A Historic Win: Smart Omega Empress Makes Waves at the Riyadh Tournament

The women's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports are entering a new chapter. With the goal to win the MLBB Women's Invitational (MWI) 2024 and make history as the first Filipino team to win a tournament at the Esports World Cup, Smart Omega Empress (OMGE) defeated Team Vitality (VIT) today, July 27! In the Best-Of-Five (BO5) Grand Finals, the all-Filipino squad easily defeated their Indonesian opponents, snapping their 24-match winning streak that dates back to 2021.

In addition to winning the title, OMGE also took home the biggest prize money in women's esports history—USD 180,000 of the USD 500,000 prize pool. After winning USD 50,000, Sheen "Shinoa" Perez was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP).

The MWI is the largest MLBB esports competition for female athletes, with the goal of giving female players the opportunity to achieve their esports goals. As part of the inaugural Esports World Cup, the MWI 2024 was hosted in the Amazon Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was the first time the competition was conducted outside of Southeast Asia. Twelve international teams from all over the world were present for the tournament.

Sheen "Shinoa" Perez, the Jungler Kaye "Keishi" Alpuerto, the Mid Laner Rica "Amoree" Amores, the EXP Laner Gwyneth "Ayanami" Diagon, and the Roamer Mery field Smart Omega Empress. "Meraaay" Christine Vivero. Coach Salman "KingSalman" Macarambon is in charge of the group.

OMGE Roamer, Meraaay said during the post-match press conference: “We want to give honor to our country. I hope we made our kababayans (countrymen) proud, including those who went to the venue to support us. It feels like a dream for all of us. We would like to take our hats off to Team Vitality who gave us a good fight. We can already call ourselves world champions."

"To all aspiring female MLBB players out there, continue what you're doing, especially if it is something that you love. We started from scratch, always almost losing every time, but we continued playing because we felt like this is something we love."

The third edition of the MWI smashed the tournament's previous viewership record. The MWI 2024 Grand Finals achieved 265,117 Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), according to Esports Charts. The previous benchmark of 179,024 PCV was set at MWI 2023, according to Esports Charts.

 
“The MWI 2024 has achieved a great viewership for mobile women's esports. The participation of the Indonesian team in the final played a significant role in it, as well as substantial prize pool, which is one of the largest in women's esports history. The fact that it's now among the top three most viewed mobile women's esports events, together with the 32nd SEA Games and MWI 2022, highlights the immense growth and increasing interest in women's competitive gaming,” shared Artyom Odintsov, Co-Founder and CEO of Esports Charts.

Ray Ng, Head of Esports Ecosystem at MOONTON Games, said: "The competitive women's esports scene has taken a huge step forward with the MWI 2024. We believe that esports is for everyone, so we're delighted to have given the world's best female athletes the stage and #TimeToShine. We'd also like to thank all of our fans who cheered the roof off the Amazon Arena."