The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) has achieved an unprecedented milestone, becoming the first Esports series in history to surpass 1 billion hours watched, according to Esports Charts.

Since its launch in 2017, the MPL has expanded beyond its initial focus on Southeast Asia to include regions such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Latin America, and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). This expansion has played a significant role in the league’s growing viewership, with countries like Indonesia and the Philippines being the primary driving forces behind the game’s massive following.

To put this achievement into perspective, Mark Cai, Enterprise Influencer Relations Specialist at Nvidia, said on LinkedIn, "Esports Charts contextualizes ML:BB’s achievement in the mobile gaming industry to quadruple the viewership of the PUBG Mobile Pro League, which had about the same air time."

Despite its current dominance in Asia, MLBB has yet to make a significant impact in regions such as North America and Europe, where traditional PC and console esports still reign supreme. However, with Moonton Games continuing to push for global expansion, the MPL's influence is expected to grow in these markets.

While the MPL was the first to break the 1 billion hours watched milestone, League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) joined the ranks shortly after, making it the second Esports event to achieve over 1 billion hours watched. With Worlds 2024 currently underway, the competition between these two Esports giants is set to intensify.