- The first-ever M5 World Championship Wild Card will be held at the JioSpace arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 23 to 26 November.
- Qiddiya was unveiled as the Global Presenting Partner for the M5 World Championship 2023. ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) and Grab will return as the Official Gaming Phone Sponsor and Official SuperApp Partner, respectively.
- The Wild Card will feature eight international teams, with M5 Team China set to take the global arena.
The M5 World Championship Wild Card commences this week! Introduced by Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Esports this year, the inaugural M5 Wild Card will be held at the JioSpace arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 23 to 26 November.
The M5 Wild Card will give eight international teams a chance to qualify for the M5 World Championship Group Stage in Manila. The contenders hail from China, East Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and South Asia. Notably, the M5 Wild Card will see teams from Mongolia, Nepal, and China make their debuts on the global MLBB esports stage.
This iteration marks the notable return of Sasa, a long-time MLBB player to reclaim his opportunity on the grandest Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports stage ever yet. Sasa is competing under Team SMG, which won the eighth season of MPL Malaysia and most recently, was runner-up in Season 12.
M5 World Championship Partners Revealed
Qiddiya has been announced as the Global Presenting Partner for the M5 World Championship. The giga project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was created by the Saudi Public Investment Fund as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan and will elevate the fan experience by providing immersive and interactive online and offline activations.
Arnab Bhattacharya, Director of Strategy for esports and gaming at Qiddiya, said: “The M5 World Championship is one of the world’s most prestigious and competitive esports events; it offers esports enthusiasts in the Kingdom and beyond access to unmatched esports experiences. Our partnership with MOONTON Games builds on our recent collaboration with the Gamers8 festival in Riyadh, and takes us a big step closer to our ambition to be the leading entertainment, sports, and cultural destination globally.”
Adrian Cher, Head of Regional Esports Sales, at MOONTON Games, said: “We’re delighted to unveil Qiddiya as our Global Presenting Partner for the M5 World Championship. With our shared commitment and expertise in delivering best-in-class, family-friendly entertainment experiences, combined with the immense growth of esports in up-and-coming regions like Saudi Arabia, we’re confident that the M5 World Championship will be an unforgettable experience for our audiences worldwide.”
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) and Grab also return as global partners for the M5 World Championship. As the Official Gaming Phone Sponsor, ASUS ROG will provide the ROG Phone 6 as the official tournament device, while Grab has been named the Official SuperApp Partner. MOONTON Games had previously teamed up with ASUS ROG on the Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2023 and Grab on the M4 World Championship.
All three global partners will be joined by the respective regional partners. The regional partners for the M5 Wild Card in Malaysia include Presenting Partner, Hotlink; Nescafe; Astro Arena; Esports Integrated; the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports; TikTok, and TNTCO Store. For the M5 World Championship in the Philippines, these include Presenting Partner, Smart Communications, Inc.; Maya; the Department of Tourism Philippines; the Games and Amusements Board; Love the Philippines; EVM Convention Center; and Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
M5 Wild Card Format & Schedule
The M5 Wild Card will consist of two stages – the Group Stage and the Crossover Matches.
In the Group Stage, the eight teams have been randomly drawn into two groups of four teams, where they will compete in a single round-robin with Best-Of-Three (BO3) matches.
| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| 4Merical Esports (Nepal)Champion of the MLBB Champion Battles Fall 2023 | Umbrella Squad (EECA)2nd-place at the MLBB Continental Championships Season 2 |
| Team SMG (Malaysia)2nd-place at MLBB Professional League Malaysia Season 12 | Imperio E-sport (Peru)3rd-place at Liga Latam 2023 |
| Team Falcons (Saudi Arabia)2nd-place at 2023 MLBB Professional League MENA Fall Split | Team Lilgun (Mongolia)Champion of the ESN National Championship 2023 |
| Niightmare Esports (Laos)Champion of the M Challenge Cup Mekong Season 2 | Keep Best Gaming (China)Champion of the China Qualifier |
The Day 1 – Day 3 schedule is as follows:
On Day 4, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Crossover Matches, where the first-placed teams from each group will battle against the second-placed teams from the other group in Best-of-Five (BO5) matches. The winners of both matches will qualify for the M5 World Championship.
The first Crossover Match will take place on 26 November, from 14:00 GMT+8 onwards. The series will be broadcast live on MLBB channels with local commentary – including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, Bahasa Malaysia, Bengali, Chinese, English, Filipino, Lao, Mongolian, Nepali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Please refer to Appendix A for the full list of livestream channels and languages.
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