The past few years have been great for mobile esports. Apart from increased mobile gaming options, viewership across various tournaments has surged through the roof. Of course, it helps that mobile esports offers a social element, widespread inclusivity, and is easily accessible. In other words, they get rid of traditional online gaming barriers.
However, the best part of mobile esports is the competitive play. Evidenced by their large followings and massive prize pools, mobile esports tournaments are quickly topping the charts in terms of popular gaming options, even challenging online casinos.
Mobile esports tournaments now get millions of views and reward the winning team with hundreds of thousands of dollars. A quick look at the Google PlayStore or App Store will reveal that mobile games get millions of downloads. The high rise of mobile esports gives online casinos a tough time as players now shift from playing on casino apps to mobile gaming apps.
That said, let’s jump right into the most popular mobile esports leagues and competitions that happened in 2023.
M5 World Championship – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Few mobile esports competitions measure up to the M5 World Championship. Apart from the adrenaline-pumped Mobile Legends: Bang Bang multiplayer gameplay, it also features a lucrative prize pool. In fact, the recently concluded tournament had a prize pool worth $900,000.
In addition, the M5 World Championship has also been making trends in the world of mobile esports. Last year, it recorded the highest viewership of the year, with over 5.07 million viewers, making it the 2023 king of mobile esports.
Since the debut of this competition in 2019, the 2023 edition introduced the wild card stage, which was followed by the Group stage. Notably, the winner of this competition was Bren Esports, who hailed from the Philippines. Sonic and Blacklist took second and third place.
PUBG Mobile Global Championship – PUBG Mobile
PMGC, also known as PUBG Mobile Global Championship, recorded its highest prize pool offering since its inauguration in November 2020. If you’re familiar with PUBG Mobile, you know how engaging and exciting this gaming option is. In fact, the game alone has recorded over $100 million in global player expenditure.
PUBG Mobile’s popularity is primarily attributed to PMGC, a PUBG Mobile competition organized by Tencent Games and KRAFTON. After all, not all mobile esports have an annual tournament that attracts over 980,000 viewers, like the PUBG Mobile Global Championship.
Moreover, the 2023 prize pool was worth $3 million, the highest it has ever been since the launch of this tournament.
So, who took home this prize money? After a grueling competition between 48 teams, IHC Esports from Mongolia won with 142 points, followed by Stalwart Esports from India with 138 points.
Arena of Valor Premier League -Arena of Valor
Another leading tournament in the realm of mobile esports competitions is the Arena of Valor (AOV) Premier League. From reputable companies like Tencent Games and Garena, this event is popular in the online esports betting market.
As a matter of fact, many, if not all, mobile eSports betting sections feature the Arena of Valor game. Not only does it exhibit competitive odds, but it also gets the AOV tournament action live via top-quality live streams.
So, how popular was the Arena of Valor Premier League 2023? Well, the tournament, which was held in June-July of 2023, had over 970,000 peak viewers. In particular, many viewers were attracted to the PlayOffs Grand Final stage, where Saigon Phantom battled Bacon Time for the $500,000 prize. In the end, Saigon won.
Free Fire World Series – Free Fire
Another Garena product, the Free Fire World Series, is a global free fire championship tournament. Twelve teams come together in May of every year to compete for a large prize.
The league holds the highest viewership record in mobile esports history, with over 5.4 million in peak viewers. With such a record-breaking number, it’s easy to see why the Free Fire Series tournament is always anticipated each year.
For the 2023 edition, the series had a total viewership record of more than 570,000 peak viewers. That’s still impressive, especially since winners take home hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2023, first place, which was Magic Squad, got $300,000, while Buriram United Esports was in second place, winning $150,000.
Tournaments Have Played A Big Role In The Rise of Mobile Esports
Mobile esports competitions have been popular for some years now, and contrary to popular belief, casual mobile sport players can also participate. Yes, it’s a chance for professionals to showcase their skills. But that also means that novice players have a chance to learn a thing or two about their favorite mobile esports titles.
Thanks to this appeal to both novice and experienced mobile esports players, viewership records and the overall popularity of mobile esports continue to rise. And since things are just getting started, we can’t wait to see what’s next in this market.
