The EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 continued its run in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, concluding its Group Stage on July 7. This $3 million USD tournament has gathered some of the top Mobile Legends: Bang Bang teams from around the world. Despite its high viewership, the event might encounter issues as it progresses to the final stages.
As we noted in our earlier article on the event’s Wildcard Stage, the tournament’s initial viewership surpassed that of last year’s M5 World Championship’s Wildcard. Although the Group Stage maintained high viewership, it fell short of the numbers achieved by world championship events.
EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 Group Stage Viewership Statistics
The Group Stage of the MSC recorded a total of 12.4 million hours watched, with an average of 374.6K viewers. This marks a slight decline compared to last year’s Southeast Asian Cup, but the ongoing MSC reached an unprecedented peak viewership for Southeast Asian Cups, with 1.2 million viewers during the match between Fnatic ONIC and See You Soon.
Fnatic ONIC, the reigning champions of last year’s Southeast Asian Cup, did not advance from the groups, partly due to their loss to See You Soon. As Indonesia’s highest-seeded team, their failure to advance means no Indonesian teams will compete in the Knockout Stage.
This absence of Indonesian teams poses a challenge for the MSC, given that Indonesian audiences are crucial for viewership. Indonesian-language broadcasts peaked at 729.8K viewers during the Group Stage, significantly outperforming the next most popular language, Bahasa Malaysia, which had 243.6K peak viewers. The tournament had the potential to set new viewership records, but achieving this will be difficult without the support of Indonesian fans.
Examining the most popular matches of the Group Stage highlights the influence of Indonesian audiences. The Indonesian team Fnatic ONIC appeared in all three of the stage’s most-watched matches. Only matches featuring Fnatic ONIC managed to surpass one million concurrent viewers, underscoring the importance of the Indonesian audience for the esports title’s viewership.
The Playoffs stage for the Mid Season Cup begins on July 10, featuring eight teams competing in best-of-five matches, culminating in a best-of-seven Grand Final on July 14.
Teams Qualified for Playoffs at the EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024
- Team Liquid Echo
- Falcon Esports
- Falcons AP.Bren
- See You Soon
- Selangor Red Giants
- Fire Flux Esports
- NIP Flash
- HomeBois
While Indonesian fans will not be represented in the playoff stage, many other Southeast Asian countries will be. Teams from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Myanmar have qualified, along with Fire Flux Esports from Turkey, an emerging region for MLBB esports.
The Playoffs stage kicks off on July 10 with Team Liquid Echo facing Falcon Esports. For the full schedule and to stay updated on the remaining matches, visit our EWC x MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 Schedule tab. Despite the absence of Indonesian teams, the collaboration between Moonton and the Esports World Cup might make this historic event one of the most-watched ML:BB events ever.