as Aether Main

References:[21]

MSC 2019[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Malaysia Geek Fam MPL-MY/SG S3 Winner Philippines ArkAngel MPL-PH S3 Winner
Philippines Bren Esports MPL-PH S3 Runner-Up Singapore EVOS.SG MPL-MY/SG S3 Runner-Up
Thailand IDNS Thailand Local Qualifiers Vietnam Overclockers Vietnam Local Qualifiers
Group C Group D
Team Seed Team Seed
Myanmar Team Resolution MPL-MM S2 Winner Indonesia ONIC Esports MPL-ID S3 Winner
Indonesia Louvre Esports MPL-ID S3 Runner-Up Myanmar Burmese Ghouls MPL-MM S2 Runner-Up
Cambodia Diversity Helheim Cambodia Local Qualifiers Laos WAWA Gaming Laos Local Qualifiers

References:[22]

MSC 2021[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Malaysia RSG Malaysia MPL-MY S7 Champion Indonesia EVOS Legends MPL-ID S7 Champion
Singapore RSG Singapore MPL-SG S1 Runner-Up Malaysia Todak MPL-MY S7 Runner-Up
Thailand IDoNoSleep Thailand Local Qualifiers Vietnam Cyber EXE Vietnam Local Qualifiers
Group C Group D
Team Seed Team Seed
Philippines Blacklist International MPL-PH S7 Champion Singapore EVOS SG MPL-SG S1 Champion
Indonesia Bigetron Alpha MPL-ID S7 Runner-Up Philippines Execration MPL-PH S7 Runner-Up
Cambodia Impunity KH Cambodia Local Qualifiers Laos Nightmare Esports Laos Local Qualifiers

References:[23]

MSC 2022[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Malaysia TODAK MPL-MY S9 Champion Philippines RSG Philippines MPL-PH S9 Champion
Myanmar Falcon Esports Myanmar Qualifier Champion Cambodia See You Soon MPL-KH Spring 2022 Runner-Up
Indonesia ONIC Esports MPL-ID S9 Runner-Up Singapore RSG Singapore MPL-SG S3 Champion
Group C Group D
Team Seed Team Seed
Indonesia RRQ Hoshi MPL-ID S9 Champion Cambodia Impunity KH MPL-KH Spring 2022 Champion
Thailand IDONOTSLEEP Mekong1 Qualifier Champion Malaysia Orange Esports MPL-MY S9 Runner-Up
Philippines Omega Esports MPL-PH S9 Runner-Up Singapore EVOS SG MPL-SG S3 Runner-Up

1 = Laos, Thailand, Vietnam

Reference:[24]

MSC 2023[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Philippines ECHO Philippines MPL-PH S11 Champion RSG Slate Singapore MPL-SG S5 Champion
Turkey Fire Flux Impunity MTC-Turkiye S1 Champion EVOS Legends MPL-ID S11 Runner-Up
Laos Team EVO Mekong Qualifier Myanmar Fenix Esports Myanmar Qualifier
Group C Group D
Team Seed Team Seed
Indonesia ONIC Esports MPL-ID S11 Champion Philippines Blacklist International MPL-PH S11 Runner-Up
Cambodia BURN x FLASH MPL-KH Spring Champion Malaysia TODAK MPL-MY S11 Champion
United States Outplay

(TOB)

NACT Spring 2023 Runner-Up Egypt Team Occupy MPL-MENA Spring 2023 Champion

Reference:[25]

MSC 2024[edit]

Wildcard stage[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Vietnam Zino Zenith MCCM S3 champion Nepal   Trained to Kill MCB S3 champion
Turkey S2G Esports MTC S3 runner-up Malaysia HomeBois MPL MY S13 runner-up
Peru Entity7 MPL LATAM S1 runner-up Russia Brute Force1 MCC S3 runner-up
China KeepBest Gaming China Qualifier 2nd place Mongolia IHC Esports Mongolia Qualifier

Reference:[26]

Group stage[edit]

Group A Group B
Team Seed Team Seed
Singapore NIP Flash MPL SG S7 champion Indonesia Fnatic ONIC MPL ID S13 champion
Turkey Fire Flux Esports MTC S3 champion Malaysia Selangor Red Giants MPL MY S13 champion
Brazil RRQ Akira MPL LATAM S1 champion Cambodia See You Soon MPL KH S6 champion
Indonesia EVOS Glory MPL ID S13 runner-up Saudi Arabia Team Falcons MPL MENA S5 champion
Group C Group D
Team Seed Team Seed
Philippines Liquid ECHO MPL PH S13 champion United States Cloud92 NACT Spring 2024 champion
Russia Team Spirit1 MCC S3 champion Philippines Falcons AP Bren MPL PH S13 runner-up
Saudi Arabia Twisted Minds MPL MENA S5 runner-up China Xianyou Gaming China Qualifier 1st place
TBD Wildcard stage Myanmar Falcon Esports Myanmar Qualifier

Reference:[27]

Notes
1. ^ For documentary purpose only, according to their majority of players, teams from Commonwealth of Independent States region: Brute Force based in Saudi Arabia and Team Spirit based in Serbia both will represent Russia.
2. ^ For documentary purpose only, according to their base of operations, team from North America region: Cloud9 will represent United States.

Results[edit]

Edition Year Hosts Grand Final Third place Fourth place No. of teams
Champions Score Runners-up
Southeast Asia Cup
1 2017  Indonesia Thailand
IDONOTSLEEP 		3–0 Philippines
Salty Salad 		Philippines
Solid Gaming Alpha 		Singapore
Impunity 		8
2 2018  Indonesia Philippines
Aether Main 		3–0 Philippines
Digital Devils Pro Gaming 		Indonesia
RRQ.O2 		Indonesia
Aerowolf Roxy 		10
3 2019  Philippines Indonesia
ONIC Esports 		3–0 Indonesia
Louvre Esports 		Philippines
ArkAngel 		Vietnam
OverClockers 		12
2020 Cancelled because of COVID-19 pandemic
4 2021 None
[note 1] 		Philippines
Execration 		4–1
[note 2] 		Philippines
Blacklist International 		Indonesia
EVOS Legends 		Malaysia
RSG Malaysia 		12
5 2022  Malaysia Philippines
RSG Philippines 		4–0 Indonesia
RRQ Hoshi 		Philippines
Omega Esports 		Myanmar
Falcon Esports 		12
6 2023  Cambodia Indonesia
ONIC Esports 		4–2 Philippines
Blacklist International 		Philippines
ECHO Philippines 		Cambodia
BURN x FLASH 		12
Mid Season Cup
7 2024 Saudi Arabia TBD TBD 23
Notes
  1. ^ Online tournament.
  2. ^ Since 2021, Grand Final would be held in best-of-seven (BO7) series format.

Performances by teams[edit]

Teams reaching the Top Four
Team Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top
Four
Total
Indonesia Fnatic ONIC1 2 (2019, 2023) 2
Thailand IDONOTSLEEP 1 (2017) 1
Philippines Falcons AP Bren2 1 (2018) 1
Philippines Execration 1 (2021) 1
Philippines RSG Philippines 1 (2022) 1
Philippines Blacklist International 2 (2021, 2023) 2
Philippines Salty Salad 1 (2017) 1
Philippines Digital Devils Pro Gaming 1 (2018) 1
Indonesia Louvre Esports 1 (2019) 1
Indonesia RRQ Hoshi3 1 (2022) 1 (2018*) 2
Philippines Solid Gaming Alpha 1 (2017) 1
Philippines ArkAngel 1 (2019*) 1
Indonesia EVOS Glory4 1 (2021) 1
Philippines Omega Esports 1 (2022) 1
Philippines Liquid ECHO5 1 (2023) 1
Singapore Impunity 1 (2017) 1
Indonesia Aerowolf Roxy 1 (2018*) 1
Vietnam OverClockers 1 (2019) 1
Malaysia RSG Malaysia 1 (2021) 1
Myanmar Falcon Esports 1 (2022) 1
Cambodia Team Flash KH6 1 (2023*) 1
Notes
* Nation hosts.
1. ^ Includes result playing as ONIC Esports during 2019 and 2023.
2. ^ Includes result playing as Aether Main during 2018.
3. ^ Includes result playing as RRQ.O2 during 2018.
4. ^ Includes result playing as EVOS Legends during 2021.
5. ^ Includes result playing as ECHO Philippines during 2023.
6. ^ Includes result playing as BURN x FLASH during 2023.

Performances by nations[edit]

Team nations best result.
  Champions   Runner-up   Third Place   Fourth Place   Playoffs   Play-in   Group Stage
Teams reaching the Top Four
Team Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top
Four
Total
 Philippines 3 (2018, 2021, 2022) 4 (2017, 2018, 2021, 2023) 4 (2017, 2019*, 2022, 2023) 11
 Indonesia 2 (2019, 2023) 2 (2019, 2022) 2 (2018*, 2021) 1 (2018*) 7
 Thailand 1 (2017) 1
 Singapore 1 (2017) 1
 Vietnam 1 (2019) 1
 Malaysia 1 (2021) 1
 Myanmar 1 (2022) 1
 Cambodia 1 (2023*) 1
Notes
* Hosts.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "MLBB: MSC rebrands as Mid Season Cup; to be held outside SEA in 2024". news.abs-cbn.com. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. ^ "ONIC Esports take Mobile Legends SEA Cup 2023, end two-year Filipino dominance". Yahoo News. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Tim THailand IDoNotSleep Memenangkan Mobile Legends MSC 2017!". GGWP.ID (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  5. ^ July 31, Matthew Chan Updated; 2018; July 31, 10:03 p m Posted; 2018; P.m, 6:31 (31 July 2018). "Philippines Dominate MSC 2018 with Aether Main Bringing Home the Crown!". IGN Southeast Asia. Retrieved 27 June 2024. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  7. ^ "(MSC 2019) Rekap Hari Pertama Babak Main Event" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Indonesia's ONIC Esports takes MSC 2019 crown | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  9. ^ "The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asian Cup has been canceled | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  10. ^ UBALDO, JOHN EDISON (12 June 2021). "Blacklist stays perfect, barges into MSC 2021 grand finals". GMA News Online. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  11. ^ UBALDO, JOHN EDISON (13 June 2021). "Execration dominates EVOS Legends, arranges all-Filipino MSC grand finals". GMA News Online. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. ^ News, G. M. A. (26 January 2024). "MSC 2024 to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in July". GMA News Online. Retrieved 27 June 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup is coming to the Philippines this 19 to 23 June 2019".
  14. ^ "MSC Grand Final 2017". Esports Charts. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Kemewahan Event MSC ML 2018 di Balik Penderitaan Pemain" [Players Suffering Behind MSC 2018 Event Luxuriousity]. Kaskus ID (in Indonesian). 18 July 2018.
  16. ^ "MLBB SEA Cup 2019 (MSC) detailed stats". Esports Charts.
  17. ^ "MLBB Southeast Asia Cup 2021". Esports Charts.
  18. ^ "MLBB Southeast Asia Cup 2022". escharts.com. 31 March 2023.
  19. ^ "MSC 2023 becomes top-1 in history of series and sets new record for esports audience in Cambodia". escharts.com.
  20. ^ Kun, Coffin (1 September 2017). "[MSC Five Nations Invitational] MSC 2017 - Grand Finals RESULTS!". Mobile Legends Forum. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  21. ^ Rifki, Billy (27 July 2018). "Hasil Undian Grup MSC 2018, Aerowolf Dikepung Tim Asing" [MSC 2018 Group Draw Result, Aerowolf Besieged by Fovereign Teams]. Esports ID (in Indonesian). Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  22. ^ Dexter "the Heartbreaker" (4 June 2019). "The MSC 2019 Groups Have Been Announced!". eGG Network. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  23. ^ Elona, Jules (7 June 2021). "MSC 2021: Results, schedule, format, prize pool, participating teams". ONE Esports. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  24. ^ "MSC 2022 group draw results | ONE Esports". ONE Esports. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  25. ^ "MSC 2023 group draw results: Fenix Esports takes on group of death in Group B". ONE Esports. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  26. ^ Surbakti, Cristian Wiranata (18 June 2024). "Hasil drawing MSC 2024 Wild Card Stage: Kans bagus bagi HomeBois!" [MSC 2024 Wild Card Stage drawing results: Good chance for HomeBois!]. ONE Esports (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  27. ^ Surbakti, Cristian Wiranata (18 June 2024). "Hasil drawing MSC 2024 Group Stage: EVOS kontra RRQ, Fnatic ONIC di grup keras!" [MSC 2024 Group Stage drawing results: EVOS versus RRQ, Fnatic ONIC in the tough group!]. ONE Esports (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2024.

External links[edit]

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