MPL Indonesia Season 17 Week 1 viewership and enjoys 61% rise as top sides clash early on

The year’s first split in the most popular circuit of the Mobile Legends Professional (MPL) kicked off on March 27. The eagerness among fans to see the resumption of top-tier action was evident in the MPL Indonesia Season 17, which outperformed the previous season’s viewership across the board in its opening weekend.

This Mobile Legends: Bang Bang event was able to raise its viewership numbers for the opening weekend compared to the MPL Indonesia Season 16 despite the recent under-16 social media ban. This growth reiterates just how popular the game and mobile esports remain in Indonesia, one of the biggest markets for esports in Southeast Asia.

Who were the top-performing teams in MPL Indonesia Season 17 Week 1?

Two familiar names began their campaigns with two wins during the first weekend, as ONIC Esports and Team Liquid ID ended the first week with identical 2:0 records. The former, looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing at the recent M7 World Championship, navigated a tough opening round of fixtures with relative ease.

At the other end of the table, it has been a disastrous start for Alter Ego and RRQ Hoshi. The former, which clinched its best-ever result in MLBB when it finished as the runner-up at the world championship, lost both its games. Ditto for RRQ Hoshi, arguably the game’s most popular side, as its quest to reclaim a first domestic title in four years got off to the worst possible start.

Which match had the highest peak viewership in MPL Indonesia Season 17 Week 1?

The Week 1 Day 3 clash between the two heavyweights, ONIC and RRQ Hoshi, was the most popular match during the first week. These two MPL Indonesia sides continue to be among the most supported, and while their knockout encounters usually do good numbers, the fact that they met so early in the season helped the series attract 2.24 million Peak Viewers (PV).

This livestreaming number was just over 64% more than the most popular match we saw in Week 1 of the MPL Indonesia Season 16. The final game during the first week of action at this top-tier regional league closed out proceedings ONIC clinching a sixth straight win over arguably its biggest domestic rival.

What was the total viewership for MPL Indonesia Season 17 Week 1?

The first week of the biggest domestic circuit in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang attracted a massive livestreaming audience. This meant that the average viewership enjoyed a substantial leap, rising from just over 400,000 Average Viewers (AV) to almost 500,000 AV.

Overall, across all the broadcasts, the matches from Week 1 accumulated 10.2 million Hours Watched (HW), a rise of around 23.76% from the same stage at the previous split. A big reason for this spike was the scheduling quirk that saw massive games like the one between ONIC and RRQ Hoshi, alongside ONIC versus Alter Ego and Team Liquid ID versus EVOS, take place right at the start of the new season.

Performed and language dynamics at the MPL Indonesia Season 17 Week 1

TikTok continued to find a massive audience among mobile gaming fans in the SEA region, with the platform now the clear second-favorite behind YouTube among Indonesian viewers. More impressively, the official mpl.id.official channel continued to outperform the official MPL Indonesia YouTube channel by peak concurrent viewership, sitting as the most popular channel for the first week.

English broadcasts also continued to find a bigger audience base at the usually region-centric MPL Indonesia, as the language enjoyed a 235.6% spike in peak viewership from Season 16. Indonesian viewers themselves showed massive interest, especially in the clashes between top sides, showing that the absence of fans under the age of 16 has not adversely affected the league’s popularity, at least in the initial stages.

Week 2 of the MPL Indonesia Season 17 will run from April 3 to 5, with another eight matches scheduled. Some of the top games to look forward to at this MLBB competition include Alter Ego taking on EVOS and Team Liquid ID versus RRQ Hoshi. You can follow the tournament results and viewership statistics on the Esports Charts coverage page.