Mobile Legends: Bang Bang unveils new format for Mid-Season Cup 2025

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has unveiled a revamped format for Mid-Season Cup (MSC) 2025, taking place at the Esports World Cup.

Changes include the addition of a draw mechanic and the introduction of a third-place match.

The opening Wild Card phase of the tournament will feature a best-of-three, double-elimination GSL group format to replace the best-of-one round-robin structure used in previous tournaments. In addition, the Wild Card teams will be split into two groups, with the top two advancing to the cross-group semi-finals.

Instead of a best-of-two, round-robin format for the group stage, a best-of-three, double-elimination format will be adopted. The top four teams from each group will then advance to the knockout stage, which has also been overhauled.

“At MOONTON Games, we want MLBB to remain at the forefront of esports,” said Tiger Xu, Global Head of Esports at MOONTON Games.

“This year’s refreshed format embodies our commitment to pushing boundaries in esports by challenging teams to adapt to the unfamiliar. With new tactical layers like the draw mechanic and refinements to team progression, we’re creating a more dynamic playing field.”

The knockout stage of the Mobile Legends MSC introduces the draw mechanic. Undefeated teams from the Group Stage will have the ability to select their opponents in the opening round, with priority given to teams that record the shortest match time.

The final change to the format is the arrival of a third-place match. The losers of the semi-finals will compete prior to the Grand Finals, which will use a best-of-seven series to determine the eventual champion.

2025 has been a period of growth for the Mobile Legends esports scene. In May, MOONTON Games announced it had expanded the Women’s Invitational to 16 teams, allowing more regions to compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Alongside revamping the MSC format, the title’s developer and publisher also overhauled its collection of esports trophies with the launch of the Immortal Cup, which will be up for grabs at the MSC taking place from July 10th to August 2nd, 2025.