E-sports

Why Indonesia Hosting the M7 World Championship is Important

By Ramon Domingo - December 18, 2024

This could be the biggest MLBB region in the world’s chance to end the Philippine era.

As M6 came to a close, they revealed that their next iteration, the M7 World Championship, would be held in Indonesia. It’s a momentous occasion and not just because Indonesia has been world champion contenders for years.

Why Indonesia Hosting the M7 World Championship is Important
ONIC Indonesia’s MSC 2023 victory was significant as they had to defeat former world champions Blacklist International to become the first repeat MSC champions. (Photo from MOONTON Games)

To give a brief history, Indonesia has been an absolute bastion of MLBB since the game’s release. They were the first world champions, with EVOS Legends taking the very first M-series tournament in an all-Indonesian grand finals. The M4 World Championship was also held in Jakarta, Indonesia, although that one stings for them since it was an all-Pinoy grand finals between ECHO, now Team Liquid Philippines, and Blacklist International.

That sort of has been the story of Indonesia for the past few years. Since M2 it’s been the Philippine era of MLBB with Indonesia being a close second. The question has always been if they’ll ever be able to reclaim the throne they held all those years ago. However, that has not deterred the absolute passion the region has for MLBB. 

The MLBB Capital of the World

It can’t be understated just how massive the MLBB community is in Indonesia. It’s basically a known fact that the region dwarfs everyone else in terms of players, viewers, engagements, etc. So much so that it’s somewhat surprising that the M7 World Championship is only the second time the country is hosting an M-series tournament.

The latest season of MPL ID had a peak of 4 million viewers. That’s just shy of M6 which peaked at 4.13 million. And even then, more than half of the 4.12 million viewers of the grand finals between Fnatic ONIC PH and Team Liquid ID were from Indonesia. The numbers show that Indonesia is absolutely crazy about MLBB and that’s absolutely going to matter for M7. They’re going to make the world know why they’re so passionate about MLBB.

Why Indonesia Hosting the M7 World Championship is Important
Team Liquid ID lock in for their next match in the M6 World Championship. (MOONTON Games)

Yet despite being the biggest community in the world, it’s practically undisputed that the Philippines is the strongest. They’ve had their moments of brilliance, particularly winning MSC 2019 and 2023, but they haven’t had the same international success as the Philippines has.

If there was ever a time for Indonesia to break the Philippine’s stranglehold of the M-series, it would be at the M7 World Championship. They’ve gotten close multiple times but maybe a home court advantage is the inspiration they need to end an era. Or at the very least they can try to prevent another all-Pinoy grand final on their home turf.

Regardless, the weight of the MLBB capital of the world will be on the teams heading to M7. It’s more than a year away, but we’re already excited for what M7 has in store for us.

Banner photo from MOONTON Games.

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