MPL MENA Partners With Saudi Esports Federation

MPL MENA partners with the Saudi Esports Federation

MOONTON Games (a wholly owned subsidiary of ByteDance, which also owns TikTok) announced Wednesday that its Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Middle East and North Africa (MPL MENA) has entered into a new partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) ahead of its upcoming Season 5 Playoffs that will see the federation serve as the official MPL MENA Season 5 partner in esports.

While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, league owner and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang developer MOONTON Games noted in its announcement that the SEF will “sponsor the full cost of player travel visas for the Season 5 Playoffs.”

The partnership comes on the heels of a dramatic overhaul to MPL MENA to facilitate the league’s growth and elevated status in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Esports ecosystem. Of course, the league is likely getting more attention due to the upcoming Mid Season Cup (MSC) 2024, which is part of this year’s Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MPL MENA will have two direct qualification slots to the MSC 2024 main stage—one of only three regions with two slots at the event, according to the announcement..

The Playoffs will feature the region’s top six teams competing for a total prize pool of $100K USD. The competition will feature a double-elimination format with Best-Of-Three (BO3) matches, excluding the Lower Bracket Final (BO5) and Grand Final (BO7).

Season 5 Playoffs will be held at an offline LAN event at VOV Gaming through ROSHN Front in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from June 13 – 15. In addition to the playoffs, the league will offer on-site activities such as meet-and-greets with MPL MENA professional players, carnival games, and prizes and giveaways including limited-edition MPL MENA and MLBB merchandise, and “MLBB in-game Diamonds and skins.” More details on the event—which is free to attend— can be found here. Matches will be broadcast live with commentary in Arabic.

MOONTON was one of the first video game companies to announce its participation in the Esports World Cup, an eight-week, multi-title competition taking place from July – August and backed by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government. The SEF is operated by HRH Prince Faisal, who is also the president of the International Esports Federation (IESF) and vice president of the Global Esports Federation (GEF).