The NAVI esports organization added another major trophy to its collection from an additional esports discipline, defeating Liquid Citadel in a tight grand finals match at the Marvel Rivals Ignite Mid Season Finals event.
NAVI entered the event, the first mid-year championship tournament in Marvel Rivals history, as the likely favorite. The team had won both the preseason and Stage 1 titles in the competitive EMEA region, defeating defending world champion Virtus.pro in the final of the Stage 1 playoffs.
It looked as though Natus Vincere would scarcely be challenged en route to confirming that favorite status at the Mid Season Finals, but Liquid Citadel proved a game opponent in two close finals match-ups.
Natus Vincere win first major Marvel Rivals Ignite title
Natus Vincere and Liquid Citadel first met in the upper bracket final, which NAVI took with a 3-1 series score. It was closer than the final tally indicated, as NAVI was badly beaten on second map Yggdrasil Path and needed extra time to secure the fourth.
The Americans at Liquid Citadel then dropped down to the lower bracket, where they faced European contender RAD, who were looking for revenge after losing to Liquid in the quarterfinals. This result wouldn’t be any different however, as Liquid quickly brushed aside RAD 3-0 to set up a grand finals rematch with Natus Vincere.
Liquid initially looked prepared to reverse course in that grand final meeting, going up 2-1 on NAVI through three games, including another dominant stomp on Yggdasil Path. But NAVI proved able to persevere, winning the next three maps consecutively by one point each. The wins weren’t by much, but those small margins were all NAVI needed to secure the trophy.
The bans told the story of both the tournament and the game’s overall meta. While NAVI largely played a traditional 2-2-2 composition, Liquid was eager to play three supports and one duelist, highlighting such dangerous support heroes as Ultron, Adam Warlock, and Mantis. NAVI chose to ban out the strategy as the series wore on, and proved the better side with balanced lineups.
The top EMEA team even had its own flavor ready to go, showing off a successful Wolverine to close out the series in six games and win the tournament.
Prior to its tight contests with Liquid, NAVI had looked near to unbeatable, sweeping two of the biggest names in Marvel Rivals in 100 Thieves and Virtus.pro.
For its part, Liquid looked equally strong outside of the two finals battles. The team swept Swamp Gaming in addition to twice besting RAD.
EMEA, Americas dominate in Marvel Rivals esports
European and American Marvel Rivals teams proved dominant in the tournament, with the top four slots in the final standings being held by the two regions in alternating order. Canadian duelist Terra was awarded tournament MVP honors while representing NAVI.
Pacific side Gen.G finished fifth with a roster primarily composed of players from Australia and New Zealand, and looked to be the only truly competitive team from outside of the Americas and EMEA regions. The three Asian teams, representing China and Korea respectively, generally struggled and collectively failed to win a single match against their Western foes.
While Marvel Rivals was initially slow to find traction with an esports viewing audience, the Ignite Mid Season Finals event fared better, with numbers comparable to other big-ticket esports events. Tournament organizers will hope that momentum can carry forward as teams now return to their home regions and look towards qualifying for the season-ending Ignite Grand Finals in November.
