On October 22, MTO announced the tournament format and venues for the 8th Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) World Championship (M8).This year’s tournament will be held in stages in Bangkok, Thailand, and Istanbul, Turkey. This marks the first time that the M Series World Championship—MLBB’s highest-level international tournament—has held its main event in Europe.
This year’s M8 Wild Card Tournament will take place in Bangkok from December 17 to 20. The number of participating teams has increased from 8 to 10, and the number of qualifying spots has increased from 2 to 3.The qualifying teams will join the other directly seeded teams to form a 16-team main event roster, which will compete for the world championship in Istanbul. The total prize pool for the tournament is $1 million.
According to the published qualification schedule, the top two teams from the MCT Southeast Asia region, the champion of the East Asia region, and the champion of the Americas region will advance directly to the main event.The third- and fourth-place finishers from the MCT Southeast Asia region, the second- and third-place finishers from the East Asia region, and the runner-up from the Americas region will compete in the Wild Card tournament alongside qualifying teams from other regions.All teams that qualify for the main event will receive the newly introduced “M8 Golden Ticket” for this tournament. Inspired by a ship ticket, it symbolizes the team’s qualification to compete in Istanbul.
The Wild Card tournament consists of two stages. In the first stage, the 10 teams are divided into two groups of five, and each group plays a single-round-robin format using a best-of-one (BO1) system. The top team from each group advances directly to the main event, while the second- and third-place teams advance to the next stage.The second stage features a single-elimination bracket with cross-group matchups and a best-of-five (BO5) format to determine the final spot in the main event.
The main event begins with a Swiss round. The 16 teams will compete in up to five rounds for spots in the quarterfinals; teams that accumulate three wins advance, while those with three losses are eliminated.The quarterfinalists will then advance to a double-elimination bracket, with the first round played in a best-of-three (BO3) format, subsequent rounds in a best-of-five (BO5) format, and the grand final in a best-of-seven (BO7) format.
As for the venues, the knockout stage will take place at the ESA Esports Arena in Istanbul from January 14 to 19, 2027, and the finals will be held at the Ora Arena.
Tiger Xu, Head of International Esports at MTO, stated: “As MLBB celebrates its 10th anniversary, bringing the M Series World Championship to Europe marks a significant step for MTO in expanding its global esports footprint, building on its growth in Asia.Through long-term investment, Moonton hopes to support the development of local esports communities and elevate competitive standards in more regions, creating more collaboration opportunities for brands and partners across different markets, while also supporting Chinese brands in their global expansion. In the future, Moonton will continue to work hand in hand with players, clubs, and partners worldwide to engage more regions in the development of MLBB esports and jointly advance the long-term growth of the global esports ecosystem.”
2026 marks the 10th anniversary of MLBB’s launch. Since its debut in 2016, MLBB has amassed over 1.5 billion registered accounts worldwide, with 110 million monthly active users.According to statistics from the esports data platform Esports Charts, the M7 World Finals held in January of this year reached a peak concurrent viewership of over 5.68 million, ranking first in global mobile esports viewership. In recent years, MLBB has continued to expand its international tournament footprint.In addition to making its debut as an official medal event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the MLBB Mid-Season Cup (MSC) and the Women’s International Invitational (MWI) were also held in Europe for the first time, taking place in Paris, France. With the M8 main event now set to take place in Istanbul, the M Series tournaments will further expand their reach across Europe.
原创文章，作者：游茶妹儿，禁止转载：https://youxichaguan.com/en/archives/221962
