The first official Marvel Rivals tournament of Europe concluded earlier this week after ten days of non-stop action. Eight teams have entered the arena of the Marvel Rivals Invitational EMEA series, but only one could emerge victoriously. After a stellar performance, veteran Russian organization Virtus.pro emerged victorious virtually unscathed, setting the power dynamics for EMEA professional Marvel Rivals.
Virtus.pro Won Marvel Rivals Invitational EMEA, But the Rest of the Competition was Fierce as Well
The first ever Marvel Rivals Invitational EMEA kicked off with the Group Stage, pitting all eight of the squads against each other in a Swiss Stage of Best of Ones. Three teams were able to get ahead of the competition on the first day, with OG, VP, and Lumonisty Gaming EU winning their matchups. Team Peps was also in the winners bracket after Round 1, but they quickly fell out of favor, and ultimately missed the Playoffs’ Upper Bracket.
After Round two, it was clear that Dusty was struggling, as the Icelandic org failed to win a single map versus either Peps, Twisted Mind – and during Round 3, ECSTATIC as well. Fnatic were the resurgent roster of Round 2, bouncing back after their loss versus Luminosity, while the winners of Round 1 trucked onwards – bar from OG, who couldn’t beat LG and their roster of former Overwatch and Overwatch 2 veterans.
Round 3 was the shortest of the Swiss Stage, with all of the Best of Threes ending in a 2-0: ECSTATIC beat DUTY, OG won versus Team Peps, Twisted Minds lost against Fnatic, and Virtus.pro dethroned Luminosity, securing the first spot of the Swiss Stage. LG came in second, with Fnatic and OG getting a shot at the Upper Bracket as well. Team Peps, Twisted Minds, ECSTATIC and DUSTY were left to try their best in the Lower Bracket.
Then the Real Fight Began
Before the start of the Double Elimination stage, ECSTATIC’s team was also signed by Serbian organization Zero Tenacity, which gave Knuten and his teammates a bit of a boost as they eliminated Twisted Minds in the first round of the Lower Bracket. DUSTY fell alongside the Saudi team – but at least they got a map win versus Team Peps.
The Upper Bracket started off with Virtus.pro making a statement against OG, beating them 3-0, while Luminosity Gaming also lost against Fnatic. But in the second round of the Lower Bracket, both teams swept the opposition, knocking out the last remaining teams of the lower house in the Swiss Stage. However, only one could remain standing, and OG proved to be better after beating LG 3-2 in what could be called the most exciting professional Marvel Rivals match since the launch of the Hero Shooter.
Virtus.pro could not be stopped in the Upper Bracket however, making short work of Fnatic. The 0-3 loss has shaken Maxime “Blax” Thomas and his teammates so hard, that even though they tried their hardest versus OG, the black and orange team lost 2-3, getting eliminated right before the finals.
Only Virtus.pro and OG were left standing, but VP proved they were the better team by far the first team around back in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. Still, OG managed to ramp up during their lower bracket run, squeezing 2 victories on Hell’s Heaven and Royal Palace – but those were 2-1 wins, not convincing 2-0’s like what VP showed in Birnin T’Challa for the last map of the Bo7. After six hard fought matches, it was Finnbjörn “Finnsi” flosi Jónasson and Virtus.pro that emerged victorious, winning the first ever official EMEA Marvel Rivals tournament and the $40,000 that came with it.
Marvel Rivals esports is ramping up with NA, Asia and EMEA all hosting an Invitational. Its only a matter of time until NetEase’s new third-person shooter takes off in the professional gaming scene, and VP will have a title to defend when that happens.
