The 31st Southeast Asian Games is set to feature multiple esports titles this year, including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, one of the most popular mobile games in the region.

Seven countries, namely, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, will battle it out to determine which team is the best in Southeast Asia.


What is the 31st SEA Games?

The Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia on the MLBB Stage at the 30th SEA Games
Credit: Razer and 30th SEA Games

The 2021 Southeast Asian Games, or the 31st SEA Games in short, is a biennial multi-sport event with 11 countries in the region as participants.

Vietnam is the host nation for the event this year, which will feature a mix of both traditional sports and esports titles.

This is only the second year where esports was featured as a medal event, after its debut at the 30th SEA Games where the Philippines bagged the first gold medal in MLBB after taking down Indonesia in the grand final.


31st SEA Games format

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 31st SEA Games draw for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Credit: Special

The official draw was announced on May 21. The seven participating teams were separated into two groups. The exact format for the games has yet to be announced.

If the format is similar to the 30th SEA Games, all games in the group stage should run in a best-of-two format. After the group stage, the first-placed teams in both groups will proceed to the upper bracket, while the second-placed team in each group will be placed in the lower bracket.


Tournament schedule

The event will run for three days from May 18 to 20.

STAGEDATE
Group stageMay 18-19
PlayoffsMay 20

Day 1 (May 18)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Philippines2 — 0Malaysia
Laos0 — 2Myanmar
Philippines2 — 0Laos
Indonesia2 — 0Vietnam
Indonesia2 — 0Singapore
Singapore1 — 1Vietnam
Malaysia2 — 0Myanmar
Philippines2 — 0Myanmar
Malaysia2 — 0Laos

Day 2 (May 19)

Tiebreaker (Group B)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Vietnam0 — 1Singapore

Semifinal

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Philippines2 — 1Singapore
Indonesia2 — 0Malaysia

Bronze medal match

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Singapore2 — 1Malaysia

Day 3 (May 20)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Philippines3 — 1Indonesia

Participating teams

Vietnam's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang representatives for the 31st SEA Games
Credit: VIRESA
COUNTRYQUALIFIER
The PhilippinesPH Qualifiers
MalaysiaMalaysia Qualifier
SingaporeSingapore selections
LaosLaos qualifiers
VietnamVietnam selections
IndonesiaIndonesia selections
MyanmarMyanmar selections

Where to watch?

Esports, SEA Games 2021, Hanoi, Vietnam
Credit: SEAGF

All the games will be live-streamed on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s YouTube channel.

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