The Esports World Cup 2024, the replacement to Gamers8 by Saudi Arabia, and poised to feature the biggest prize pool in esports history, has unveiled its first game – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).

Two MLBB tournaments are set to take place at the Esports World Cup 2024, which will happen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in July 2024. This includes the newly rebranded MLBB Mid-Season Cup (MSC) and the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI). Notably, this will be the first time both tournaments will happen outside Southeast Asia.

“This collaboration marks a new chapter for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports and the global esports ecosystem. We are thrilled to partner with the Esports World Cup Foundation and go beyond our horizons to Riyadh. Alongside with teams from new participating regions, this year’s iteration presents boundless opportunities for more regions to participate, in line with our vision to expand MSC and MWI to foster greater diversity and inclusiveness,” said Ray Ng, the head of the esports ecosystem at MOONTON Games.

Image Credits: MOONTON

MSC 2024 will feature a $3 million prize pool at the Esports World Cup, the largest in MLBB esports history

The MLBB MSC 2024 will happen from July 1 to 14. It will feature a prize pool of $3 million, the highest in the history of the game. It’s a significant jump from the previous peak – $900,000 in the M5 World Championship.

Additionally, the MSC 2024 will feature a Wild Card format, similar to the M5. This means that a Wild Card Stage will be held before the main tournament, paving the way for more regions and teams to participate.

The region-wise slots distribution for the main stage is as follows:

Indonesia, the Philippines, and MENA: 2 each
Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, North America, EECA, Turkey, LATAM, China, and the Wild Card Stage: 1 each

MWI 2024 will also be larger than ever

Image Credits: MOONTON

Besides the MSC 2024, the format and prize pool for the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI), one of the most-watched all-female esports tournaments, is also expanding. This time, the tournament will feature a prize pool of $500,000.

Additionally, the tournament will be expanded to accommodate teams from 12 regions: the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, China, the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Mekong Region (Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam), Brazil, and North America.

MOONTON has said that the schedule and format for the MWI 2024 will be announced later.