Game developer Moonton Games has teamed up with California-based tournament organiser Alchemy Esports to launch a North American collegiate league for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
The league group stage will take place on January 13th for the East Coast and January 20th for the West Coast.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in North America isn’t quite the powerhouse it is in other regions. At the most recent M5 World Championship, the only North American representative was unsigned team TheOhioBrothers. The team was able to put a win on the board and finished 13th-16th out of 22 participants.
The move by MLBB to host a collegiate league in North America continues to highlight Moonton’s interest in developing the wider scene outside of Southeast Asia. Alongside its North American collegiate partnership, Moonton also allowed teams in China to compete at this year’s M5 World Championship for the first time.
The brand-new North American league will include approximately 20 Universities from all over the United States of America. These teams will be split into two regional divisions, East Coast and West Coast. In those divisions, the teams will compete against one another in an online group stage before moving onto the knockout stage and a regional final.
One team from each region will be crowned champion which will earn them an invite to an offline Grand Final against the other regional champion. The two Universities will compete for the lion’s share of a $6,000 (~£4,700) prize pool.
Alchemy Esports is a California-based intercollegiate tournament organiser which aims to promote esports culture to make it mainstream within America. Alongside establishing the MLBB collegiate league, Alchemy Esports also works with colleges and universities to bring in esports-related majors, to create esports varsity matches, and to develop exchange programs and summer/winter camps.
The MLBB and Alchemy Esports Academy Campus Tournament is already open for signups. Each student union from the invited Universities will be in charge of organising their respective teams and signups.
