MOONTON Games is extending the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Championship Tour into Southeast Asia with a new regional circuit, MCT SEA, that begins in the fourth quarter of 2026, Esports.gg reports. The tour is the qualifying structure that feeds the M8 World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, and the new chapter is aimed at teams outside the region's franchised leagues.
MCT SEA will gather 12 teams drawn from more than 11 Southeast Asian markets, replacing a set of separate national tournaments with a single regional event. It is the third regional chapter to open under a five-region structure that also covers the Americas, East Asia, Europe with the Middle East and Africa, and Eastern Europe with Central Asia. The Americas and East Asia circuits have already completed their first runs, sending Entity7 and Guangzhou Gaming respectively to MSC 2026 at the Esports World Cup in Paris. MOONTON Games is expected to detail schedules for the remaining regions later.
How the circuit is structured
The 12 teams are split across four groups. Groups A, B and C draw on the MLBB Super League Myanmar, the MLBB Professional League Cambodia, MPL Singapore and local qualifiers in Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Brunei and Laos. Thailand receives two places through MSL Thailand, one earned on the regular pathway and one through a host-country slot awarded for staging the inaugural event. MOONTON Games says future hosts will receive the same additional slot.
Group D runs on a separate track as the Open League Qualifier Group. It brings together the champions of MLBB Development League Philippines, MDL Indonesia and MLBB Academy League Malaysia, who compete for a single place in the knockout playoffs. That gives teams from the development ecosystem a route against established regional contenders.
Qualifying for M8
The top two teams in each of Groups A, B and C advance to the MCT SEA Knockout Playoffs, while the third-placed teams meet in a best-of-one last chance qualifier for the final berth. The playoffs are drawn into two pools: one holding the Open League Qualifier winner alongside the first-placed teams from Groups B, C and D, the other holding those groups' second-placed teams and the last chance qualifier winner.
- The top two teams from the knockout playoffs qualify directly for the M8 Main Stage.
- Third and fourth place enter the M8 Wild Card stage in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Three teams advance out of the Wild Card stage into the Main Stage.
Beyond qualification, the inaugural MCT SEA carries a $50,000 prize pool and awards the circuit's first championship trophy.
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