Top MLBB pros like Ashley are dying to compete, but there are no tournaments in North America

The benefit of winning games comes with the glory of playing great games and the opportunity to grow.

By 2025, Gaimin Gladiators became the first North American team to reach the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang International final in Esports World Cup Women’s Invitational.

The team consisted of four American players – Ashley “Ashlay” Ann, Cindy “Panda” Zhou, Jessica Qi-Yao “Sayori” Cao, and Nicole “Nicholette” Huang – which makes it admirable in a sport that is not well represented in the country.

Imagine waiting an entire year to compete in one of the world’s most prestigious international tournaments at the Esports World Cup Women’s Invitational.

That’s what most of Ashlay’s current Gen.G and Gaimin Gladiators teammates went through despite finishing second in the 2025 Esports World Cup MLBB: Women’s Invitational.

While Ashlay had the opportunity to play on the gender roster with Vendetta during the MCT Americas Split 1, her teammates haven’t competed in a publicly announced competitive division for the better part of a year. Some members of Gaimin Gladiators have no other events entered in Liquipedia; for most, the last entry is either the EWC MWI or its qualifier.

Part of this is due to the lack of interest in North American mobile games. It doesn’t carry the same cachet as its console or PC counterparts, and it doesn’t have the same cultural popularity in North America that it does in parts of the world like Southeast Asia.

Ashley’s solution is simple: more competitions, more exposure. It’s a classic Catch-22 – many tournaments help find players and showcase stars, but without an audience, it’s hard to host many events.

While Gen.G has put a lot of faith in bringing in the majority of the team that finished in second place in 2025, it is not enough to cause a seismic shift in the interest of the game. In fact, it marked the third banner Ashlay, Panda, and Sayori played in less than three years in EWC (Cloud9 Female in 2024, Gaimin Gladiators in 2025, Gen.G in 2026).

Much of that may be tied to the lucrative prize pool that comes with the EWC Club Championships, but regular wins can secure long-term investments, such as Team Life’s commitment to their MLBB women’s team through 2030.

Esports Foundation Deputy CEO and COO Mike McCabe said EF found value in MLBB’s women’s ecosystem and its strength in Southeast Asia, as well as its growing influence in East Asia and Western Europe.

But while EF can provide a platform, he strongly emphasized publishers like MOONTON to do their part in building the ecosystem of games in small areas.

“Publishers have a big role to play in this because no one part can do this alone,” McCabe said. “We cannot do it by ourselves. We need publishers, we need communities, we need clubs to be able to create those ways and create those opportunities.”

So, where should MOONTON begin to build more influence in the United States?

Look no further than Ashley.

Ashley hates going to foreign countries. Flying is tiring, and being away from home and doing things in a routine can easily overwhelm him.

But experience when he comes irreversibleand as a competitor, Ashley will not pass up an opportunity to prove her skills to others.

“The experience itself is what makes my job so exciting and special,” Ashley said. “I saw all these other professional players, I got to hear the social media, [doing] This is a content item that I usually don’t do. And I can show my competitive side on the big stage. “

Yes, she has an Instagram page, but Ashley doesn’t bother about it.

He also does not want to be considered an ambassador or promoter of MLBB in the United States.

“For me personally, I really don’t want to be a promoter or an ambassador or anything. If I am, I want to win,” he said. “First of all, I want to be a champion, and I want to be known for that, more than anything else.”

Ashley and Gen.G finished 9th through 12th at MWI, falling to two finalists on consecutive days.

The clock has started for the next Gen.G international tournament in 2027.

Unless things change, of course.

Whether or not Ashley is competing in MCT Americas Split 2 remains unconfirmed.

In fact, information on Split 2 is completely non-existent right now – no dates, no timeline, not even an expectation of when or where it might happen.

But as far as playing and his Gen.G teammates are concerned, unless something amazing happens, they’re probably on the sidelines until the summer of 2027.

Ashley is one of the most interesting and passionate actresses in the MLBB scene. He could be one way to bring more players into the game, along with other American players.

The core of Gaimin Guardian’s run to the MWI Championship in 2025 came from the United States, so it’s not a matter of talent there.

It’s a structural struggle for these players to get high reps and competitive stage performances that can help them build everything from the different letters to call technical stops to how to review video and scripting.

Although Ashley may be one of the faces of the MLBB scene in the United States, it’s a role that means nothing to her without the trophy.

“I want to be known as a winner,” he said after being defeated by Team Vitality who ended up being champions – a defeat that has left the hope of the title alive. That hope ended the next day with a loss to Natus Vincere Philippines.

But being known as a winner may be putting the cart before the horse.

Winning requires playing.

That’s where the struggle is.

It’s hard to win. But for your win one was he shot? That’s a tall order.

Esports Insider’s travel and accommodation for the Esports World Cup was paid for by the Esports Foundation. The Esports Foundation had no editorial input on this piece.