Igniting the Spirit of Gaming at First Ever Southeast Asia Gaming Academy X Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Campus Series 2025

Historic inter-country campus tournament concludes with intense competition and US$40,000 prize pool at Taman Anggrek Mall, Jakarta

Crowds gather to see the teams battle it out on the Galaxy S25 Ultra

The inaugural Samsung x MLBB – Galaxy Gaming Campus Tournament (Galaxy Gaming Academy X Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Campus Series 2025) has successfully concluded, marking a pivotal moment for collegiate esports in Southeast Asia.

The tournament brought together the brightest student gamers from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, in the first-ever inter-country MLBB Campus Series, designed to nurture emerging talent and build a vibrant community of competitive gamers.

The grand finals, held from 20 June to 22 June at the “esport shopping mall” Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta, Indonesia, saw team NU Bulldogs from the Philippines emerge victorious after intense competition among the top eight elite teams. The tournament saw the participation of over 1,000 MLBB teams from campuses across four countries.

“Samsung is deeply committed to empowering the next generation of esports talent across Southeast Asia,” said Carl Nordenberg, Vice President, Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics Southeast Asia and Oceania. “The Galaxy Gaming Academy x MLBB Campus Series reflects our dedication to providing students with the technology, platform, and opportunities they need to excel in competitive gaming. We are proud to support these young athletes as they pursue their esports dreams – and we are excited for a fun and engaging competition among Southeast Asian universities!”

Ray Ng, Head of Ecosystem, MOONTON Games, emphasised the significance of the partnership: “The collaboration between MOONTON Games and Samsung for the first-ever inter-country MLBB Campus Series Tournament significantly aligns with our commitment to building a strong foundation for aspiring gamers to pursue their esports careers through the tournament. We thank Samsung for this partnership and the Galaxy Gaming Academy that successfully showcased its commitment in the gaming and esports ecosystem while encouraging esports development and student participation across the region.”

Winning team NU Bulldogs from the Philippines bested eight elite teams from Southeast Asia.

NU Bulldogs from the Philippines claimed the championship title and the top prize of US$18,000. NU Bulldogs demonstrated exceptional skill, strategy, and teamwork throughout the tournament, proving themselves as the premier campus MLBB team in Southeast Asia.

FAITH NOVUS Bravehearts from the Philippines, settling for second place, took home US$8,000, while third place VL Team from Indonesia won US$5,000.

“Taking home the championship title is beyond what we had imagined when we first registered. Playing against the best campus teams from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore has made us all better players and showed us the incredible depth of talent in our region. This tournament proves that student gamers deserve serious recognition and support, and we cannot wait to see how this grows in the future. We hope more students will join us in competitive gaming!”, said Patrick Balanquit, coach for the NU Bulldogs.

GGA x MCS 2025 Tournament Highlights

The GGA x MCS 2025 featured a comprehensive three-stage tournament structure. Beginning with registration from 15 March to 6 April, the competition progressed through domestic online qualifiers (7 April – 11 May) across all four countries. The top two campus teams from each country then advanced to compete in the cross-national grand finals in Jakarta.

Banana Brawlers	Team Secret

Representing Singapore at the grand finals, Banana Brawlers and Team Secret, beat over 28 campus teams in the online qualifiers. Both teams participated in 1 game each in the 3-day competition, bringing home US$1,500 per team for finishing in the finals.

The competition highlighted the incredible depth of young esports talent across Southeast Asia, with teams displaying advanced tactical understanding, mechanical skill, and coordinated gameplay typically seen at professional levels.

The tournament was powered by Samsung’s flagship mobile gaming device – the Galaxy S25 Ultra, giving all competitors access to optimal gaming performance, display quality and responsiveness crucial for the professional-level Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition. With Samsung’s most powerful processor yet, Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy^[1],[2], the Galaxy S25 Ultra provides improved real-time ray tracing and Vulkan optimisation, coupled with efficient Vapor Chamber for effective cooling for ultra-smooth gameplay^[3].

The Galaxy S25 Ultra takes the centre stage as the tournament phone for the MLBB Campus Series. The cutting-edge device provides optimal and professional-level gaming experience for the participants.

A key highlight of the tournament was the active presence of representatives from professional esports teams, including Dewa United, Onic, EVOS, and Team Liquid, reinforcing the event’s primary objective of providing a structured platform for aspiring student gamers to compete at high levels while gaining invaluable competitive experience. Events like GGA x MCS 2025 are intended to help lower traditional barriers to entry for aspiring esports athletes, creating direct pathways from campus competition to professional careers.

Gaming is a passion we champion at Samsung and the success of the inaugural Galaxy Gaming Academy x MLBB Campus Series 2025 establishes a new standard for collegiate esports in Southeast Asia. With our cutting-edge technology, Samsung is empowering the next generation of gamers to level up their ambitions. The tournament has also demonstrated that with proper structure, technology support, and community engagement, campus-level esports can achieve professional-quality standards while maintaining the vibrant, passionate spirit of collegiate competition.

The comprehensive engagement journey—from pre-event awareness building through post-tournament talent scouting—has created a blueprint for sustainable esports ecosystem development that other regions can emulate.

For more details on Galaxy Gaming Academy, please visit Samsung’s Game Portal.

^[1] Snapdragon branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

^[2] Compared to Galaxy S24 Ultra.

^[3] AP performance improvements shown compared to Galaxy S24 Ultra. Actual performance will depend on user environment, conditions and pre-installed software and applications.