The MPL Philippines Season 12, which ended on October 29 has been one of the most talked MLBB events in Southeast Asia with AP Bren emerging as the unexpected victors of the season. However, despite fervent anticipation within Philippines and beyond, the season’s viewership figures failed to match the heights of its two previous seasons.
In the grand finals, Bren scored incredible victory over Philippines’ powerhouse, Blacklist International, seizing the coveted championship title. The Hive’s triumph earned them a handsome purse of $43,200 along with a spot at the highly anticipated M5 World Championship in Philippines this December. On the other hand, Blacklist International etched a compelling esports narrative this season by defeating the reigning champions, Echo, to earn their spot in the grand finals and secure a berth at the M5.
However, despite the excitement and intense final showdown, Moonton’s franchise league in Philippines continued to experience a decline in viewership. MPL PH S12 recorded a peak viewership of 768,293, generating over 19.8 million hours watched. While still ranking among the most-watched esports tournaments in SEA region, it fell short of surpassing the previous season’s peak viewers of 937,000 and average viewers of 109,000. Additionally, it trailed behind MPL PH S10’s peak viewership record of 829,312.
While the exact cause of this downward trend remains elusive, speculations suggest that heightened rivalries and competitiveness within the league may have played a role. However, popular Filipino content creator Setsuna “Akosi Dogie” Ignacio previously posited that the viewership dip might be attributed to a post-pandemic return to normalcy, impacting viewers’ engagement with the tournament.
Contrastingly, their SEA’s counterpart, MPL ID Season 12, marked a significant milestone as the first MLBB event to achieve an impressive 100 million watch hours, setting a new benchmark as one of the fastest-growing esports events globally. Despite the absence of most MPL ID veterans in the top four, the ultimate showdown between Onic Esports and the underdog Geek Fam emerged as one of the most-watched matches, attracting over 1.9 million peak viewers.
