| MLBB M4 World Championship | |
| Sport: | |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Host: |  Indonesia |
| Start Date: | 1 |
| End Date: | 15 January 2023 |
| Administrator: | Moonton |
| Tournament Format: | Group stage Single Round Robin Format Playoffs Double Elimination Format |
| Venues: | Bali United Studio |
| Website: | https://m4.mobilelegends.com/ |
| Previous: | M3 |
| Next: | M5 |
The 2022 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship, commonly referred to as the M4 World Championship and M4, was the fourth edition of the , an esports tournament for the mobile game .
The annual international tournament was organized by the game developer Moonton, in partnership with several sponsors including the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia. The tournament was held in Jakarta from 1 to 15 January 2023.
Sweeping the defending champions with a 4–0 score, ECHO Philippines defeated Blacklist International in a best-of-seven series to become the fourth World Champions. It marked the second Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championships where two Filipino teams are upper bracket and lower bracket contenders for the said title. It also marked the third consecutive world championship title that a Filipino team has won, beginning in M2.
Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno is the first-ever MLBB player who has won two world championships. He would be joined by his former teammates, Kyle "Phewww" Arcangel and David "FlapTzy" Canon to win two world championships after their victories in the MLBB M5 World Championship.
The MLBB M4 World Championships was the fourth edition of the and the first edition of the games to be held in Indonesia. Previously, Malaysia and Singapore held the first three editions of the games, M1 in Kuala Lumpur[1] and M2[2] and M3[3] in Singapore. The tournament was held from 1 to 15 January 2023, surpassing one year of the previous editions of the tournament.[4]
M4 featured sixteen (16) qualified teams from Asia, North America, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe and Latin America. Teams qualified through their region's qualification method, whether it will be an MPL Region or a Moonton-approved qualification tournament.
A notable fact is that in every edition of the World Championship, an exclusive battle pass skin and the champion skin will be released. Previously, the Fighter-hero Roger[5] was chosen to be the battle pass skin and the Champions Skin was Estes,[6] picked by Blacklist International. In the current battle pass, the Marksman Hero Beatrix was chosen as the Battle pass skin.[7]
Qualifying for the M4 World Championships comes from the competing nation's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League, commonly known as "MPL." However, regional qualifiers in the North America, Turkey, Myanmar, Mekong (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam), and Latin American regions were also held to broaden the reach of the Championship's teams.
Unlike in the previous MLBB World Championships, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Japan would not participate in the upcoming M4. On the other hand, Mekong and Myanmar will re-join after their absence in the M3 World Championship held in Singapore. The number of qualifiers for Singapore and Brazil has been reduced to one, while the Latin America region will now delegate two teams participating in the world championship.
| Philippines | MPL Philippines | MPL Philippines Season 10 Champions | Blacklist International[8] | BLCK | A | |
| MPL Philippines Season 10 Runners-Up | ECHO Philippines | ECHO | C | |||
| Indonesia | MPL Indonesia | MPL Indonesia Season 10 Champions | ONIC Esports[9] | ONIC | B | |
| MPL Indonesia Season 10 Runners-Up | RRQ Hoshi | RRQ | C | |||
| Malaysia | MPL Malaysia | MPL Malaysia Season 10 Champions |  Team HAQ[10] | THQ | D | |
| MPL Malaysia Season 10 Runners-Up | Todak | TDK | B | |||
| Latin America | Super League LATAM | Super League LATAM Season 1 Champions |  S11 Gaming Argentina | S11 | D | |
| Super League LATAM Season 1 Runners-Up | Malvinas Gaming | MVG | B | |||
| Singapore | MPL Singapore | MPL Singapore Season 4 Champions |  RSG Singapore | RSG | C | |
| Cambodia | MPL Cambodia | MPL Cambodia Autumn Split 2022 Champions |  Burn x Team Flash | BURN | A | |
| Brazil | MPL Brazil | MPL Brazil Season 3 Champions |  RRQ Akira | RRQ | D | |
| Middle East and North Africa[11] | MPL MENA | MPL MENA Fall Split 2022 Champions | Occupy Thrones | OPY | C | |
| Myanmar | M4 Myanmar Qualifiers | Myanmar Qualifying Team |  Falcon Esports | FCON | A | |
| Mekong | M4 Mekong Qualifiers | Mekong Region Qualifying Team | MDH Esports | MDH | B | |
| Turkey | Türkiye Şampiyonası 2022 | Turkish Qualifying Team |  Incendio Supremacy | INC | A | |
| North America | MLBB NACT | MLBB NACT Fall Season Champions |  The Valley | TV | D |
The M4 World Championship was announced to be held in the capital city of Jakarta, Indonesia.
Previously, the group stages and playoffs will be held at XO Hall and Istora Senayan, but due to unforeseen circumstances and for the safety of fans, both venues were changed accordingly by the M4 organizers.[12]
Group stages for the tournament will now be held at the Bali United Studio, Jakarta Indonesia. In addition, the knockout stages will be hosted at the Tennis Indoor Senayan. The selling of tickets for the event started on October 19.
During the build-up to the M4 World Championships, the MLBB official YouTube channel, alongside MPL Region YouTube channels such as the Philippines and Indonesia, has released several promotional and publicity videos to promote the upcoming world championships.
In the Philippines, the theme song "PINAS LANG MALAKAS", was released and was sung by KZ Tandingan, featuring Nik Makino. The song included the four prominent members of both qualifying teams of the Philippines, Danerie "Wise." Del Rosario and Jonmar "OhMyV33Nus" Villaluna of Blacklist International, and Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno and Tristan "YAWI" Cabrera of ECHO Philippines. The music video also featured Joshua "CH4KNU" Mangilog of Smart Omega and selected shoutcasters of MPL Philippines.
Group stage: 1 to 4 January 2023
Knockout stage (playoffs): 7 to 14 January 2023
Grand finals: 15 January 2023
| Players | Coach/manager | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jungle | Exp Lane | Gold Lane | Midlaner | Roamer | |||||||||
| Blacklist International |  Wise (Danerie James Del Rosario) | Edward (Edward Jay Dapadap) | Oheb (Kiel Calvin Soriano) | Hadji (Salic A. Imam) | Eson (Mark Jayson Gerardo) | OhMyV33Nus (Johnmar Villaluna) | DexStar (Dexstar Louise Alaba) | BON CHAN (Kristoffer Ed L. Ricaplaza) | |||||
| Echo Philippines | KarlTzy (Karl Gabriel Nepomuceno) | SanFord (Sanford Vinuya) | Bennyqt (Frederic Benedict Gonzales) | Sanji (Alston Pabico) | KurtTzy (Jankurt Matira) | Yawi (Tristan Cabrera) | Jaypee (Jaypee Cruz) | Tictac (Harold Reyes) | |||||
| ONIC Esports | Kairi (Kairi Rayodelsol) | Butsss (Muhammad Satrya Sanubari) | CW (Calvin Winata) | Sanz (Gilang) | Drian (Adriand Larsen Wong) | Kiboy (Nicky Fernando) | Samoht (Thomas Obadja) | Aldo (Ronaldo Liebert) | |||||
| Alberttt (Albert Iskandar) | R7 (Rivaldi Fatah) | Banana (Andre Putra) | Skylar (Schevenko Tendean) | Clayyy (Deden Nurhasan) | Lemon (Muhammad Ikhsan) | Vyn (Calvin) | Arcadia (Michael Bocado) | ||||||
| Team HAQ | Garyy (Muhammad Syafizan Najmi) | Lolla (Mohamad Nilzaihan bin Neilham) | Panda (Poh Chun Wai) | Mann (Aiman Anuar bin Zairie) | Syamskyyy (Muhammad Qamarul Hisyam bin Shukri) | Minn (Aimin Anuar bin Zairie) | Pabz (Khairul Azman bin Mohd Sharif) | ||||||
| Todak | Rival (Muhammad Alif Akmal bin Kamarulzaman) | CikuGais (Muhammad Danial bin Mohamad Fuad) | 4Meyz (Wan Usman bin Wan Imran) | Momo (Idreen bin Abdul Jamal) | Moon (Zikry bin Shamsuddin) | Yums (Muhammad Qayyum Ariffin bin Mohd Suhairi) | Amoux (Ariff Iswandi) | ||||||
| S11 Gaming Argentina | Jotun (Diego Balog) | Papadog (Alexander Llanos) | Kaii (Martias Roldan) | Mael (Gonzalo Leguizamon) |  Chan (Darien Barraza) | Erwin (Rodrigo Herenu) | Secretaria (Bárbara Gottardo) | ||||||
| Malvinas Gaming | Fran (Fran Solís) | Dragon (Alexander Sullon) | JoelCrew (Joel Huarino) | Harle (George Campos) | Stephe (José Machaca) | Soujin (Gian Franco) | Tsubasaa (Walaci Seabra) | ||||||
| RSG Singapore | Brayyy (Brayden Teo) | Diablo (Yeo Lun) | Babycakes (Jovan Heng) | 505 (Amos Rui) | Roy. (Royven Tan) | Lolsie (Bellamy Yeov) | CS (Yong Chester) | SaintDeLucaz (Dolly Pelo) | |||||
| Burn x Team Flash | Chma (Sour Mara) | Xeon (Kunn Chankakada) | ATM (Kosal Piseth) | Hesa (Jhonwin Vergara) | Fury (Vithou Sovisal) | C Cat (Sok Roth) | D7 (Ty Oudom) | Zico (John Dizon) | |||||
| RRQ Akira | Kiing (Lucas Godoy) | Blink (Gabriel Favoreto) | Tekashi (Arthur Nascimento) | Gustalagusta (Gustavo Lima) | Seigen (Matheus Lima) | Luiizz (Luiz Henrique Alves) | Cabral (Godman Campos Dos Santos) | ||||||
| Occupy Thrones |  Lio (Mustafa Mahmoud) |  Hulk (Abdulaziz Sulaimani) | Wega (Mohmed Wageeh) | Gado (Ahmed Gado) | Fury (Naif Alslobi) | Maro (Amr Khaled) |  WarBarbie (Alexander Korystin) Mundo (Ameniel Del Mundo) | ||||||
| Falcon Esports | Kenn (Kenneth Hein) | Yellowflash (Min Khant Hein) | Silent (Pyae Sone) | Zippx (Kyaw Bo) | RubyDD (Swan Aung) | JustiN (Pyae Khant) | Naomi (Min Ko) | Dale (Steve Vitug) | |||||
| MDH Esports | Jowga (Nguyễn Văn Tô Đô) | TheKing (Nguyễn Việt Thanh) | Hehehehehehe (Lâm Văn Đạt) | NeedMyHelp (Lê Minh Đức) | Gnart (Phạm Ngọc Trạng) | tntk | |||||||
| Incendio Supremacy | Tienzy (Sidar Menteşe) | Alien (Bariş Ali Çakir) | Lunar (Mehmet Ilgun) | Sunshine (Emre Sari) | Rosa (Ahmet Batir) | Apex47 (Furkan Akbulut) | Paranoid (Osman Karademir) | ||||||
| The Valley | MobaZane (Michael Cosgun) | FwydChickn (Ian Hohl) | Mielow (Chris Enobio) | Basic (Peter Bryce Lozano) | Hoon (Jang Seong-hun) | Shark (Oscar Vo) | Balot | ||||||
The following is the official talent line-up for the M4 broadcast in Jakarta, Indonesia:
| Philippines | Indonesia | Malaysia | Singapore | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mara (Mara Aquino) | Mirko (Frederick Handy Loho) | GideonQ (Gideon Khew Wei Yung) | Jayz (Chris Yeo) | Assassin Dave (Dave Mao) |
| Aeterna (Rachael Melati) | ||||
| Wolf (Caisam Yvez Nopueto) | ||||
| Leo (Dan Cubangay) | Gonie (Albert Serafin) | Laphel (Mohd Amirul Aiman Mohammad Kamal) | ||
| Naisou (Joseph Charles Rezabek) | Arashi (Brydon Maslimta) | Trex (H.B. Wagner) | ||
| Clara (Clara Kartika Sari Utoyo) |
The group draw was held on 8 December 2022. The sixteen teams that qualified for the global tournament were split into two pools and grouped into 4 groups of 4 teams each. The following were the rules for the group draw:
| Blacklist International | ECHO Philippines | RRQ Akira | Falcon Esports | |
| ONIC Esports | RRQ Hoshi | Occupy Thrones | MDH Esports | |
| Team HAQ | Todak | S11 Gaming Argentina | Incendio Supremacy | |
| RSG Singapore | Burn x Team Flash | Malvinas Gaming | The Valley |
| Blacklist International | ONIC Esports | RSG Singapore | Team HAQ | |
| Incendio Supremacy | Todak | Occupy Thrones | RRQ Akira | |
| Falcon Esports | Malvinas Gaming | RRQ Hoshi | The Valley | |
| Burn x Flash | MDH Esports | ECHO Philippines | S11 Gaming Argentina |
The group stages started on 1 January and concluded on 4 January. All games in the group stage will be in a Bo1 format. There will be no teams eliminated at the end of group stages, but the upper two teams in each group shall be qualified for the Upper Bracket playoffs, while the lower two shall be qualified for the Lower Bracket Playoffs.
| Date | Game | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2023 | 1 | BLCK | INC | ||
| 2 | INC | FCON | |||
| 3 | FCON | BURN | |||
| 3 January 2023 | 4 | INC | BURN | ||
| 5 | BURN | BLCK | |||
| 6 | FCON | BLCK | |||
A three-way tie emerged between Incendio, Blacklist, and Falcon Esports each having a 2–1 win-loss standing. With this, three additional tiebreaker games were played after the final group stage game was held to determine the teams that would make the upper and the lower bracket. These tiebreaker matches were counted in the standings as per the official website.
| Tiebreaker Match | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCON | INC | ||||
| BLCK | FCON | ||||
| BLCK | INC | ||||
| Date | Game | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2023 | 1 | MVG | MDH | ||
| 2 | TDK | MVG | |||
| 3 | ONIC | TDK | |||
| 3 January 2023 | 4 | MVG | ONIC | ||
| 5 | MDH | ONIC | |||
| 6 | TDK | MDH | |||
| Date | Game | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 January 2023 | 1 | RSG-SG | OPY | ||
| 2 | RRQ | OPY | |||
| 3 | ECHO | RRQ | |||
| 4 January 2023 | 4 | OPY | ECHO | ||
| 5 | ECHO | RSG-SG | |||
| 6 | RRQ | RSG-SG | |||
| Date | Game | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 January 2023 | 1 | TV | S11 | ||
| 2 | RRQ-BR | TV | |||
| 3 | THQ | RRQ-BR | |||
| 4 January 2023 | 4 | RRQ-BR | S11 | ||
| 5 | S11 | THQ | |||
| 6 | TV | THQ | |||
M4 featured the same bracketing strategy from the previous MLBB M3 World Championship format,[16] a sixteen-team double-elimination bracketing system wherein the teams will be split into four groups. In these four groups, a round-robin format proceeded to determine which two teams would be qualifying either to the upper bracket or lower bracket.[17] The first two rounds of the lower bracket were a best-of-3 series, the rest of the matches were a best-of-5 series, except for the Grand Final, which were a best-of-7 championship series.
Announced in the official M4 Press Conference & Group Draw Ceremony on YouTube, UBS Gold, an Indonesian-based Jewelry retailer and manufacturer,[18] announced the partnership with M4 to create the very first MLBB World Championship Ring made out of solid gold. This will be the first Championship ring presented to the champion.
Bennyqt (Frederic Benedict Gonzales) RRQ HoshiThe announcement of the venue of the M4 World Championship was made on 25 August 2022, when the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang official YouTube channel released the Host City announcement where Jakarta was chosen to host the fourth iteration of the tournament. However, it would take until 7 December 2022,[19] when the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang social media accounts were to begin to hype up the upcoming world tournament.
On 5 December 2022, Moonton confirmed that M4 will be held in Indonesia and the tournament is set to follow its original schedule with the release of the official trailer on YouTube.
On 16 December 2022, Moonton announced that the Marksman Hero Beatrix will be receiving this edition's special M4 Pass Skin. The M4 Pass is a in-game pass that gives players rewards and incentives while doing Daily Tasks and Challenges. The M4 Pass included custom M4 effects such as Recall Animations, Kill Animations, a Trail Animation for the Hero, Limited Edition Skins and in-game rewards that can be used to unlock more rewards.
Upon purchasing any M4 Pass, Beatrix's "Light Chaser" Skin would be attained by every person who purchases it while its prime skin "Stellar Brilliance" can be attained once the player's M4 pass reaches Level 75.[20] The M4 Pass was officially made to be available on 20 December.
On 18 December 2022, the teaser for this year's M4 was released. Eventually, on 24 December 2022, "Dare To Be Great" was released as the official song of the tournament. Three days later, the official music video was released featuring players from the 16 qualified teams and rosters of the tournament.
The M4 World Championships oversees regional partners from different countries to get the chance to stream the tournament in the participating countries and also worldwide.[21]
| TikTok | Official Content Partner | Indonesia Singapore Philippines Malaysia Cambodia Latin America | |
| Esports Charts | Official Analytical Partner | ||
| Gank | Official Peripheral Partner | ||
| Secretlab | Official Gaming Chairs | ||
| meWatch | Official Regional Media Partner | Singapore | |
| Infinix | Official Regional Smartphone | Indonesia | |
| UBS Gold | Official Gold Partner | ||
| Axis | Partner in Esports | ||
| Grab | Partner in Esports | ||
| Vidio | Broadcast Partner | ||
| Smart | Official Regional Telecommunications Partner | Philippines | |
| Samsung | Official Regional Mobile Partner | ||
| Grab | Partner in Esports | ||
| Maya | Partner in Esports | ||
| iWantTFC | Digital Media Partner | ||
| Hotlink | Official Regional Mobile Gaming Internet Partner | Malaysia | |
| EGG Network | Media Partner | ||
| Metfone | Official Regional Telecommunications Partner | Cambodia |
The M4 World Championships is available to be streamed and watched on YouTube on the official Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Channel and the official MPL Regional Channels with their languages.
On 26 December 2022, Moonton announced that it has partnered with ABS-CBN, the largest network in the Philippines to broadcast the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championships on Cable TV and on its social media channels in the Philippines.[22]
| ECHO Philippines | $300,000 | |
| Blacklist International | $120,000 | |
| RRQ Hoshi | $80,000 | |
| ONIC Esports | $55,000 | |
| Falcon Esports | $40,000 | |
| The Valley | ||
| Incendio Supremacy | $30,000 | |
| RRQ Akira | ||
| S11 Gaming Argentina | $15,000 | |
| Team HAQ | ||
| Todak | ||
| Occupy Thrones | ||
| RSG Singapore | $10,000 | |
| MDH Esports | ||
| Burn x Flash | ||
| Malvinas Gaming |
After the opening ceremony of the MLBB M4 World Championship Grand Finals, the host for the upcoming MLBB M5 World Championship was announced alongside the MLBB calendar of events to occur in 2023 and it will be held in the Philippines, with Abraham Tolentino, the President of the Philippine Olympic Committee confirming the Philippines' affirmation to hold the tournament.[23]