Cover-Credits:
It would seem that the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League (MPL) esports scene for both the Philippines (PH) and Indonesia (ID) have a common issue in terms of pro player salary. In an interview posted by EVOS Legends’ coach Bjorn “Zeys” Ong featuring Blacklist International’s dynamic duo of Johnmar "OhMyV33NUS" Villaluna and Danerie "Wise" James Del Rosario, it was discussed that a lot of pro players from both regions consider being a streamer more profitable than being a pro player. The V33Wise duo and EVOS Legends coach also talked about how much an MLBB pro player earns in the Philippines compared to pro players in Indonesia.
How much does an MLBB pro player earn in the Philippines compared to Indonesia?
When Blacklist International’s dynamic duo asked about pro player salaries in Indonesia, coach Zeys responded by saying that the starting salary for an Indonesian MLBB pro player joining the MPL ID esports scene would be around $500 - $700 USD. However, for average players who have been playing in the MPL for a long time, the salary could go as high as $2,000 - $3,000 USD. The EVOS coach added that for the team coaches, the salary would be subjective.
“For the coach, I think it’s very subjective. But I think, from what I know, it’s a bit below the players’ (salary). So, maybe about a couple of hundred below the players,” said Zeys.
Blacklist International’s support specialist, OhMyV33NUS, jokingly echoed that the salary may just tempt them to compete in MPL Indonesia.
When Zeys asked V33Wise regarding the salary for MLBB pro players in the Philippines, OhMyV33NUS stated that it was lower than what the average Indonesian pro player earns.
“For average, I think it’s around $600 USD,” said OhMyV33NUS.
Some MLBB pro players believe that streaming is more profitable than esports
After the discussion about pro player salaries, Blacklist International’s jungle specialist, Wise, revealed that some pro players he spoke to during the M3 World Championship believed that streaming is a much more lucrative business than joining MPL tournaments.
“When we were at M3, some players in Indonesia were telling us that streaming is more profitable than MPL salary,” he said.
Zeys responded in agreement with this statement saying that it is currently one of the biggest problems in the Indonesian MLBB esports scene. “Because the thing is, every pro player kind of wants to be a streamer instead,” he explained.
OhMyV33NUS also responded by saying that this is an issue in the Philippines as well due to how low the MPL PH prize pool is. “Actually that’s the same for MPL PH. The prize pool is really really low,” OhMyV33NUS said.
Currently, MPL ID Season 9 boasts a $300,000 USD prize pool while MPL PH Season 9 currently has a $150,000 USD prize pool. EVOS Legends’ coach Zeys believes that the league may need to up the ante in order to fix the dilemma that pro players are experiencing.
“I think they (MPL) kind of need to fix the prize pool first. If not, I think eventually most players would retire to be content creators instead,” he said.
Given how much Mobile Legends has grown as a mobile esports in the Southeast Asian region, Moonton may need to consider raising the prize pool of its franchise league to entice more pro players to pursue its MLBB esports scene.
