MLBB beats LoL and CS2 in Q1 2026 peak viewers thanks to M7

According to the latest report from Esports Charts, the massively popular mobile MOBA, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), was the most watched esports title in Q1 2026 by peak viewers.

This is not surprising as the game had its M7 World Championship in January, which allowed it to overtake other top titles like League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and VALORANT.

MLBB achieves 5.68 million peak viewers in Q1 2026

The opening quarter of 2026 has been very eventful for the esports industry. Several massive tournaments of world-renowned esports titles took place in tandem, with some even coinciding with each other.

Image source: Esports Charts

While almost every tournament attracted impressive crowds, one unexpected title saw the most success in terms of viewers due to its popularity and broadcasting strategy.

Thanks to the success of its M7 World Championship, MLBB drew a peak of 5.68 million viewers, while League of Legends peaked at 1.5 million viewers. The peak for League occurred during the LCK Cup 2026, due to the interest driven by the T1 vs Dplus KIA series.

Despite earning an early lead, T1 lost the series, as Dplus KIA completed a reverse sweep.

How did MLBB’s M7 World Championship become this big?

The massive success of the M7 World Championship can be attributed to the game’s immense popularity as well as MOONTON’s strategy of integrating multiple platforms.

This included a TikTok broadcast, and focus on community-driven broadcast, such as providing streams in localized languages.

Even in individual events, MLBB secures the top two places as both of its tournaments, the M7 World Championship and MPL Indonesia Season 17, attracted substantial viewership.

According to Esports Charts, the highly anticipated rivalry match between RRQ Hoshi and ONIC had drawn a crowd of 2.3 million live viewers.

With the success of MLBB’s competitive scene, mobile esports has earned a massive new benchmark, shadowing even the heavyweights like League of Legends.

Notably, betting on MLBB has also recorded a significant increase in 2025. It was the fastest-growing betting title last year, per an Oddin.gg report.

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