“I want to be known as a winner”: Top MLBB pros like Ashlay are dying to compete, but there are no tournaments in North America

The benefit of winning matches comes with the glory of playing more high-stakes matches and the opportunity to grow.

In 2025, Gaimin Gladiators became the first North American team to make it to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang international final at the Esports World Cup Women’s Invitational.

The team featured four American players – Ashley “Ashlay” Ann, Cindy “Panda” Zhou, Jessica Qi-Yao “Sayori” Cao, and Nicole “Nicholette” Huang – making it a fantastic feat for a game that is underrepresented in the country.

Imagine waiting an entire year to compete at an international tournament for one spot in the Esports World Cup Women’s Invitational.

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

While Ashlay had the opportunity to play for Vendetta’s co-gendered roster during MCT Americas Split 1, her teammates weren’t competing on a publicly announced competitive stage for the better part of the year. The other members of Gaimin Gladiators have no other logged events on Liquipedia; for most, their last entries are either the EWC MWI or its qualifier.

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

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

While Gen.G took a leap of faith in bringing on most of the team that finished second in 2025, it wasn’t enough to cause a seismic shift in interest for the game. In fact, it marked the third banner Ashlay, Panda, and Sayori had played under in three years at the EWC (Cloud9 Female in 2024, Gaimin Gladiators in 2025, Gen.G in 2026).

Most of that might be tied to the lucrative prize pool that comes with the EWC Club Championships, but winning regularly likely secures longer-term investments, like Team Vitality’s commitment to their women’s MLBB team through 2030.

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

But while the EF can offer a stage, he placed the emphasis on publishers like MOONTON to do their part in building gaming ecosystems in smaller regions.

“The publishers have a big part to play in this because no one part can do this on its own,” McCabe said. “We can’t do it on our own. We need the publishers, we need the communities, we need the clubs to be able to build those pathways and build those opportunities.”

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

Look no further than Ashlay.

Ashlay hates traveling to internationals. The plane rides are tiring, and being away from home and routine can easily weigh on her.

But the experience once she arrives is irreplaceable, and as a competitor, Ashlay won’t pass up a chance to prove her abilities against others.

“The experience itself is what makes my job fun and special,” Ashlay said. “I got to see all of these other professional players. I got to experience social media, [doing] this content thing that I normally don’t do. And I also get to show my competitive side on a big stage.”

Yes, she does have an Instagram page, but Ashlay isn’t obsessed with it.

She also doesn’t want to be considered an ambassador or influencer for MLBB in the United States.

“For me personally, I actually don’t want to be an influencer or an ambassador or whatever it is. If I am, I want to win,” she said. “First, I want to be a champion, and I want to be known for that, rather than anything else.”

Ashlay and Gen.G finished in the 9th–12th placements at MWI, falling to the two teams that made it to the finals on back-to-back days.

It started the clock for Gen.G’s next international tournament in 2027.

Unless things change, of course.

Whether or not Ashlay competes in MCT Americas Split 2 remains unconfirmed.

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

But as for playing alongside her Gen.G teammates, unless something dramatic happens, they’re probably on the sidelines until summer 2027.

Ashlay is just one of the interesting and charismatic players in the MLBB scene. She can be one way to bring more players into the game, alongside other American players.

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

It’s a structural struggle for these players to get the high-level reps and competitive stage matches that would help them build everything from the nuances of calling a tech pause to the routine of video review and scrimmaging.

While Ashlay can be one of the faces of the MLBB scene in the United States, it’s a meaningless role to her without a trophy.

“I want to be known as a winner,” she said after a loss to eventual champion Team Vitality – a defeat that still left hope of a title alive. That hope ended the following day with a loss to Natus Vincere Philippines.

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

Winning requires playing.

That’s where the struggle is.

It’s hard to win. But winning on your one 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 into this piece.