The upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Mid Season Cup (MSC) at the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) is here to once again surprise esports fan with a new format reveal for the tournament. Not only did they change how the tournament will be played, they also included a change in prize pool distribution to make way for a 3rd place finish in the entire tournament, contrary to last year’s tournament format.
Let’s take a look at the changes for this year’s MSC at 2025 EWC.
Brave New World
The Wild Card for this year will be conducted in a different way. Unlike last year’s round robin with 2 groups of 4 teams each played with best of 1’s, this year, 8 teams will be divided into 2 groups still but teams would play a best of 3, double elimination format, where the top two teams (scoring 2-0 and 2-1) would advance to the cross-group Semi Finals.
Teams will then cross-match against each other, meaning Group A’s undefeated team will match up against Group B’s lower bracket winner while Group B’s undefeated team will match up against Group A’s lower bracket winner. The winners of each matchup will play a last best of 5 to determine who will move on to the group stage. Don’t worry if this is tough to keep up with!
Entering the group stage, teams will once again be separated into two groups instead of last year’s 4. The best of 2 single round robin format last year will be changed to a best of 3 double elimination format, similar to how the wild card will be played out where the teams with 2-0 and 2-1 standing (or top 4 teams of each group) will move on to the next round.
The shift may be done for teams not to depend solely on the luck of the draw but to ultimately determine the strongest among their standings.
The Game Changer
The Knockout Stage is where it gets exciting. MSC is introducing a new competitive draw mechanic that gives an advantage for the undefeated teams. Teams that go out of the group stage with a 2-0 record will be able to select their opponents from the pool of 2-1 teams for the first round of the Knockout Stage.
The team are prioritized by the shortest total match time in the Group Stage. This new mechanic gives importance to the performance of teams at every stage to always keep teams in peak condition. This also motivates every team to become the strongest, fastest, greatest team in the entire tournament if they want to secure an advantage towards a podium finish.
MSC 2025 Prize Pool Distribution
MSC 2025 will also include a third-place match, where they have another opportunity to secure a podium finish since the format of the Knockout Stage is single-elimination. With this, the prize pool will be adjusted from last year’s $200,000 to $250,000 for the 3rd placer while the 4th placer willet $150,000. A significant $100,000 will be the difference of the podium finish.
The champions and the runner-up will still take home $1 million and $500,000 respectively, similar to how the prize pool was distributed for the top 2 last year.
Who will win MSC 2025?
The MSC tournament is very unpredictable, it’s impossible to call which region will win. While the Philippines almost always win the world championship, they seem to miss out in getting the MSC title, having Indonesia and Malaysia take over it. Last year, the tournament’s dark horses, Selangor Red Giants (now known as Selangor Red Giants OG Esports), surprised the M5 world champions, Team Falcons Philippines, 4-3 to take the title alongside the USD 1 million prize.
In relation to the big reveal, Tiger Xu, Global Head of Esports at MOONTON Games, said: “At MOONTON Games, we want MLBB to remain at the forefront of esports. 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.”
MSC at 2025 EWC will begin on July 10th to 13th 2025, starting with the Wildcard stage. There are still regions having their playoffs this weekend, including the powerhouse region of Indonesia, as well as last MSC’s champions’ home team, Malaysia.
Last year’s champions are already guaranteed a spot in MSC to defend their titles while Indonesia is still in the process of finding out if our predictions in MPL Indonesia’s playoffs would be spot on. Be sure not to miss out this amazing event as MLBB Esports just keeps evolving their tournaments one way or another.
