MSC 2021

The 2021 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup or commonly known as MSC 2021, was the fourth annual regional Southeast Asian Tournament for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MSC 2021 was held virtually via an online livestream that was streamed and viewed by millions in the region. With a total prize pool of $150,000 after Moonton's announcement of a prize pool increase, the games were held from 7–13 June 2021. The Philippine team of Execration won the Tournament against another Philippine team in Blacklist International with Kelra as the winning MVP. This is the second title that the Philippines have won after Aether Main won the MSC Cup in 2018.

2021 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup

2021
Tournament information
Sport	Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Date	Group Stage June 7–8, 2021 Playoffs June 11-13-2021
Administrator	Moonton
Tournament format(s)	Group Stage Round robin Playoffs Double elimination
Venue(s)	None
Participants	12 teams (See MSC 2021 Participating Teams)
Final positions
Champions	Execration (1st title)
1st runner-up	Blacklist International
2nd runner-up	EVOS Legends
Tournament statistics
MVP	Kelra ( Execration)
Highest KDA	Syno ( RSG MY)
Highest Kills	Kelra ( Execration)
Highest Assists	Ch4knu ( Execration)

Background

Previous MSC tournaments were held in Face-to-face and public viewing on public venues in 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, with the Pandemic circulating worldwide, this is the first tournament to be featured online via livestream. Then-current SEA Cup Champions ONIC Esports were the longest champions in MSC History after the 2020 MSC Tournament was cancelled on May 11 by Moonton because of the pandemic. MSC 2021 would push through to continue with the prize pool being increased from $120,000 to $150,000.

Format

Twelve teams across Southeast Asia were qualified for the tournament. The MPL regions in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines had their respective Champion and Runner-ups represent their regions, while the non-MPL teams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam were directly invited.

• Teams are grouped into four groups of three teams each.
• Group Stage: (June 7–9th, 2021)
  • Teams play in a single round-robin, facing each other in a Bo3 format.
  • At the end of the group stage, the top team in each group qualified for the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
  • The next two teams in each group proceeded in the play-ins, also in a Bo3 format. The winner of that series moved on to the Lower Bracket Playoffs, while the loser was eliminated.
• Playoffs: (June 11–13th, 2021)
  • Lower Bracket Rounds 1–2, Semifinals and the Upper Bracket Semifinals were in a Bo3 format.
  • The Upper and Lower Bracket Finals were in a Bo5 format.
  • The Grand Finals was a Bo7 format.

Teams Participating

Qualified teams for MSC 2021

Nation	League	Qualification method	Date	Team
Philippines	MPL Philippines	MPL Philippines Season 7 Champions	19 March – 30 May 2021	Blacklist International
		MPL Philippines Season 7 Runner-up		Execration
Indonesia	MPL Indonesia	MPL Indonesia Season 7 Champions	26 February – 2 May 2021	EVOS Legends
		MPL Indonesia Season 7 Runner-up		Bigetron Alpha
Malaysia	MPL Malaysia	MPL Malaysia Season 7 Champions	12 March – 30 May 2021	RSG Malaysia
		MPL Malaysia Season 7 Runner-up		TODAK
Singapore	MPL Singapore	MPL Singapore Season 1 Champions	26 February – 2 May 2021	EVOS SG
		MPL Singapore Season 1 Runner-up		RSG Singapore
Thailand	—	Direct invitation	—	IDNOTSLEEP (IDNS)
Cambodia				KH Impunity
Laos				Nightmare Esports
Vietnam				Cyber EXE

Results

Group stage

Best of 3 Games

Group A		Group B		Group C		Group D
Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to
RSG MY	Upper-Bracket	EVOS Legends	Upper-Bracket	Blacklist International	Upper-Bracket	EVOS SG	Play-ins
RSG SG	Play-ins	TDK	Play-ins	Bigetron Alpha	Play-ins	Execration	Upper-Bracket
IDNS	Play-ins	Cyber EXE	Play-ins	KH Impunity	Play-ins	Nightmare Esports	Play-ins

Source:

Play-in Tournament

Best of 3 Games
Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to	Team	Advances to
Bigetron Alpha	2 (Lower-Bracket)	IDNS	1 (Eliminated)	TDK	2 (Lower-Bracket)	Cyber EXE	0 (Eliminated)
RSG SG	0 (Eliminated)	KH Impunity	2 (Lower-Bracket)	Nightmare Esports	0 (Eliminated)	EVOS SG	2 (Lower-Bracket)

Source:

Playoffs

All matches were a Bo3 series, except for the Upper and Lower Bracket Finals which were a Bo5 series, and the Grand Finals which was a Bo7 series.

						Upper Bracket Semifinals					Upper Bracket Final										Grand Final
						RSG Malaysia		0
						Blacklist International		2
											Blacklist International		3
											EVOS Legends		0
						EVOS Legends		2
						Execration		1
																					Blacklist International		1
																					Execration		4
	Lower Bracket - Round 1					Lower Bracket Quarterfinals					Lower Bracket Semifinals					Lower Bracket Final
						RSG Malaysia		2
	Bigetron Alpha		2			Bigetron Alpha		1								EVOS Legends		1
	TODAK		0								RSG Malaysia		0			Execration		3
											Execration		2
						Execration		2
	Impunity KH		2			Impunity KH		1
	EVOS Singapore		0

Source:

With the win of Execration in the Grand Finals, the Philippines obtained its second MSC Cup in 2 years after Aether Main in 2018. This was the second time in MSC History wherein two teams from the same nation went head-to-head in the Grand Finals, the first was in 2019 when ONIC Esports and Louvre Esports faced off each other in the Finals. Both teams are from Indonesia.

Viewership

MSC 2021 was streamed online for a widespread reach and due to the COVID-19 pandemic MSC was forced to be hosted digitally. MSC 2021 recorded a record high of viewership, average viewership, and Hours Watched in MSC history. The tournaments were live steamed on YouTube, Facebook Gaming and NimoTV alongside TikTok and VK Live.

Peaker Viewers	Average Viewers	Hours Watched	Reference
2,284,012	514,618	29,461,886

High turnouts of viewership were from the teams competing in the competition. EVOS Esports of Indonesia has average viewers of over 986,314, followed by Execration, Blacklist International, Bigetron and RSG MY. EVOS, Execration, Blacklist have record high of viewership of over 500,000 viewers.