Natus Vincere (NAVI) has entered the Marvel Rivals scene with a strong debut roster. The esports club signed the former Rad EU squad from Rad Esports, who had just won the Marvel Rivals Ignite Mid-Season Finals last August. 

The team is set to compete under the NAVI banner in the coming Ignite Stage 2 EMEA. The lineup features seven skilled players:

• Nikolai ‘Naga�?Dereli
• Maxwell ‘fate�?Currie
• Rasmus ‘Raajaro�?Rosvall
• Mark ‘Lv1Crook�?Leveleki
• Oliver ‘TrqstMe�?Pöhler
• Majd ‘Crysis�?Gerges
• Jurica ‘Jur3ky�?Risek

Together, they proved their strength by lifting the trophy in Guangzhou, China. NAVI now aims to repeat that success under their banner.

Adam ‘Meliø�?Jensen, who was a part of the roster, did not join NAVI and has signed with Citadel Gaming. His exit, though, still left the rest of the group intact as they prepared to make their mark on the next stage of play.

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Marvel Rivals developer, NetEase Games, announced Thursday, May 1, 2025, that the prize pool for the upcoming Marvel Rivals Ignite tournament will reach $3 million (£2.26m). A full $1 million (£753,800) will be up for grabs at the grand finals. 

The $3 million prize pool announcement surprised the community, as it's a big jump from the past Marvel Rivals competitive events. Before this, the highest prize was about $500,000 (£376,900), which was shared across the game's regional Invitationals.

More information about the tournament, such as participating teams, game formats, and venues, has not yet been released. However, in their X (Twitter) announcement, they confirmed that the Americas, EMEA, China, Asia, and Oceania will all have their respective teams playing in the tournament. 

The upcoming Marvel Rivals Ignite is considered one of the biggest and newest esports competitions in the hero shooter genre, a fairly young category in the esports industry. 

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Since its release in December 2024, Marvel Rivals has taken the gaming industry, capturing gamers�?attention as a better version of Overwatch for being a hero shooter game. 

While it has become a top game with its players, Marvel Rivals has also entered esports. The hype has not worn off for the game as it set the record for its events with a peak viewership of over 71,000 and an average of 45,000 for the North American Invitational.

Rivals can become the new top dog in esports

The esports industry is filled with top-tier games with long-lasting legacies. Titles like League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Dota 2 have been present for many years, and Marvel Rivals�?momentum could put them on a similar level. 

With the exciting characters and themes in Rivals, it could even break through in the mainstream. Marvel is one of the top products in the market, so having an esports circuit for its flagship game could bring more people into Rivals and esports. 

With those viewership metrics for a North American event, it might even improve with international tourneys that involve regions like Asia and Europe.

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