Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) started 2026 with strong growth, as its M7 World Championship generated €158.39 million (around $186 million) in brand value. According to a case study released by Shikenso and MOONTON Games, this represents a 37.7% increase compared to the M6 World Championship.

The case study found that the top four commercial assets at M7 made up 71.7% of the tournament’s total brand value. This shows that large and well-planned sponsorships are very effective in esports. The report also revealed that MLBB is moving beyond traditional sponsorships where brands only place their logos on tournament broadcasts. Instead, the game has started adding brands directly inside the battlefield map during matches.

For example, energy drink brand Red Bull, which partnered with the MLBB M7 World Championship, could appear inside the game map instead of only on event screens. This helps brands become part of the game and makes matches more interesting for fans to watch.

The report also highlighted the ongoing partnership between MOONTON Games and Shikenso, which started before the M6 World Championship. Using performance data and analytics, the companies worked to improve sponsorship activations across the event cycle. This helped increase brand value from €115 million ($135.39 million) at M6 to €158.39 million ($186.47 million) at M7.

Adrian Cher, Global Head of Partnerships, MLBB Esports at MOONTON Games, said, “The M7 reflects a broader evolution in how brands engage with esports. Partners today are not simply investing in visibility but co-creating experiences that resonate with audiences at scale. As MLBB continues to expand globally, we are actively exploring how meaningful value is created for our partners at every level of the ecosystem. This lays a strong foundation for the continued growth of the M Series and the next chapter of MLBB Esports.”

Arwin Fallah Shirazi, Co-CEO & Co-founder, Shikenso, said, “The M7 World Championship proves that sponsorship performance at scale requires more than audience growth—it requires performance intelligence. When rights holders gain full transparency across broadcast and digital ecosystems, they don’t just measure impact—they actively shape it. Our mission is to equip partners like MOONTON Games with the tools to move from reactive reporting to predictive sponsorship engineering.”

Following the conclusion of M7, the upcoming M8 World Championship will take place across Türkiye and Thailand. This will be the first time the M Series expands beyond Southeast Asia. In fact, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has also been announced as the first game for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), which is taking place in Riyadh later this year.

Subscribe to On The Radar, a weekly wrap up of esports business stories, and the fortnightly Heat Map, a deeper dive into the stories across esports business and culture.

Follow The Esports Radar on social media: