MSC 2024 was the first edition of the tournament bearing the name "Mid Season Cup", formerly known as the "Southeast Asia Cup". The tournament was rebranded to the Mid Season Cup in lieu of the Southeast Asia Cup due to its venue, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the first tournament in MLBB to be held outside of Southeast Asia and the expansion of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang globally.[1] Also following the previous edition in Phnom Penh, the tournament included new regions apart from Southeast Asia organizations from competing. Furthermore, it has the largest prize pool so far in any MLBB professional tournament in history, boasting a $3 million prize pool with the champions winning a prize of $1 million.[2]
Selangor Red Giants from Malaysia defeated the M5 world champions from the Philippines, Falcons AP Bren, 4–3, in a best-of-seven series. This is the first time that Malaysia has won an international tournament officiated by Moonton.
Defending champions ONIC Esports were eliminated in the group stage, setting a knockout stage that saw Indonesia finish its worst placement in MSC history with both of its representatives getting eliminated in the group stage.[3] This iteration of the tournament showcases the first time that an Indonesian representative has not qualified for the playoffs/knockouts.
Background
MSC 2024 was the first edition of the annual tournament held in the City of Riyadh. Apart from MSC 2024, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational (MWI) is also hosted in Riyadh as part of the 2024 Esports World Cup. The announcement of the Mid Season Cup was done in January 2024 following certain leaks that MSC is heading to the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia.[4]
Previously, the tournament was named as the "Southeast Asia Cup", a regional tournament for teams in the Southeast Asian region. However, during MSC 2023, the addition of Turkish, North American and Chinese teams were taken into consideration the point of the name "Southeast Asia Cup" in the first place. Game developers Moonton released the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 2024 Roadmap during the beginning of 2024.[5]
The addition of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in the 2024 Esports World Cup was likely due to the partnership between Moonton and Qiddiya, the entertainment megaproject launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moonton explained that the reinforced partnership between it and Qiddiya is seen as both organization's "commitment to deliver captivating experiences to global communities."[6]
With its participation in the 2024 Esports World Cup, MSC 2024's prize pool featured a hefty-increase from $300,000 to $3 million. MSC 2024's prize pool is part of the $60 million cumulative prize pool which also includes the prize pool for the different esports titles, $7.6 million for qualifiers and $1.1 million for MVP awards.[7] MSC 2024's prize pool was identical to the prize pools of PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. These three games' prize pool are just behind Dota 2's prize pool of $5 million.
Patch
MSC 2024 was played on Patch 1.8.92 which was released on 19 June 2024 wherein certain adjustments were made to the in-game equipment and hero skills. These included nerfs and buffs and adjustments. The new hero named Zhuxin is not available for utilization and playing for MSC 2024 in lieu of new, revamped, buffed, and nerfed items.
Patch 1.8.92
New HeroZhuxin, Beacon of Spirits
Role:
Mage
Skills
Effects
Skill 1:
Fluttering Grace
Zhuxin deals Magic Damage to all enemies in a fan-shaped area and applies 1 stack of Soul Snare.
Zhuxin also steals Movement Speed from all enemy heroes hit.
Skill 2:
Lantern Flare
Holding the Button: Zhuxin continuously consumes Mana while the Spirit Lantern can be moved with the skill button, dealing Magic Damage to all enemies within range and applying Soul Snare to enemy heroes hit.
Releasing the Button: Throws all captured enemies to the target location, dealing Magic Damage to all enemies in the area.
Ultimate:
Crimson Beacon
Zhuxin blinks to the target location while gaining a shield. While flying, she creates a fieldaround her.
The field deals Magic Damage and applies Soul Snare stacks to enemies.
Nightmaric Spawn now deals basic attack continuously. Dominator's Descent now allows user to select area for enhanced Nightmaric Spawn.
Lord
New Effect
When aggro, the Physical Penetration is increased by 10% per second. Stacks up to 10 times.
Item(s)
New Item(s)
Skypiercer
Lethality: Executes the hero if their HP is lower than 4%. Increases the threshold with stacks gained from kills.
Reworked & Improved Item(s):
Thunder Belt
Twilight Armor
Glowing Wand
War Axe
Venue
MSC 2024 was announced to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The wildcard stage was held at the Festival area of Riyadh's Boulevard City, while the group stage, knockout stage and the Grand Finals will be held at Square 2 of Boulevard City, also known as the 5V5 Arena or the Amazon Arena for sponsorship purposes.
Qualifying for the MSC 2024 tournament comes from the competing nation's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League, commonly known as "MPL". However, regional/non-MPL qualifiers in the North America, Turkey, Myanmar, and Chinese regions were also held to broaden the reach of the Championship's teams.
All highlighted nations have one or two participating teams in MSC 2024.
MSC 2024 was composed of the following twelve regions that automatically send 15 teams combined:[8]
The Group Draw for the upcoming MSC 2024 was announced via the official Facebook page for Mobile Legends Esports. These include the dates of the tournaments' stages such as the Wild Cards and the Group Stages. Moreover, the post also announced the rules for the upcoming Group Draw for MSC 2024.
Group Draw:
All 16 qualified teams for the Group Stage will be split into 2 Pools: Pool 1 and Pool 2.
Pool 1 includes the Champions and Runners-up for MPL Philippines and MPL Indonesia's recently concluded seasons, all other teams including the lone-team that have qualified via the Wild Card tournament will be put in Pool 2.
The Group Draw order will be ABCD→ABCD→ABCD→ABCD until all teams have been grouped.
There will be no avoidance principle for teams from the same region.
Team As from the Group Draw order will all be Pool 1 teams while the remaining teams will come from Pool 2.
The Group Draw was not broadcast but was announced on the official website of Mobile Legends Esports.
Wildcard Draw
The Wildcard draw was also announced in the same post.
Wildcard Draw:
All 8 Wildcard teams will be put into one pool.
The first drawn team will be put in Group A and the second drawn team will be put in Group B. This system will repeat until all teams have been separated into two groups of four teams. (Example, 1A, 2B, 3A, 4B, etc.)
Group Draw Pools
Pool 1
Liquid Echo
Fnatic ONIC ID
Falcons AP Bren
EVOS Glory
Pool 2
Selangor Red Giants
SeeYouSoon
Falcon Esports
Team Spirit
Fire Flux Esports
Cloud 9
RRQ Akira
Xianyou Gaming
NIP Flash
Team Falcons
Twisted Minds
Wild Card Qualifier
MSC 2024 Group Draw
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
EVOS Glory
Fnatic ONIC ID
Liquid Echo
Falcons AP Bren
Fire Flux Esports
SeeYouSoon
Wild Card Qualifier
Xianyou Gaming
NIP Flash
Selangor Red Giants
Twisted Minds
Cloud 9
RRQ Akira
Team Falcons
Team Spirit
Falcon Esports
MSC 2024 Wildcard Draw
Group A
Group B
Entity7
Brute Force
KeepBest Gaming
HomeBois
S2G Esports
IHC Esports
Zino Zenith
Trained to Kill
Wild Card rounds
Teams qualifying for the Wild Card tournament were divided into two groups of four teams each, playing in a single round-robin format. Matches in the wild card rounds were scheduled to be played from June 28–30. All matches in the elimination phase were a best-of-one series, with only the top seed per group qualifying for the decider match that determined which team will advance to the group stage. The decider match was a best-of-five series.[9]
After a 3–0 and a final victory over Nepal's Trained To Kill, HomeBois advances against Group A leaders Entity7 in the Decider Match. After a 1–1 start, HomeBois won two straight games to send E7 home and advance to the Group Stage, 3 games to 1.[12]
Decider Match
30 June
Entity7
1
–
3
HomeBois
18:00
HomeBois wins the series and advances to the Group Stage 3–1.
7
Game 1
16
12
Game 2
4
13
Game 3
24
7
Game 4
15
Group stage
Matches in the group stage are a best-of-two series, with potential best-of-one tiebreakers to be played if necessary. Only the top two teams per group advance to the quarterfinals.[9]
Group A
Pos
Team
GP
W
D
L
MW
ML
Df
Qualification
NPFL
FF
EVOS
RRQ
1
NIP Flash (Q)
3
2
1
0
5
1
+4
Qualified for the Playoffs
—
2–0
1–1
2–0
2
Fire Flux Esports (Q)
3
2
0
1
4
2
+2
0–2
—
0–2
1–1
3
EVOS Glory (E)
3
0
2
1
2
4
-2
Eliminated
1–1
0–2
—
1–1
4
RRQ Akira (E)
3
0
1
2
1
5
-4
0–2
0–2
1–1
—
Source: [13] (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
Source: [13] (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
:1 ^ Due to the Drafting Phase Controversy Investigation, SYS' win has been forfeited and its points were given to SRG.
Group C
Pos
Team
GP
W
D
L
MW
ML
Df
Qualification
TLPH
HB
TS
TWIS
1
Liquid ECHO (Q)
3
3
0
0
6
0
+6
Qualified for the Playoffs
—
2–0
2–0
2–0
2
HomeBois (Q)
3
2
0
1
4
2
+2
0–2
—
2–0
2–0
3
Team Spirit (E)
3
1
0
2
2
4
-2
Eliminated
0–2
0–2
—
2–0
4
Twisted Minds (E)
3
0
0
3
0
6
-6
0–2
0–2
0–2
—
Source: [13] (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
Group D
Pos
Team
GP
W
D
L
MW
ML
Df
Qualification
FCAP
FCON
C9
XYG
1
Falcons AP Bren (Q)
3
3
0
0
6
0
+6
Qualified for the Playoffs
—
2–0
2–0
2–0
2
Falcon Esports (Q)
3
2
0
1
4
2
+2
0–2
—
2–0
2–0
3
Cloud9 (E)
3
0
1
2
1
5
-4
Eliminated
0–2
0–2
—
1–1
4
Xianyou Gaming (E)
3
0
1
2
1
5
-4
0–2
0–2
1–1
—
Source: [13] (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
Knockout Stage
All matches are a best-of-five series, except for the Grand Final which is a best-of-seven series.[14]
Following the conclusion of Falcons AP Bren and Falcon Esports' match on 7 July, the Knockouts Stage Draw was conducted in the English Livestream.
Quarterfinals (Bo5)
Semifinals (Bo5)
Grand Final (Bo7)
C1
Liquid ECHO
3
D2
Falcon Esports
1
C1
Liquid ECHO
1
D1
Falcons AP Bren
3
D1
Falcons AP Bren
3
B2
SeeYouSoon
0
D1
Falcons AP Bren
3
B1
Selangor Red Giants
4
B1
Selangor Red Giants
3
A2
Fire Flux Esports
2
B1
Selangor Red Giants
3
A1
NIP Flash
0
A1
NIP Flash
3
C2
HomeBois
2
Quarterfinals
(C1) Liquid ECHO vs. (D2) Falcon Esports
Liquid ECHO started the series strong with both games finishing in under fifteen minutes. With the current patch being introduced to the Mid Season Cup, the utilization of Assassins in the Jungle has been grown significantly. However, after a speculative Akai pick from KarlTzy, Falcon Esports forced the series to four games, winning Game three in under 20 minutes. However, after letting the Chip go and debuting the Natan in the knockouts, Liquid ECHO ended the series and sent Falcon Esports home 3 games to 1. The handover of Falcon Esports’ key was done during the interview with Liquid ECHO's head coach Tictac. The key was overseen by KarlTzy.[15]
(B1) Selangor Red Giants vs. (A2) Fire Flux Esports
Selangor Red Giants came back in Game 1 despite having their backs against the wall with Fire Flux Esports pushing from the top lane. The team used the advantage to turn the game to their favor. Fire Flux would rebound with a fifteen-minute game win for Game 2 but would suffer a 20k gold differential loss that gave SRG match point.
Another Game 4 performance from Selangor Red Giants almost sealed the fate of the Turkish representatives however, after a perfect team fight, Fire Flux forced the Malaysian champions a Game 5. However, the Turkish representatives were overwhelmed with certain picks that made them vulnerable in certain pickoffs and fights. SRG won the quickest game for the match at 12:06. APEX47 handed Fire Flux's key to Selangor Red Giants.[17]
In a separate interview, SRG's head coach Arcadia admitted the overwhelming prowess Fire Flux were able to give them in the best-of-five series—adding on the fact that the team was a new organization in MPL Malaysia whilst Fire Flux has been a name situated into Turkish MLBB dominance.[18]
Determined to become the only remaining undefeated team in the Group Stage and the Knockout brackets, Falcons AP Bren made quick works against Cambodian champions SeeYouSoon, ending Games 1 and 2 by under fifteen minutes and with great gold-differentials. This was also shown as Falcons AP Bren have been consistent in both contesting and winning objectives on the map including the Lord and the Turtle.
Many have predicted that Falcons AP Bren would falter in Game 3 after being too-complacent in certain team fights that enabled SeeYouSoon's Jungler MP the King on the Roger to deal immense damage. This included a Triple Kill on the mid lane that let the team break an inhibitor in the middle and bottom lane. However, following a neutralization effort by Owgwen that pushed Roger to the main base, Falcons AP Bren turned the tides to their favor and ended the game with the first and only sweep in the Knockout Bracket.[19]
Falcons AP Bren and Liquid ECHO would meet in the Semifinals and will qualify the Philippines to the Grand Finals for the fourth-consecutive iteration of the Mid Season Cup.[20]
An All-Star studded lineup was played for the Singaporean champions of NIP Flash[21] which included the services of Hadess and KurtTzy from Geek Fam (on a loan) and formerly ECHO Proud, respectively. They matched up against the former Malaysian champions HomeBois whom crawled their way into the knockout brackets from the Wild Card.[22]
Game 1 had back-and-forth altercations for both teams with either NIP Flash or HomeBois taking massive advantages in team fights and neutral objective takes. However, HomeBois took the Game in just under fifteen minutes with a substantial neutral and objective percentages.
Game 2 was similar with Game 1 however; it was NIP Flash who unleashed its wrath by revealing a classic Martis-mid lane match up against Udil's Vexana. Martis has been used by many Singaporean players in the Mid Lane as a potential physical counter to the mid lane of the opposing team. This investment paid off massively as the team ended the game in 13:35 to tie the series 1-1.
Game 3 was by far the longest game of this series, lasting for 23 minutes with either team having the ability to take the game. However, HomeBois were able to close the game out after three-of-four successful Lord takes and nearly an equal number of turrets being destroyed to take match point.
Games 4 and 5 however had the same tale of faith for HomeBois as not only NIP Flash equalized in a dominant Game 4 that saw Martis returning in the mid lane, but closing the series in an unprecedented 3 games 2 over the overwhelming favorites of the match. This was because of the lasting performance of Diablo on the Benedetta that overwhelmed Sepat.[23]
Following their early exit in MSC 2024, HomeBois' head coach Khairul Azman "Pabz" Sharif resigned and departed from the team, taking the responsibilities and shortcomings that HomeBois has experienced during MSC 2024.[24]
Both Liquid ECHO and Falcons AP Bren advances to the semifinals as both Philippine-representatives are poised to take a Grand Finals spot for MSC 2024. This will be the third-consecutive iteration of the Mid Season Cup that the Philippines will not have two representatives in the Grand Finals. Moreover, the first series of the Semifinals will showcase a rematch of the MPL Philippines Season 13 Grand Finals where Liquid ECHO swept Falcons AP Bren.[25]
Game 1 was a back and forth scenario for both teams as the defending MPL and World champions battle it out for their one and only trophy left to complete their cabinet of trophies. During the post-game analysis, Caisam “Wolf” Nopueto pointed out that Pheww exposed Sanford's positioning to the team during that skirmish by targeting him in the Mid-Lane as he attempted to reach the Lord side through the middle's left bush (Facing FCAP's base). As Super Marco was already attacking the Lord, Falcons AP Bren took advantage of a possible map misplay by Jaypee by trying to setup a play and challenge the Lord with the "Lord Dance" tactic, but Jaypee retreated and KarlTzy was boxed by three members of FCAP—denying him intervention. Liquid ECHO was compelled by this to respond to Sanji's ultimate, which exposed FCAP's stances. After then, FlapTzy took advantage of the situation and fined two members of Liquid ECHO, winning the Lord and the match for FCAP.
Returning to a semi-utility Jungler lineups for both teams, both teams have been playing hot potato with their leads and advantages 10 minutes into the game—extending the possible leads and time both teams could have in order to take crucial objectives. However, during the fifteenth minute in contesting the first Lord of the match, Sanford was melted down in a five-on-five skirmish to take on and contest the Lord whom had 11,000 health remaining. The Lord was reset until Sanji was picked off by the Penalty Zone by FlapTzy that gave FCAP a 5-to-3-man advantage that gave them the first Lord in the series. Moreover, their split push maneuvers on all lanes of the map pushed Liquid ECHO to the brink as they lose all of the turrets including their inhibitors. However, during the final minutes of the game, KarlTzy was able to steal the Lord take that forced Liquid ECHO to make a hard retreat that picked off two of their crucial members including Bennyqt—the primary damage dealers to Liquid ECHO. FCAP took it to match point and capitalized on this contest.
Selangor Red Giants remained a dominant force against NIP Flash, sweeping the Singaporean champions out of MSC 2024. In Game 1 alone, NIP Flash had the advantage to take the game but due to a miscommunicated error in a team fight, Selangor Red Giants to the victory that ultimately led to continuous victories for the team—extending their undefeated streak for above one hundred days. Selangor Red Giants are now poised to face Falcons AP Bren in the Finals for the first time. The knockout stage for MSC 2024 is the first for Malaysia to appear in the Grand Finals in any international tournament.
The Grand Finals match between Falcons AP Bren and Selangor Red Giants is significant as it is the first time both teams will face each other in any international tournament and the first time that Malaysia has ever qualified for the Grand Finals in any international tournament. Moreover, this series of the Grand Finals features the most Filipinos competing in both teams with Selangor Red Giants having two Filipino imports in Innocent and Kramm.[26] Falcons AP Bren are the defending world champions and the runners-up for MPL Philippines Season 13[27] meanwhile Selangor Red Giants are the defending Malaysian champions, defeating HomeBois in the Grand Finals in six games.[28]
In Game 1, the draft for both sides were staggering in its own perspectives with Falcons AP Bren focusing on a crowd control composition whilst Selangor Red Giants choosing a proactive approach in its composition with little-to-no bush checking heroes. An early double-kill to Kramm and Sekysss, Falcons AP Bren had an early 1,000-gold lead. A failed attempt to steal the first turtle from the side of SRG widened the lead of FCAP by nearly 2,000-gold in just three minutes into the game. This skirmish was particularly at a disadvantage for SRG due to the pickoff for Sekysss who started the early game 0/2/0. Moreover, Sekysss was two-levels behind of KyleTzy upon the second turtle spawn. The "Minoans Fury" Set from Owgwen picked off yet again two members in the turtle contest from SRG and another kill on the bottom lane. However, SRG had gained the momentum despite their early game blunders. SRG even pushed FCAP to its first inhibitor down in the bottom lane. However, with a massive split-push coming in from Pheww in a potential "Lord Dance", FCAP takes Game 1.
Game 2 had a similar story. Falcons AP Bren were able to overwhelm a five-man wipeout in the mid-lane coming into 10 minutes into the game. However, SRG remained poised to contest certain objectives such as a tower take. This prevented FCAP from pushing any further and aggressively controlling the mid-lane. However, 13 minutes into the Game, SRG were able to pressure FCAP and pushed in on all sides with a Lord take. This sent shockwaves around the venue as SRG pushed the first inhibitor on the top lane and the mid-lane. Despite the efforts of defending the base, Sekysss and Kramm were able to equalize the series 1–1.
The Grand Finals equalized to 2 games a piece as SRG pushed FCAP to its limits in Games 4 and 5. In the pivotal Game 6, certain picks for certain players in both squads had held comfort heroes that may or may not be of help to their advantage. A massive Game 6 advantage ten minutes into the game pushed SRG's top lane to its limit in the inhibitor turret with Super Marco launching certain pushes that gave FCAP the favor of both team fights and map control. However, their overwhelming presence on the map pushed the Grand Finals series to Game 7—the first Game-seven match in MSC History.
Game 7 was one for the history books as even in the early game, neither team had the advantage against each other—playing equally to their strengths and weaknesses. A Fighter vs. Assassin Jungler matchup was picked up in the draft with KyleTzy playing his signature Ling while Sekysss utilized Alpha. As it neared the transition from the early to the mid game, SRG had a slight advantage of 2,000 gold and with both level 1 turrets going down for FCAP in the mid-lane and side lane. SRG was controlling both the damage per hero and the momentum of the game. It seemed that FCAP did not capitalize on its ability to maintain the momentum of the game in any part of the series, inhibiting pressure from SRG's dominance as they lose an inhibitor turret on the bottom lane on the eleventh minute mark. Moreover, a pick off from Owgwen from the second Lord take made it all but impossible for FCAP to redeem from the mistake. After holding the mid-lane in a potential game-ending push from Kramm and Stormie, FCAP managed to hold on and wait it out for the third Lord take.
Selangor Red Giants continues their win streak as they become the champions of MSC 2024, denying another trophy for the Philippines for the second year in a row for the international tournament. MSC 2024 is the first major tournament that Malaysia has won in any series of Moonton's events which includes the World Championships.
On 3 July, the match between Cambodia's SeeYouSoon and Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants underwent heavy scrutiny from the side of SRG due to several reasons targeting SeeYouSoon. These problems includes an alleged bug during the drafting phase, and an immediate surrender during the start of the game without the consent and approval of the Marshall responsible for this game. The public allegedly had called SYS out for trying to beat SRG in this unconventional manner due to SRG's known dominance in MPL Malaysia. Many have predicted that their actions during this match were subjected to severe penalization and disciplinary actions.[30]
On 4 July, the MSC Committee has launched its investigation regarding SeeYouSoon's claims of an in-game bug that prevented them from picking their desired hero and their misconduct for surrendering rather than asking for a redraft or a rematch. A day later, the MSC Committee has announced that SeeYouSoon has violated two Penalties in accordance with the MSC 2024 Rule Book. The following results were concluded:
SeeYouSoon did not notify the Marshall of a rematch or redraft for the Game against Selangor Red Giants and surrendered in-game without the awareness of the Marshall.
SeeYouSoon did commit match misconduct and have automatically forfeited the match with the points going to Selangor Red Giants.
SeeYouSoon's Coaching Staff Sam "Paragon" Sophanny and Chhim "CatGod" Vitou will have a 4-match suspension for MSC 2024. They are not allowed to be present in the venue during the remaining matches of SeeYouSoon in the tournament.[31]
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