How The ‘MLBB’ Women’s Invitational Is Shaking Up Female Esports

When the confetti cannons explode, the hosts announce a new champion and the now iconic Esports World Cup trophy is lifted, most esports fans should be able to picture the exact image in their mind even if they can’t see the actual goings-on. The trophy lift moment, which is set to happen 25 times over the seven-week competition, has a similar style across almost all of the tournaments at EWC, and its slick presentation and staging stick in the mind of anyone who has watched even one. However, last weekend at the Esports World Cup something was different when MLBB hit the stage.

When Team Vitality lifted the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang MWI trophy last weekend in Riyadh, instead of a group of young men standing on stage, it was a group of women, elated to have just won the biggest prize in the female MLBB circuit. The MLBB Women’s Invitational is the only female exclusive tournament at the Esports World Cup, and gives female players a chance to compete in the biggest stage in esports.

“Representation alone isn’t enough, you need infrastructure, visibility, and legitimacy,” said Cherry Xia, Vice President and Head of Publishing and Esports at MOONTON Games, the developer of MLBB. “Women’s tournaments like MWI at the Esports World Cup provide all three, and they change how women see themselves in esports. Headline tournaments like MWI at EWC 25 also raise the level of the overall ecosystem. When you give women a stage of this size and a massive $500,000 prize pool, you increase the talent pool, attract new fans, and show investors and sponsors that diversity is valuable, scalable, and competitive. It’s a long-term investment in the health and inclusivity of esports.”

Xia is a veteran of the games industry, with more than a decade of experience, and has risen through the ranks to now hold one of the most senior positions within MOONTON. However, as a woman, she has faced struggles that men may not have been subject to. She recounts a story from early on in her career where a co-worker questioned her authority because she was a woman, and that proved to be a key moment in the direction her career took, becoming a champion of females in the gaming space and, crucially, providing them opportunities they may otherwise miss out on.

“That’s why I’m so passionate about creating platforms like the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational, because no one should have to fight just to belong,” said Xia “I’m glad to be part of a MOONTON Games, where we’re all committed to building sustainable, professional pathways for women, and not just for visibility, but for opportunity!”

In the world of esports female-only competitions are not exactly rare, but ones on this kind of scale only come around once in a blue moon. Many will tout the open ecosystems that many games have, where anyone, regardless of gender, can rise to the top of the biggest leagues. But in practice this has proven a rarity, with only a handful of women ever making it to the top levels of esports competition in such circuits. The reasons are likely more complex than most realise, and perhaps not entirely down to skill difference.

So tournaments like the MLBB MWI give female players a massive stage and similar opportunities to those open circuits that they tend to miss out on. It gives them experience on a big stage, against top competition, which will only help improve their skill level and hopefully move them closer to being able to rise through the ranks of the open tournaments at the highest level. Eventually, the hope is some of these players can move across and compete in the MLBB Mid Season Cup, the other MLBB tournament taking place at the Esports World Cup.

“Talent knows no gender, but the opportunities offered are not always equal,” said Xia. “What MOONTON Games and those in our MLBB esports ecosystem are doing now is helping close that gap. We provide the training, competition, and spotlight that female players need to be competitive, and are gradually seeing more women athletes compete even in the open category tournaments. For example, Rin “Tegami” Chanthana became the first female athlete to play in the MLBB Professional League Cambodia after competing in last year’s MWI. We’re already seeing women compete at high levels. With the right support systems and exposure, it’s only a matter of time before the lines between men’s and women’s competitions begin to blur.”

What MOONTON is doing to support the female MLBB scene is admirable, and is already showing that this kind of support works when it comes to bringing more female players to the top level of competition. Some other publishers are also following suit, but now we have seen that it works, this kind of support for female competition should become a standard across the industry. Everyone wants to see more female players make it to the top, especially given how large the female player base of most games is, and MOONTON is leading the charge on that front.