A new tournament format for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Women's Invitational (MWI) at the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) was revealed.
With a revamped format that mirrors the fierce competition of MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) 2025, MWI will make a dramatic comeback from July 15 to 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, MWI will feature the best 16 teams in the world vying for one of the biggest prize pools in female esports history, USD 500,000 (that's roughly PHP 28M).
MWI, a gaming inclusion platform, spearheads the push for women's representation at EWC, providing female athletes with a global arena on which to display their boundless potential.
Ray Ng, Moonton esports ecosystem head, said:
Fostering the charge for women's esports means continuously pushing boundaries. This year, with more participating regions, the addition of new teams, and a new format, MWI at EWC 25 demonstrates how MOONTON Games stays at the forefront of championing women's esports by partnering with the Esports World Cup Foundation. The tournament has become a key pillar of our calendar as we look to empower our female athletes with a pathway to build sustainable esports careers and prove that they belong amongst the world's best. MLBB is setting the pace for women's esports at EWC and beyond!
New MWI 2025 Tournament Format
MWI at EWC 25 expands to a record 16 teams and implements a revamped format inspired by MSC 2025, underscoring the growing competitiveness of women's Mobile Legends esports.
The Group Stage features four groups in a Best-of-Three (BO3), double-elimination series (GSL-style)—demanding greater consistency than the previous BO2 format. Top teams advance to a BO3, single-elimination Knockout Stage, now with a BO5 third-place match, a last chance for a podium finish. The tournament concludes with a BO7 Grand Finals to crown the champions.
Teams qualified for the MWI at EWC 2025
Sixteen (16) teams will battle it out from July 15–19 after qualifiers spanning 57 regions. For the first time, squads from Africa, Mongolia, and Türkiye will join, highlighting MWI's push for broader global representation in female esports.
Top contenders include Indonesia's Team Vitality (ex-Bigetron Era roster), led by sisters Chell and Cinny Siswanto—featured in docuseries Level Up—and reigning MWI champions Natus Vincere PH (ex-Smart Omega Empress), who snapped their opponents' three-year, 24-match win streak with a dominant 3-0 victory in 2024.
Here are the participating MWI 2025 teams:
- Team Vitality – ID
- ONIC Pertiwi – ID
- Natus Vincere (NAVI) – PH
- Team Liquid – PH
- Natus Vincere – MY
- CFU Serendipity – KH
- Falcons Vega Mena – EG
- DreamMax Girls – BR
- Rising Rage – CIS
- WAOW GG Esports – MN
- Virtus.pro FE – VN
- FUT Esports – TR
- Gaimin Gladiators – US
- Twisted Minds Orchid – MENA
- Tidal Legends Gaming – CN
- Terror Queens – MM
MWI 2025 Prize Pool
MLBB Women's Invitational returns with a massive USD 500,000 prize pool, further cementing its impact on female esports. The champions will earn USD 150,000, with the rest split among other teams. Here's a full breakdown.
- Champion: USD 150,000
- 2nd Place: USD 90,000
- 3rd Place: USD 50,000
- 4th Place: USD 30,000
- 5th-8th Place: USD 20,000
- 9th-12th Place: USD 15,000
- 13th-16th Place: USD 10,000
One MLBB at EWC 2025, Two Champions
Mobile Legends dominated 2024 as the world's most-watched mobile esports title, with its MLBB Professional League (MPL) becoming the first to surpass 1 billion Hours Watched, as per Esports Charts. In 2025, the MOBA game returns to EWC with MWI and MSC, realizing its "One Game, Two Champions" vision.
MOONTON Games remains a leader in women's esports, hosting major tournaments like MWI 2024, the Asian Esports Games, and the IESF Championship. That commitment continues with MWI 2025 and the 33rd SEA Games, expanding opportunities for female competitors.
In the comments below, let us show our utmost support to our Saudi Arabia-bound MWI 2025 PH representatives, NAVI and Team Liquid. – PinoyTechSaga
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