It was a loaded week across every major mobile title. Spring seasons are hitting their stride, knockout stages are narrowing the field, and a couple of new VCT leagues just fired their opening shots from Berlin and Ho Chi Minh City. Here’s everything that mattered.

PUBG Mobile: Vietnam’s Pro League Returns with Grand Finals

The biggest PUBG Mobile storyline this week belongs to Vietnam. The PMPL Vietnam 2026 Spring Grand Finals ran from April 3 to 5, marking the return of the Vietnamese pro league after a two-year absence. Sixteen teams fought for the title and, more importantly, for the top two spots that guarantee tickets to the upcoming PMGO SEA 2026 Spring regional championship. This is the first PMPL VN since 2023, and the league now sits under the country’s official National Esports Championship System (VEC), adding institutional weight to an already high-stakes event.

For context, the PMPL Indonesia 2026 Spring had just wrapped its Grand Finals on March 29, with Team Pandum taking the championship and a direct slot to the PMGO 2026 Season 1 Main Event in Jakarta this June.

Looking ahead, PUBG Mobile National Championships are ramping up across Africa and South Asia through April, feeding into the broader 2026 circuit that builds toward the PUBG Mobile World Cup later this year at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.

MLBB: MPL Leagues in Full Swing, New Ownership Looms Large

MPL Indonesia Season 17 – Week 2

MPL Indonesia Season 17 continued its regular season with Week 2 matches on April 3–4. ONIC Esports kept rolling with a clean 2-0 sweep over Geek Fam ID, and Dewa United took care of Natus Vincere by the same margin. On Saturday, Geek Fam bounced back with a 2-0 over Bigetron by Vitality, while Alter Ego edged past EVOS Legends 2-1. The league features nine franchised teams battling through a double round-robin before the top six advance to playoffs in June. The winner earns a spot at MSC 2026 at the Esports World Cup.

MPL Philippines Season 17 – Holy Week Break

The Philippine league took a scheduled one-week break for Holy Week after wrapping up Week 2 on March 30. Before the pause, Team Liquid PH sat at the top of the standings as the only undefeated team, powered by two reverse-sweep wins over Team Falcons PH and AP Bren. The defending champs have looked sharp despite off-season buzz around their Indonesian import AeronnShikii in the Gold Lane. Reigning M7 world champions Aurora Gaming sit in the upper half of the standings alongside AP Bren. Competition resumes on April 10.

A storyline worth tracking: MPL PH S17 features Indonesian imports for the first time in league history. Both Team Liquid PH and ONIC PH signed players from Indonesia, a move that sparked plenty of debate among Filipino fans.

MPL Malaysia Season 17 – Opening Week

MPL Malaysia Season 17 officially kicked off on April 3 at Quill City Mall in Kuala Lumpur, running through June 7. This season introduces a partnership program for the first time in the Malaysian league. Opening matches begin on April 10, so rosters are locked and anticipation is building in one of MLBB’s most underrated competitive regions.

The $6 Billion Elephant in the Room

While this news broke on March 20, it continued to dominate mobile esports conversations throughout the week: Savvy Games Group finalized a deal to acquire Moonton from ByteDance for over $6 billion. The Saudi-backed company, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, now controls the developer behind MLBB and its entire esports infrastructure. Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan confirmed that management stays in place, but the long-term implications for MPL leagues, the M-Series, and EWC integration are still unfolding. Given Savvy’s existing portfolio (Scopely, ESL FACEIT Group, a pending EA acquisition), this puts an enormous chunk of competitive gaming under one umbrella.

Free Fire: India Cup Knockout Reaches Its Final Stage

FFMIC 2026 Spring – Knockout Week 3

The Free Fire MAX India Cup 2026 Spring entered its decisive Knockout Week 3 from April 3 to 5. Twelve teams competed across 18 matches for the last six Grand Finals spots. GodLike Esports bounced back after a rough Week 2 to finish first in the overall standings, while GG Instinct, Aerobotz, Orangutan x TSG, Revenant XSpark, and Reckoning also punched their tickets. That completes the 12-team Grand Finals field, set for April 26 at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Ahmedabad with a total prize pool of ₹1 crore (roughly $120,000). Defending champions Total Gaming Esports qualified from Week 2 and will be the team to beat.

FFWS USA Spring – Group Stage Opens

The Free Fire World Series USA Spring 2026 Group Stage went live on April 4. Twenty-four teams split into four groups are competing online for a shot at the Grand Finals on April 19. The stakes are clear: the champion earns a direct slot to Free Fire at EWC 2026 in Riyadh (July 15–18), making this the most consequential regional event on the North American Free Fire calendar. The $30,000 prize pool is modest compared to SEA events, but that EWC ticket makes every match count.

FFWS Brazil and LATAM Qualifiers Rolling

FFWS Brazil 2026 Split 1 is in its early weeks of competition, running through June with 16 teams fighting for three EWC slots. The FFWS LATAM 2026 EWC Qualifiers also kicked off on April 4, running through mid-June with two Esports World Cup berths up for grabs. The global Free Fire circuit is expanding to 24 teams at its top-level events this year, up from 18, which means more regional slots and a wider qualifying path than ever before.

VALORANT: VCT Stage 1 Fires Up Across Regions

Not a mobile-native title, but VALORANT’s competitive ecosystem is deeply intertwined with mobile esports audiences, especially across the Pacific. VCT 2026 Stage 1 kicked off this week in two key leagues.

VCT EMEA Stage 1 opened on April 1 from the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. The Week 1 headline belonged to Natus Vincere, who upset Team Heretics 2-1 on April 3 while playing with academy stand-in Kolosha (18-year-old Herman Skrypka, subbing for ExiT due to visa issues). It was a statement win against the same Heretics squad that swept NAVI at Kickoff earlier this year. Elsewhere, Fnatic edged Eternal Fire 2-1, Team Liquid swept Karmine Corp 2-0, Team Vitality handled GIANTX 2-0, FUT Esports took down Gentle Mates 2-1, and BBL Esports beat PCIFIC Esports 2-0. Twelve teams are split into two groups, competing through May 1 before playoffs decide which three head to Masters London in June.

VCT Pacific Stage 1 began on April 2 from Ho Chi Minh City. Global Esports delivered the opening upset with a 2-0 over Gen.G, T1 handled VARREL 2-0, Paper Rex edged past masters champions Nongshim RedForce 2-1, and FULL SENSE took care of DetonatioN FocusMe. The Pacific league is particularly relevant for mobile esports fans across Southeast Asia, where the VALORANT and MLBB/Free Fire audiences overlap significantly.

Both Stage 1 leagues are qualification paths toward Masters London (June 5–21) and ultimately Champions Shanghai later in the year.

👀 What to Watch Next Week

  • MPL PH S17 returns from Holy Week break on April 10 with ONIC PH vs. AP Bren and Team Liquid PH vs. Smart Omega
  • MPL ID S17 and MPL MY S17 continue regular season play
  • FFWS SEA 2026 Spring begins on April 24 with 18 teams from across Southeast Asia
  • VCT EMEA and VCT Pacific Stage 1 continue group stage matches
  • VCT Americas Stage 1 opens on April 10 from Los Angeles

That’s the week. Spring leagues are heating up, knockout stages are separating contenders from pretenders, and the new VCT act is just getting started. Stay locked.