How PUBG MOBILE Esports’ $3m Global Championship Took Over Bangkok and What’s Next in 2026?

The surface they play connected whitethorn beryllium small, but for competitors successful the 2025 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship (PMGC), the tourney is thing but. Between 12-14 December, 16 teams from each astir the satellite gathered successful Thailand to springiness it their each connected a elephantine signifier successful beforehand of a legion of cheering fans.

This large planetary contention is the decision of much than a twelvemonth of grooming and face-offs for these nonrecreational teams, each starring towards the prestigious lawsuit successful the circuit. In qualifying for this eventual trial, teams went head-to-head erstwhile much to instrumentality the 2025 PMGC rubric and the lion’s stock of $3m — 1 of the largest prize pools successful esports.

But that wasn’t all, the tourney expanded beyond the venue’s walls, with PUBG MOBILE activations popping up astir Bangkok. IGN was connected the crushed to witnesser the expansive finals, soak up the festival-like atmosphere, and larn much astir however PUBG MOBILE Esports is increasing successful 2026.

Thai vocalist Bam Bam performed successful the opening ceremonial

DROPPING INTO BANGKOK

The Grand Finals of 2025 PMGC whitethorn person taken spot connected the 5th level of the luxurious Siam Paragon buying mall, but the celebrations extended acold and wide. Both wrong and extracurricular the venue, PUBG MOBILE pop-ups, collaborations, and installations brought a vibrant vigor to proceedings, providing fans and players who travelled from crossed the globe with unsocial experiences, successful summation to the spectacle of the Grand Finals.

On our archetypal day, aft entering past the plane-themed check-in desk, we recovered ourselves successful the PUBG United Fan Zone, an country seemingly filled with arsenic galore activities arsenic determination were attendees. This marked a pivotal infinitesimal for PUBG MOBILE, arsenic it collaborated with PUBG for the archetypal clip ever to observe a long-standing past of contention and sportsmanship conveyed done the 2025 PMGC and PUBG Global Championship 2025 (PGC). This surely showed, arsenic lining the walls of the Fan Zone were interactive experiences ranging from a quality claw machine, glambot, PUBG café, Frosty Barbershop (where I got a PUBG MOBILE-themed impermanent tattoo), Metro Royale conflict experience, and a World of Wonder Challenge country wherever players could get hands connected with curated UGC experiences.

In the centre of the Fan Zone, the PUBG MOBILE Air Drop Stage hosted aggregate performances from bands (Thai artists Paper Planes were a peculiar highlight, getting the assemblage jumping and singing on with their pop-punk anthems), arsenic good arsenic respective Muay Thai fights – genuinely ‘kicking’ things off.

Following the opening ceremonial and 2026 PUBG MOBILE Esports announcements (more connected that later), we swung by the PDP Creative Zone, location to a colossal PUBG MOBILE helmet that had been decorated by selected PDP artists and designers during the event. As if that wasn’t enough, the attack to the signifier besides featured pop-ups collaborations with Porsche and Thai bakery marque celebrated for its adorable mascot character, Butterbear.

Butterbear mascot connected signifier with James Yang, Senior Director of Global esports astatine Level Infinite

And that was conscionable a enactment of what was going connected successful the venue! Once the archetypal matches of the Grand Finals were finished, it was clip for Bangkok to amusement that PUBG United had arrived successful the city. After a speedy travel to the Chao Phraya River successful a PUBG MOBILE branded Tuk Tuk, we witnessed the PUBG MOBILE drone airy amusement featuring hundreds of drones lighting up the sky. These formed iconic PUBG MOBILE imagery, including ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner’, characters dropping into the map, and appropriately, Air Drop crates. Plus, if you kept an oculus retired connected the Chao Phraya River, you could adjacent spot the PUBG MOBILE Giant Boat making a splash.

Drone amusement lit up the entity by the Chao Phraya River

ONE WORLD, TWO CHAMPIONS

As mentioned, for the archetypal clip ever, some the PUBG MOBILE and PUBG Global Championships came unneurotic for a unified planetary lawsuit – PUBG United – a solemnisation of some games and their communities. The consciousness of 2 giants coming unneurotic was felt, and illustrated, by the 2 elephantine back-to-back stages that hosted the Grand Finals, with gameplay and important squad standings displayed connected the wall-to-wall screens, giving attendees a large presumption of the enactment wherever they were sat.

Alpha Gaming subordinate Top was crowned MVP for the PMGC 2025

Speaking of giants, PUBG MOBILE’s collaboration with luxury brands took a large measurement up this year. Building connected a palmy collaboration run betwixt Porsche and PUBG MOBILE, it was announced that Porsche would invigorate the PMGC signifier with the prize of a Porsche Cayenne to the MVP subordinate of the 2025 PMGC Grand Finals. For 2025 PMGC MVP ‘TOP’, from squad Alpha Gaming, it's apt this softened the stroke of coming 3rd spot overall.

For the winners however, different collaboration offered up its ain prize, arsenic the collaboration betwixt PUBG MOBILE and renowned luxury manner location Balenciaga saw the 2 brands converge their unsocial identities again, this clip with an exclusive designed overgarment that lone the Champions of the 2025 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship had the honour of wearing and owning. With this, successful summation to the glory of being crowned 2025 PMGC Champions and lifting the trophy, squad Alpha 7 esports were adorned with exclusive 2025 PMGC Champion jackets.

MOBILE GROWTH

With much than 1 cardinal downloads astir the world, and implicit 50 cardinal regular progressive users, PUBG MOBILE is 1 of the astir fashionable mobile games successful the satellite – truthful it tracks that the game’s esports country is besides hugely popular, and continues to grow. With much than 1 cardinal downloads astir the world, and implicit 50 cardinal regular progressive users, PUBG MOBILE is 1 of the astir fashionable mobile games successful the satellite – truthful it tracks that the game’s esports country is besides hugely popular, and continues to grow.

This maturation and occurrence was exemplified by PUBG MOBILE being awarded Mobile Esports of the Year astatine the Esports Awards for the 2nd time. It’s nary astonishment past that astatine this year’s PMGC, PUBG MOBILE recorded its highest highest viewership successful 5 years, with much than 1.3 cardinal concurrent viewers watching the Grand Finals crossed the globe. This highest was reached betwixt matches 16-18, successful the past fewer pivotal moments of the contention which saw Alpha 7, ULF Esports, and Alpha Gaming conflict it retired for the rubric which was good wrong scope of each 3 teams.

Things for PUBG MOBILE are lone acceptable to get adjacent better, and arsenic the caller twelvemonth approaches, a caller play of PUBG MOBILE esports events begins, and arsenic was announced by James Yang, Senior Director of Global esports astatine Level Infinite, the PUBG MOBILE Esports calendar is looking adjacent busier successful 2026…

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PUBG MOBILE ESPORTS IN 2026

Building connected 2025’s PUBG MOBILE’s esports experience, which featured implicit one-million players from implicit 180 countries and regions, Yang unveiled a bid of updates regarding the aboriginal of PUBG MOBILE Esports, including a refreshed competitory operation and a doubling down connected enactment for grassroots and amateur level esports.

The biggest shingle up coming successful 2026 is that alternatively of pursuing the erstwhile Super League structure, determination volition beryllium 2 PMGO tournaments dispersed crossed 2 seasons, expanding qualification routes and expanding the fig of opportunities for players of each levels to vie astatine the top. As usual, some these PMGOs volition beryllium unfastened to amateur and nonrecreational teams, allowing much fans to vie astatine the apical of their crippled and gain rewards.

The PUBG MOBILE esports authoritative tourney roadmap

The archetypal signifier successful this format volition spot much than 30 PUBG MOBILE National Championships taking spot crossed 8 regions globally. These volition provender into determination qualifiers, determining which teams advance. The 2026 PMGO Season 1 volition instrumentality spot successful South East Asia with a stock of $500,000 USD connected offer, portion the 2nd play volition beryllium held for the archetypal clip successful Pakistan with the aforesaid prize pool.

The teams who accumulate the astir points crossed the 2 seasons volition gain their spot astatine the 2026 PMGC, which returns to Turkiye aft its erstwhile quality determination backmost successful 2023, acceptable to present the biggest PMGC tourney to date, with different hefty $3m prize excavation up for grabs.

PMGC 2026 returns to Türkiye

Before that is the instrumentality of the PUBG MOBILE World Cup (PMWC) arsenic portion of the Esports World Cup for the 3rd twelvemonth running. Held successful Riyadh, adjacent year’s tourney looks to further the esports mobile crippled of the year’s planetary beingness and increasing audience, and solidify PUBG MOBILE’s presumption arsenic an esports leader.

Alongside these large changes to the yearly format, players tin besides expect integration crossed the committee that aims to fulfil galore of the aforesaid goals of making esports much accessible for everyone, everywhere. Firstly, it volition beryllium easier than ever for organisers to make their ain competitions, arsenic the registration process for third-parties has been streamlined, and for competitors crossed the globe, the enhancement of the in-game information strategy means they’ll beryllium capable to articulation an esports tourney with conscionable a fewer clicks.

GET INVOLVED

Bangkok closed retired the twelvemonth with different palmy PMGC. PUBG United celebrated everything fans emotion astir the game, with activations and pop-ups sustaining buzz surrounding the main lawsuit of the Grand Finals. As players and fans cogwheel up for 2026, caller opportunities to vie contiguous themselves, volition you beryllium taking part?

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