Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) features one of the biggest women’s esports ecosystems in the global competitive gaming field.
With 1.37m peak viewers, MLBB’s women’s tournament at the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 remains the most-watched competition for female athletes.
Whilst the game is still predominantly popular among Southeast Asian audiences, women’s MLBB esports is also gaining increasing attention from Western fans and stakeholders, including Team Vitality. Since last year, the European esports organisation has fielded one of the most accomplished rosters in the scene, which recently won the MLBB Women’s Invitational 2025 in July.
In an exclusive interview with Esports Insider, Team Vitality’s Vivi ‘Vivian’ Indrawaty and MiChele ‘Chel’ Siswanto discussed the state of women’s MLBB esports and how the scene can be further developed.
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Last year, Team Vitality bought women’s MLBB team Bigetron Era before fully acquiring the Bigetron Esports organisation in May 2025. Even before the purchase, Bigetron’s core women’s roster was a dominant force in their field. In the last four editions of the Women’s Invitational, the team has won three and finished second in 2024.
In addition to dominating the largest annual MLBB women’s tournament, the squad has also competed in MDL Indonesia, the region’s tier-two league, for two seasons. Both Vivian and Chel agreed that this has provided the team with crucial competitive experience.
“I believe it is beneficial, because as a player, you get the opportunity to experience the adrenaline of competing in mixed-gender tier-two circuits,” explained Vivian. “It’s also a great opportunity to see the difference in playstyle between men’s and women’s teams.”
Making Their Mark in Esports
As the longest-standing member of the roster, Vivian has been playing for Bigetron since 2019. She was also the only female athlete nominated for the GamingonPhone Awards 2025 in the ‘Mobile Esports Player of the Year’ category.
“It was an honour to be recognised among the top players in mobile esports, especially in such a male-dominated scene,” commented Vivian. “Throughout my career, I’ve always looked to set a good example and inspire other female players in the esports community.”
She also shared that her personal role models are MLBB legends Muhammad ‘Lemon’ Ikhsan and Eko ‘Oura’ Julianto.
Vivian’s teammate Chel has been competing in MLBB since 2020. She and her younger sister, Cindy ‘Cinny’ Siswanto, made the switch from Luna Nera Esports to Bigetron in early 2021. Despite all her accomplishments with the team, Chel continues to strive for more.
“I want to keep stepping up and becoming a better player, because being a part of Bigetron is a huge opportunity for me,” shared Chel with Esports Insider.
Growing Women’s Representation in MLBB
The early days of the women’s MLBB esports scene primarily featured smaller-scale tournaments, such as the Woman Star League and Unipin Ladies Series.
With the creation of the MLBB Women’s Invitational in 2022, stakeholder awareness as well as the tournament’s stature have increased steadily. Between its inaugural edition and the 2025 Invitational, the circuit’s prize pool has climbed from $6,400 (~£4,800) to $150,000 (~£112,000).
Vivian has also noticed higher women’s representation in the overall MLBB ecosystem since she started her career: “Little by little, there is starting to be a regeneration of female players. The growing influx of female players is helping redefine what it means to be a gamer today.”
However, both Vivian and Chel admitted that competitive opportunities for women remain sparse in the current landscape.
“There is still a lot of improvement needed in the women’s MLBB esports ecosystem,” emphasised Chel. “I believe it would be great to see more local and international women’s tournaments across MLBB to help the women’s scene develop.”
Chel further argued that the women’s scene lacks talent, but there needs to be more support and tournaments for player development to raise the skill ceiling among women’s teams.
“Many women’s teams struggle to acquire the top coaches, which impacts growth and development,” explained Team Vitality’s Chel.
According to Vivian, a dedicated MLBB women’s league would also be a big step in the right direction: “There is no definite league for women. Currently, not all top teams have women’s teams, and I hope to see more tournaments for women to compete in, which would mean more opportunities, and this will help the scene grow even faster.”
Despite lacking a dedicated league, the MLBB women’s scene has organically grown into one of the largest ecosystems within women’s esports worldwide. This progress within just a few years is a testament to the game’s popularity among marginalised genders as well as its untapped future potential.
With additional resources and infrastructure, women’s MLBB could spearhead changemaking movements across the esports industry, serving as a global example of how to address gender inequalities successfully and sustainably.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
