The gaming industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, reaching players from all regions, ages, and genders. A huge factor leading to the rise within the industry is the increase of female players, which reached 38% of the overall 1.33 billion gamer population in Asia, closing into the number of male gamers.

As an entertainment provider of movies and games for millennials, KINCIR is committed to developing the Esports industry by hosting a female-empowered competition in collaboration with MOONTON Games, the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The tournament is the first officially-sanctioned MLBB competition of the year, which will launch today, 6 February 2023. The 10 participating teams include:

1. Smart Omega Empress
2. RISK VELKHANA
3. Grayback
4. Team HAQ
5. ZEG IRIS
6. Burmese Ghouls
7. Impunity Starlet
8. MDH
9. Bigetron Era
10. GPX Basreng

Ginta Kamka, MLBB Women’s Invitational Committee’s Vice Chairperson said “As time goes by, I can now proudly say that the Gaming and Esports Industry has become one of the choices and opportunities to gain achievements and become a prospective career, especially for female gamers. KINCIR has a vision to not only develop the Esports industry, but also to create opportunities for all players, both men and women, to compete equally, even to the global stage,” said Ginta.

Along with KINCIR’s commitment, the MLBB Women’s Invitational 2023 has doubled its prize pool from the year before to encourage and motivate more players to take a step forward and become esports professionals.

Ray Ng, MOONTON Games’ Head of Esports Ecosystems said “We are extremely heartened by the success of our professional women’s league (MWI), which was kickstarted the year before. It is incredibly important to provide a safe platform for minorities and individuals from varying diversities who are able to compete at the highest level, and to break the competition ceiling. The esports and gaming industry needs more women and people of colour to change the status quo, and that not only includes professional athletes but animators, developers, marketing leaders, software engineers, and such, to change the tide and perception of women in gaming.” He spoke.

Support for the MWI 2023 tournament also originates from the officially recognized government institution overseeing esports in Indonesia, the Esports Federation of Indonesia (PB ESI). Head Treasurer of PB ESI, Liliana Sugiharto, said that the values carried by MWI 2023, which include encouraging national achievements in esports, as well as promoting inclusiveness and equality for all – especially women – are in line with the organization’s commitment.

“Inclusiveness is key to accelerating esports development from multiple perspectives, whether in terms of achievement or reinforcing its ecosystem and industry. It is also a main foundation for us to realize our vision of making Indonesia an esports hub for Asia and the world. PB ESI continues to solidify its commitment to create equal opportunity for women, men, and people with disabilities alike to reach their full potential in esports. We also hope that MWI 2023 becomes a proving ground for women: that they are more than capable of becoming recognized nationally and internationally, and to inspire more Indonesian women to dream high and pursue professional playing careers they can be proud of,” said Liliana.

The tournament’s official main sponsor Samsung Electronics Indonesia has showcased its support for diversity, which is in line with the company’s vision to keep on developing the technology in each and every smartphone they manufacture.

Verry Octavianus Wijaya, Samsung Electronics Indonesia’s MX Product Marketing stated, ”The technological value of a smartphone often can be seen in how it affects the everyday life of its users. Samsung’s smartphone, specifically Galaxy S23 5G, gives the best experience of a smartphone’s performance, especially for esports enthusiasts throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Samsung Indonesia’s support for esports is manifested through our commitment as the official smartphone partner for the MWI 2023 tournaments.”

The MLBB Women’s Invitational 2023 tournament will feature Southeast Asia’s best Mobile Legends esports teams to compete for the total prize of USD 30,000. There will be 10 teams from seven Southeast Asian countries who will fight for the championship trophy. The participating countries are Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, and one representative from the Mekong region (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam.)

MWI 2023 tournaments will begin on 6-7 February 2023 for the group stage. Meanwhile the playoffs will be held online on 8 February 2023 and 12 February 2023 which can be watched live at Summarecon Mall Bekasi. The entire MWI 2023 tournament series can be watched online via the KINCIR Esports YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@KINCIR.Esports  and the following livestream channels: