ESL FACEIT Group, the organiser of the mobile esports tournament Snapdragon Pro Series, has announced a significant partnership with MOONTON Games, the company behind the mobile MOBA game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
The partnership will be focused on expanding MLBB’s esports ecosystem to new regions through the Snapdragon Pro Series circuit. The addition of a women’s league in Asia-Pacific and a total $750,000 (£585,000) prize pool has also been revealed.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of the most popular esports titles in the world. The last edition of the World Championship had more than 5m peak viewers, making it the fourth-most watched esports tournament in history. The partnership with the ESL FACEIT Group means that MLBB can now expand and grow outside of its most popular market of Southeast Asia by leaning on the popularity of the Pro Series.
Until this point, MLBB was featured in the Snapdragon Pro Series, but only in Southeast Asia. The game’s LAN finals saw a prize pool of $150,000 (£117,000) and more than 1m peak viewers, according to Esports Charts, making it by far the most successful game in the tournament series.
The new partnership will see the game included in Europe, Latin America, Middle-East and North Africa, allowing players from almost all supported regions to compete. The prize pool was increased to $750,000 (£585,000) to match the scale of the expansion.
In addition to including the game in more markets, the Snapdragon Pro Series will also operate a women’s league in Asia-Pacific and Japan regions. The league will feature a $30,000 prize pool.
Sam Braithwaite, the VP of Game Ecosystems, Mobile, ESL FACEIT Group, commented: “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has been a global leader in mobile competition. Alongside MOONTON Games and Qualcomm Technologies, we’re looking forward to delivering more ways to play MLBB through the Snapdragon Pro Series and our new inclusivity initiatives.”
The ESL FACEIT Group recently partnered with SUPERCELL to also expand the Snapdragon Pro Series’ Brawl Stars tournament.
