M4 World Championship on course to break all-time esports viewership record

The M4 World Championship is the first time that the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament is hosting a live crowd, and needless to say, it is well on its way to becoming the most popular event in esports history.

The fourth iteration of the global Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament, the M4 World Championship, marks the return of teams from Vietnam and Myanmar after their absence at the M3 World Championship. Additionally, with the tournament featuring a live audience, many in the community had expected records to be broken.

We’re only halfway through the playoffs, with four days still left to play, and the tournament is already ranked third for highest peak viewership across esports. There is a strong chance that the tournament could go on to become the most popular esports event of all time.

M4 World Championship becomes the third most-watched esports event

Featuring 16 teams from across the globe, the M4 World Championship is the ultimate annual esports event for the title. The knockout stages of the tournament are being held at the Tennis Indoor Stadium Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the grand final scheduled for January 15.

On January 11, during the upper-bracket semi-final between defending champions Blacklist International and RRQ Hoshi, over 4.2 million viewers were watching the match at one point, according to statistics website Esports Charts. Mobile Legends’ previous viewership record, set during the M3 World Championship, was just shy of 3.2 million viewers.

Esports Charts

With this stunning viewership figure, the M4 World Championship leapfrogged the 2021 LoL World Championship for third place on the list of events with the highest peak viewership.

Below you can find the top five most-viewed esports events in history:

Event Name	Peak Viewership count (in millions)
Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore	5.41
LoL 2022 World Championship	5.15
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M4 World Championship	4.27
LoL 2021 World Championship	4.02
LoL 2019 World Championship	3.99