Draft:MSC 2026
Ninth edition of the MLBB mid-season tournament
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The 2026 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup will be the ninth iteration of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang mid-season tournament and the third under the name "Mid Season Cup". As was the case since 2024, the tournament will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 22 July to 1 August 2026 as part of the 2026 Esports World Cup.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Mobile Legends: Bang Bang |
| Location | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 22 July–1 August 2026 |
| Administrators | Moonton Qiddiya |
| Format | Double-elimination GSL (group stage) Single-elimination (knockout stage) |
| Teams | 16 (main stage) 10 (wild card) |
| Purse | US$3,000,000 |
Format
MSC 2026 will feature 25 teams, an increase from 23 in MSC 2025.
Wild card stage
The wild card stage will expand to 10 teams from 8. While the format is currently unknown, only one team will advance from the wild card to the group stage.
Group stage
The group stage will retain the 2025 format, where the sixteen teams are drawn into two double-elimination GSL-style brackets with all matches being best-of-three. Teams must win two out of a potential three matches to advance to the knockout stage before the team loses two matches, resulting in elimination. In each bracket, the four teams to win twice advance, while the four teams to lose twice are eliminated.
Knockout stage
The knockout stage will also remain unchanged, with the eight remaining teams taking part in a single-elimination tournament. All quarterfinal and semifinal matches are best-of-five while the grand final is a best-of-seven.
Qualified teams
The wild card stage will feature the 2nd–4th place teams from MCT East Asia, the champions from MCC Mekong, MSL Thailand, and MLBB European Championship (MEC), and the runners-up from MPL MENA, MLBB Türkiye Championship (MTC), MLBB Continental Championships (MCC), and MCT Americas. The main stage will feature the top two teams from MPL Indonesia, MPL Philippines, and MPL Malaysia, and the champions from MPL Cambodia, MPL Singapore, MSL Myanmar, MPL MENA, MTC, MCC, MCT East Asia, MCT Americas, and the Moba Legends Master Series (MLMS).
Changes from the previous season include:
- MCT East Asia is given one main stage slot and three wild card slots, replacing the four combined slots held by national qualifiers in China, Japan, and Mongolia.
- MCT Americas is given one main stage slot and one wild card slot, replacing the three combined slots held by the North America Challenger Tournament (NACT) and MPL Latin America. This also means that the Americas region has one less slot.
- The MLMS is given one main stage slot.
- MSL Thailand is given one wild card slot. Thai teams can still qualify via MCC Mekong as an alternate pathway.
- The MEC is given one wild card slot.
- The Vietnam MLBB Championship (VMC) no longer has a slot, but remains a qualifier for MCC Mekong, retaining the pathway for Vietnamese teams.
| Group | Region | League | Path | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting from group stage | ||||
| SEA |  Indonesia |
MPL ID | Season 17 champions | |
| Season 17 runners-up | ||||
 Philippines |
MPL PH | Season 17 champions | ||
| Season 17 runners-up | ||||
 Malaysia |
MPL MY | Season 17 champions | ||
| Season 17 runners-up | ||||
 Singapore |
MPL SG | Season 11 champions | ||
 Cambodia |
MPL KH | Season 10 champions | ||
 Myanmar |
MSL MM | Season 3 champions | ||
| EMEA |  MENA |
MPL MENA | Season 9 champions | |
 Turkey |
MTC | Season 7 champions | ||
| EECA |  CIS[a] |
MCC | Season 7 champions | |
| EA | East Asia | MCT EA | Season 1 champions | |
| AMER | Americas | MCT AMER | Season 1 champions | |
| NR |  India |
MLMS | Season 1 champions | |
| Starting from wild card stage | ||||
| SEA |  Thailand |
MSL TH | Season 1 champions | |
 Southeast Asia |
MCC Mekong | Season 7 champions | ||
| EMEA | MENA |
MPL MENA | Season 9 runners-up | |
| Turkey |
MTC | Season 7 runners-up | ||
 Europe |
MEC | Season 2 champions | ||
| EECA | CIS[a] |
MCC | Season 7 runners-up | |
| EA | East Asia | MCT EA | Season 1 runners-up | |
| Season 1 third place | ||||
| Season 1 fourth place | ||||
| AMER | Americas | MCT AMER | Season 1 runners-up | |