Niko Partners at MLBB M7 World Championship: From Jakarta with Global Ambition
Southeast Asia (SEA), the undisputed heart of the global mobile gaming community, has once again shattered expectations with the record-breaking M7 World Championship. Hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia, this seventh edition served as the culminating event of the 2025 competitive season, bringing together 22 leading teams from across the globe to compete for $1,000,000 between January 3 and January 25. M7 marks the second time Indonesia has hosted the M-Series, following M4 in 2023.
The seventh edition of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M-series captivated a massive audience becoming the most-watched mobile esports event of all time, reaching a staggering 5.68 million peak concurrent viewers (PCV) during the Grand Finals. Compared to the M6 World Championship in December 2024, peak viewership increased by 1.5 million, or 36%, setting a new record. This monumental achievement surpassed the previous industry record of 5.4 million viewers set by the Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore. According to Esports Charts, MLBB ranked as the second most-watched esports title globally in 2025 on non-Chinese video platforms, trailing only League of Legends.
Niko Partners’ Analysts were in attendance for the entire event, starting from the M7 Wild Card held at the XO Hall (MPL Arena) in Jakarta, through to the climactic M7 World Championship held at Tennis Indoor Senayan at the end of the month.
Team Niko at M7 Grand Finals: Darang Candra, Jaq Lukman, and Edward Tien (a die-hard MLBB enthusiast for nearly a decade, who and attended the M4 World Championship, M5 Wild Cards, and the M6 World Championship before this)
M7 World Championship Overview: MLBB Set Eyes on Global Expansion
The event began with a Wildcard Stage (Jan 3–6), where two teams advanced to join 14 directly seeded teams in the Swiss Stage (Jan 10–17), the top 8 teams then qualified for the Knockout Stage (Jan 18-24), with the remaining two teams competing in the grand finals (Jan 25). A notable evolution in the M-series this year was the implementation of a Swiss Stage format, a new addition made first at the M6 World Championship. The M7 continued the with this format, fostering intense global competition during this portion of the tournament.
The World Championship included professional teams from countries including Japan (returning for the first time since M2), Mongolia, Vietnam, and Laos. This edition marked the first time North America did not participate, following the pause of regional league operations. In the grand finale, Philippines’ Aurora Gaming defeated Indonesia’s Alter Ego with a 4–0 sweep. Aurora Gaming secured $320,000 in prize money, whhile Alter Ego received $150,000, as the runners up. Notably, after Indonesia’s EVOS Legends claimed the inaugural M-Series title, Filipino esports teams have gone on to dominate the MLBB world championships for six consecutive years now.
Aurora Gaming’s victory continues the Philippines’ dominance in the M Series.
In terms of new records, not only did the grand final PCV garner 5.68 million views, the highest-ever for a mobile esports event, but every phase of M7 broke viewership records.
The Wildcard reached itsa peak of 447k viewers (+30% form last year);
The Swiss Stage reached its peak with 3.6 million viewers (+45% from last year);
The Knockout Stage peaked at 5.59 million (+57% from last year), which effectively ended the five-year reign of the Free Fire World Series’ 5.4 million PCV as the category’s peak benchmark.
Looking to 2026, it was announced that the M8 will be hosted in Türkiye, with the M8 Wild Card to be staged in Thailand. Neither are traditionally core MLBB markets, with their selection highlighting the M-series’ global expansion strategy and growing visibility. Seprately, MLBB will also serve as the inaugural title at the Esports Nations Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will debut at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, both of which further highlight Moonton’s ambition to expand the title’s footprint across MENA and East Asia.
M7 Carnival Brings Fans Together
MLBB fans enjoyed the festivities of M7 Carnival
The M7 Carnival was a three-day public fan festival held between January 23 and 25 at Stadion Madya GBK in Jakarta as part of the MLBB M7 World Championship celebration. It featured the GO1 World Championship (the inaugural World Championship of Magic Chess: Go Go, an MLBB spinoff title in the auto-chess genre), the debut of the M7 Talent Show where fans and creators showcased their skills, live watch parties for the semi-finals and finals, live performances and music concerts, creator and pro player meet-and-greets, interactive zones, local F&B booths, an official MLBB merchandise store, and community activities.
The event offered small businesses and creators opportunities to sell products, showcase talent, and engage with both local and global audiences. By integrating gaming with music, merchandise, pop-up retail, and content creation, the carnival acted as a catalyst to stimulate value across sectors, reinforcing esports as a platform for broader creative industries and youth participation.
How M-Series Partnerships Mirror Esports Maturity
The M7 marked a brand value shift, as global giants like Visa and Realme moved beyond traditional “logo-in-the-corner” sponsorships to complex, value-driven integration. The projected partner brand value for M7 is expected to exceed the RM552.6 million ($140.7 million) benchmark recorded at M6.
Changes to brand partnerships included deeper integration. In November 2025, digital payment provider Visa was named the official payment partner for the M7 World Championship. The collaboration introduced the Mythic VIP experience, offering premium seating, a behind-the-scenes look at the event, exclusive merchandise, and a 20% discount on tickets. MOONTON Games also named Chinese smartphone brand Realme the official smartphone of the M7 World Championship, with all esports teams using the Realme 15 Pro.
Niko’s Outlook of Esports in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, along with India, is the fastest growing Asian sub-region for esports engagement providing significant opportunities for growth. The esports industry has also seen major mergers and acquisitions over the past year, which Niko tracks as part of its Value-Added News Services (VANA) and market reports.
Niko Partners is enthusiastic about esports fandom in Southeast Asia, viewing it as a trendsetter for the esports landscape across Asia and the world. We encourage you to stay updated with our esports research in 2026. In a world where players have a vast array of video game and entertainment choices, esports initiatives that leverage local expertise and insights prove to be the most successful. Gaining a deep understanding of the local ecosystem and the nuances of esports audiences is crucial to companies who want to stay competitive in this corner of the market. Contact us for more information.