The last full week of March packed more action into the mobile esports calendar than most fans expected. A new PMPL Indonesia champion was crowned in Surabaya, two of the biggest MLBB leagues opened their regular seasons, and Free Fire’s brand-new Clash Masters format expanded into fresh regions. Here is your weekly esports recap covering everything that mattered between March 23 and 29.
Team Pandum Wins PMPL Indonesia 2026 Spring
The headline event of the week belonged to PUBG Mobile. The PMPL Indonesia 2026 Spring Grand Finals ran from March 27 to 29 at the Grand City Convention Hall in Surabaya, and Team Pandum pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent Indonesian PUBG Mobile history.
Going into the final day, Pandum sat in 11th place on the leaderboard. Bigetron by Vitality and Pangeran MCJOE had controlled the top of the standings across the first two days, while VOIN Chaikery, the League Stage leaders, and RRQ Ryu traded blows just behind them. But Day 3 changed everything. Pandum secured three Winner Winner Chicken Dinners across the closing seven matches, climbing from the bottom half of the table all the way to the top. Their consistency under pressure was the difference: even before the final game, they had already narrowed the gap to 12 points behind Bigetron, then overtook them when it counted.
With the win, Team Pandum earned a direct slot at the PUBG Mobile Global Open (PMGO) 2026 Season 1 Main Event, scheduled for June in Jakarta. The top five finishers overall, including Pangeran MCJOE, Bigetron, RRQ Ryu, and VOIN Chaikery, advanced to the PMGO SEA Qualifiers, where five additional slots for the $500,000 global tournament are up for grabs. Bigetron finished third with 182 points and three Chicken Dinners, while RRQ claimed fourth with 155 points. BOOM Esports narrowly missed qualification in sixth, and their player Yummy took home the Finals MVP award with 43 eliminations and over 7,400 total damage across the event.
MPL Philippines Season 17 β Team Liquid PH Goes 4-0
Over in Mobile Legends, MPL Philippines Season 17 completed its second week, and defending champion Team Liquid PH looks every bit as dangerous as last season. The Cavaliers finished Week 2 with a perfect 4-0 series record after reverse sweeping both Team Falcons PH and AP.Bren on the weekend. Their new Gold Lane signing, AeronnShikii, formerly of the Indonesian scene, appears to be settling in nicely under head coach Aeon.
Aurora Gaming PH (RORA), the reigning M7 World Champions, had a split weekend. They swept Twisted Minds PH on Saturday but dropped a 1-2 to Team Falcons PH on Sunday, leaving them at 2-2 alongside AP.Bren. The biggest upset of the week came from TNC Pro Team, who shut down ONIC PH with a clean 2-0 on Friday for their first win of the season. ONIC PH, now fielding Indonesian Gold Laner Savero in place of Kelra, has yet to find its rhythm at 1-3.
The regular season takes a one-week break for Holy Week and resumes on April 10.
MPL Indonesia Season 17 Opens with a Bang
MPL ID Season 17 kicked off on March 27 from the MPL Arena in Jakarta, and the opening weekend delivered immediate fireworks. Nine franchise teams are competing this season for a $288,000 prize pool and two qualification slots to the MLBB Mid Season Cup at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Riyadh.
NAVI made a statement on Day 1, sweeping RRQ Hoshi 2-0 with Xyve earning MVP honors. Bigetron by Vitality (BTR) edged out Alter Ego 2-1, while EVOS dominated Geek Fam ID 2-0 on Saturday. The biggest mobile esports news out of MPL ID, though, was the viewership: the league’s opening weekend peaked at over 2.2 million concurrent viewers, a strong start that signals Indonesia’s appetite for competitive MLBB remains massive.
On Sunday, ONIC continued their strong form by sweeping RRQ Hoshi 2-0 with Kelra picking up MVP, while Team Liquid ID beat EVOS 2-0 behind an Aran MVP performance. Dewa United also opened with a clean sheet over BTR. Week 2 begins on April 3.
Free Fire Clash Masters Expands Across Asia
Garena’s newest competitive format, the Free Fire Clash Masters (FFCM), continued its regional rollout this week. The Clash Squad-exclusive tournament series, which debuted earlier in March with its SEA edition, expanded into two new regions.
FFCM Bangladesh Spring launched on March 26 with eight invited teams competing for a 1,000,000 BDT (~$8,165) prize pool. Red Hawks, winners of the Bangladesh Pro League Season 1, entered as heavy favorites, with OFC Esports and Zodiac Esports among the squads looking to challenge them. The Group Stage runs through early April.
Meanwhile, FFCM Thailand wrapped up its Elimination Stage on March 21-22, with Falcons Academy, Not From Here, PT Esports, and Titanic among the teams advancing through the bracket. Open registrations for FFCM Malaysia Spring also closed on March 31, setting up a 256-team elimination bracket that starts in mid-April.
The Clash Masters series operates independently from the FFWS qualification system, giving Clash Squad specialists a dedicated competitive pathway for the first time. For a format that only officially launched this month, the speed of its expansion across Southeast Asia is worth watching.
What to Watch in Early April 2026
Looking ahead, the mobile esports calendar stays busy as April begins. MPL PH returns from its Holy Week break on April 10, while MPL ID enters Week 2 on April 3 with marquee matchups including ONIC vs. Geek Fam ID and Alter Ego vs. EVOS. On the PUBG Mobile side, the Road to PMGO qualifiers continue across SEA, with PMPL Vietnam Spring approaching its Finals stage. In Free Fire, the FFWS USA Spring Group Stage starts on April 4 with 24 teams, and the FFWS LATAM EWC Qualifier enters its decisive stretch the same week. It is shaping up to be a packed month of mobile esports news heading into April 2026.
