M8 Goes to Istanbul, the Wild Card Goes to Bangkok and Southeast Asia Gets Its Own Tour
Moontons 2026 roadmap puts an M Series event in Europe for the first time and gives Thailand its first hosting job.
Moonton's 2026 roadmap moves the Mobile Legends world championship out of its usual footprint. The M8 main stage goes to Istanbul in January 2027, the first M Series event held in Europe. The wild card stage goes to Bangkok, the first time any part of the M Series has been staged in Thailand.
Underneath it is a new regional competition. The MLBB Championship Tour Southeast Asia was announced on 10 and 11 August: twelve teams drawn from eleven Southeast Asian markets, split into four groups. Groups A, B and C are closed slots from the national leagues such as MPL and MSL. Group D is an open qualifier for the champions of MDL Philippines, MDL Indonesia and MAL Malaysia. The prize pool is 50,000 dollars plus a trophy. It starts in the fourth quarter, timed to the game's tenth anniversary in September. Thailand gets an extra slot as the first host.
The route through to M8 runs from there. The top two at the tour go straight to the Istanbul main stage. Third and fourth go to the Bangkok wild card, which sends three more through.
The 2026 structure runs on five regions: Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, EMEA, East Asia and the Americas.
Mobile Legends is also a title at the Esports Nations Cup in Riyadh, a 32-nation event, and a medal event at the Asian Games.
Outlets describe Group D's advancement mechanics differently. Moonton has not settled the point publicly.