Marvel Rivals Invitational: Epic Showdown, Exclusive Rewards, and Top Teams Compete

The Marvel Rivals Invitational: A New Era in Gaming Tournaments

The video game industry has been abuzz with excitement since the inception of Marvel Rivals, a game that has rapidly amassed an impressive following. Now, gamers and fans alike eagerly await the game's first significant tournament - the Marvel Rivals Invitational. This article unpacks all the necessary details about this upcoming spectacle.

Hand-Picked Participants: Who's in, Who's Out?

Specifically curated by NetEase, the Marvel Rivals Invitational opens its virtual arena to select teams, making this a first-of-a-kind event. This format means gaming enthusiasts get to witness Marvel Rivals in a competitive space for the first time. Moving forward, the gaming giants have hinted at hosting regional qualifiers for future tournaments.

The monumental tournament involves four top-tier North American teams vying for the grand prize pool of $20,000. For this inaugural event, only PC players are eligible, excluding console participants. The four competing teams are NRG, Luminosity Gaming (LG), NTMR, and U4RI4.

A Look at the Ground Rules for the Marvel Rivals Invitational

The tournament employs a unique "ban and lock" process, although participating team captains have the option to overlook it. In this process, team leaders alternate in picking a hero to ban. Consequently, up to four heroes get an exclusion from the match, which nudges players to choose from the remaining characters.

The tournament will utilize all maps available from the game's launch, introducing a randomness factor to the proceedings. The initial map and sides for the double-elimination stage are decided randomly by the Organizer, but beyond that, the preceding losing team gets to initiate an attack, depending on the map's nature. Pause and rematches are noticeably absent; once the game begins, the competitive action runs unhindered until the end.

The distribution of the $20,000 prize pool is quite straightforward - the Champion claims $10,000, the Runner-up bags $7,000, and the third-place finisher earns $3,000.

Key Dates and Times for the Tournament

The Marvel Rivals Invitational ensues on Dec. 20 at 2 pm PT/ 5 pm ET/ 10 pm GMT/ 8 am AEST (Dec. 21), culminating in the final at 5 pm PT/ 7 pm CT/ 8 pm ET on Dec. 22 or 1 am GMT/ 11 am AEST on Dec. 23 for international viewers. Below is a comprehensive schedule, detailed with the ET timeframe:

• Kick-off Stage: 5 pm-8 pm ET, Dec 20
• Initial Knockout Stage: 8 pm-11 pm ET, Dec 20
• Lower Bracket: 5 pm-8 pm ET, Dec 21
• Upper Bracket Finals: 8 pm-11 pm ET, Dec 21
• Lower Bracket Finals: 5 pm-8 pm ET, Dec 22
• Grand Finals: 8 pm-11 pm ET, Dec 22

How to Engage with the Marvel Rivals Invitational

To keep up with the action-packed gameplay, viewers can tune into the official Marvel Rivals Twitch channel, streaming all matches live. With the tournament coinciding with the Season Zero Twitch Drops event, spectators can win exclusive rewards, including the coveted Will of Galacta Spray and Will of Galacta Costume. Additionally, spending one hour watching the tournament during the festive mini Twitch drops event would earn viewers the Winter Stockings Spray.