MLBB M4 World Championship overview: Indonesia and the Philippines square off on the biggest stage

It’s time for the best teams and players in the world to scale the summit of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports, as the fourth edition of the World Championship is right around the corner. With epic plays and great strategies guaranteed for the event, fans will be in for a great time should they choose to tune in for the action to see whether Indonesian of Philippine.

Here is everything you need to know about the MLBB M4 World Championship, featuring the teams, the groups, the schedule, the venue and the storylines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE_Z6RjdWNg

MLBB M4 World Championship venue change: everything you need to know

Instead of the beloved XO hall, the venue for the M4 World Championship was changed one month away from the event due to “an unfortunate incident.” Moonton therefore announced that the first four days of the event (corresponding with the group stage) will take place in the Bali United Studio, with the knockout stage moved to the Tennis Indoor Stadium Senayan to “provide a safe and conducive experience for [the] fans, teamns, and gaming community.”

This change unfortunately means that fewer seats will be available for the knockout stage. The organizers will refund tickets accordingly and they will offer 250 in-game diamonds to compensate those who will now miss out on the live action.

MLBB M4 World Championship schedule

With these revisions in mind, here is how the tournament schedule will look like:

Group Stage Venue: Bali United Studio

Date: 1 January - 4 January 2023

Location: 11, Jl. Duri Utama Raya No.43, RW.7, Duri Kepa, Kec. Kb. Jeruk, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 11510, Indonesia

Knockout Stage Venue: Tennis Indoor Stadium Senayan

Date: 7 January - 15 January 2023

Location: Jl. Pintu Satu Senayan No.B, RT.1/RW.3, Gelora, Kecamatan Tanah Abang, Kota Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10270, Indonesia

What is the M World Championship?

The annual mega-event and the crown jewel of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports, the M World Championship is dubbed as M4 for this year, as it is the fourth iteration of the tournament. First held in 2019, the M1 World Championship was won by EVOS Legends, with Bren Esports triumphing in M2 (January 2021) and Blacklist International lifting the trophy in M3 (December 2021).

The tournament begins with a single round robin group stage where the sixteen participating teams are distributed into four groups of four. Similarly to many elite-level MOBA tournaments elsewhere in the esports scene, the group stage only serves as seeding for the playoffs: no team gets directly knocked out at this juncture. Instead, the top two teams of the group advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs, while the teams finishing third and fourth will have to face the prospect of an early elimination, starting their journeys in the lower bracket. Two-way ties are decided by the head-to-head result and three-way tiebreakers are resolved by mini-matches.

The group stage matches are all best-of-one, and the first two elimination rounds are best-of-three matches. Everything else, with the exception of the grand finals, is a best-of-five affair, and the title decider goes another step further with a best-of-seven barnburner.

This year, no CIS teams will attend the world championship event, while Mekong and Myanmar return after they missed out on the M3 World Championship.

With a prize pool of $800 000, this tournament is one of the biggest esports events in the scene and it is definitely worth watching for esports fans all around the world.

MLBB M4 World Championship groups and teams

The group stage draw show took place on December 8, settling fans’ excited expectations in stone for the upcoming action. Here is how the groups will look like in the tournament, and what you can expect from each team from an MLBB betting perspective:

MLBB M4 Group A – the start of a title defense

• Blacklist International
• Burn x Flash
• Falcon Esports
• Incendio Supremacy

Blacklist’s dominant victory in the previous world championship will linger long in the memory. After two close-fought 4-3 series in the past grand finals, they absolutely destroyed ONIC in 2021. As the first Philippine team to win three titles, they already made history in the scene, and there is all the incentive to try their best for an incredible repeat.

There is little reason to doubt Blacklist International’s dominance in the group, as Falcon Esports seem to be the only team with a realistic chance to take a game off of them. Greater challenges will await in the playoffs, including a potential titanic clash with the great rival, the Indonesians of ONIC Esports.

MLBB M4 Group B – the great Indonesian hope

• Malvinas Gaming
• MDH Esports
• ONIC Esports
• TODAK

Over in Group B, fans will find the other juggernaut of MLBB esports, ONIC Esports. Their stable and strong roster offers Indonesia the best chance to finally take down an M-series title after a string of disappointments.

Realistically, the big question is which team will be able to pick up the second playoff seed spot in this group, and the invaluable experience gained by Malvinas Gaming’s Argentinian core back in M3 should serve as exactly what they need to put up a strong showing.

MLBB M4 Group C – the second string

• ECHO
• Occupy Thrones
• RRQ Hoshi
• RSG Singapore

No doubt this group will be all about the big regional rivalry between Indonesia and the Philippines, as the second string of squads from the respective regions will gear up for an all-important battle to secure one of those coveted upper bracket playoff spots. ECHO and RRQ Hoshi, the runners-up from their respective league seasons, are likely to clinch the top two positions, but it’s anyone’s guess which of them will triumph overall.

MLBB M4 Group D – the sneaky side

• RRQ Akira
• S11 Gaming Argentina
• Team HAQ
• The Valley

None of these teams are expected to do real damage at the event, but it’s a big part of why this particular group configuration offers all four of these teams a great opportunity to go further than they perhaps would have expected heading into the MLBB M4 World Championship. Don’t underestimate the North American representatives: The Valley’s MobaZane made it all the way to third place in M3 with his previous squad, just the sort of leadership that can make all the difference in a tournament like this.

That’s everything you need to know about the MLBB M4 World Championship: all that’s left is to watch and see how all the exciting action unfolds!