The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup 2021 or commonly known as MSC 2021 was the fourth annual regional Southeast Asian Tournament for
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, MSC 2021 was held virtually via an online livestream that was streamed and viewed by millions in the region. With a total prize pool of $150,000 after
Moonton
Shanghai MOONTON Technology Co. Ltd. (), commonly known as MOONTON Games, is a Chinese multinational video game developer and publisher owned by the Nuverse subsidiary of ByteDance and based in Shanghai, China. It is best known for the mobile mul ...
's announcement of a prize pool increase, the games were held from 7–13 June 2021. The Philippine team of Execration won the Tournament against another Philippine team in Blacklist International with Kelra as the winning MVP. This is the second title that the Philippines have won after Aether Main won the MSC Cup in 2018.
Background
Previous MSC tournaments were held in Face-to-face and public viewing on public venues in 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, with the
Pandemic circulating worldwide, this is the first tournament to be featured online via livestream. Then-current SEA Cup Champions ONIC Esports were the longest champions in MSC History after the 2020 MSC Tournament was cancelled on May 11 by
Moonton
Shanghai MOONTON Technology Co. Ltd. (), commonly known as MOONTON Games, is a Chinese multinational video game developer and publisher owned by the Nuverse subsidiary of ByteDance and based in Shanghai, China. It is best known for the mobile mul ...
because of the pandemic. MSC 2021 would push through to continue with the prize pool being increased from $120,000 to $150,000.
Format
Twelve teams across Southeast Asia were qualified for the tournament. The MPL regions in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines had their respective Champion and Runner-ups represent their regions, while the non-MPL teams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam were directly invited.
* Teams are grouped into four groups of three teams each.
* Group Stage: ''(June 7–9th, 2021)''
** Teams play in a single round-robin, facing each other in a format.
** At the end of the group stage, the top team in each group qualified for the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
** The next two teams in each group proceeded in the play-ins, also in a format. The winner of that series moved on to the Lower Bracket Playoffs, while the loser was eliminated.
* Playoffs: ''(June 11–13th, 2021)''
** Lower Bracket Rounds 1–2, Semifinals and the Upper Bracket Semifinals were in a format.
** The Upper and Lower Bracket Finals were in a format.
** The Grand Finals was a format.
Teams Participating
Results
Group stage
Source:
Play-in Tournament
Source:
Playoffs
All matches were a series, except for the Upper and Lower Bracket Finals which were a series, and the Grand Finals which was a series.
Source:
With the win of Execration in the Grand Finals, the Philippines obtained its second MSC Cup in 2 years after Aether Main in 2018. This was the second time in
MSC History wherein two teams from the same nation went head-to-head in the Grand Finals, the first was in 2019 when ONIC Esports and Louvre Esports faced off each other in the Finals. Both teams are from Indonesia.
Viewership
MSC 2021 was streamed online for a widespread reach and due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
MSC was forced to be hosted digitally. MSC 2021 recorded a record high of viewership, average viewership, and Hours Watched in MSC history. The tournaments were live steamed on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
,
Facebook Gaming
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
and NimoTV alongside
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
and VK Live.
High turnouts of viewership were from the teams competing in the competition.
EVOS Esports
EVOS Esports (briefly known as Zero Latitude) is a professional esports organisation based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It has competitive teams in ''Arena of Valor'', ''Free Fire'', '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'', ''PUBG Mobile'' and '' League of ...
of Indonesia has average viewers of over 986,314, followed by Execration, Blacklist International, Bigetron and RSG MY. EVOS, Execration, Blacklist have record high of viewership of over 500,000 viewers.
References
{{MLBBesports
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competitions
Sports events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic