What to expect from the Marvel Rivals Ignite Grand Finals

The Marvel Rivals Ignite Grand Finals will take place later this year at DreamHack Atlanta, running from October 27th to November 2nd, 2025.

The top 12 teams from Ignite Stage 2 will play in the LAN event, hoping to claim the lion’s share of a $1m (~£745,000) prize pool, the highest cash reward of any Marvel Rivals tournament to date.

From the best squads to keep an eye on, to the state of the meta in Season 4.5, here are the biggest headlines ahead of Marvel Rivals’ crowning event.

100 Thieves has had a very interesting journey in Marvel Rivals esports. It exploded onto the scene after winning the 2025 North America Invitational, but has since had varying levels of success in the scene, from finishing runners-up in the Season 1 Championships to taking third place at the Mid-Season Finals.

Americas Stage 2 proved that 100 Thieves was not messing around. During the Group Stage, it managed to outperform the Stage 1 Champions, Sentinels, who were knocked out in the Lower Brackets of the Playoffs. 100 Thieves ended its run after defeating long-time rival ENVY, 4-1 in the Grand Finals.

100 Thieves enters the Ignite Grand Finals as one of the three qualified Americas teams, though its chances of victory hinge on whether it can overcome some of the best teams from Europe.

Virtus.pro has finally secured a spot at a LAN event after triumphing in EMEA Ignite Stage 2, setting the stage for the team to prove whether it truly deserves its reputation as one of the scene’s top teams.

The roster saw a major upset in Stage 1 after failing to qualify for the Mid Season Finals, knocked out of the Lower Bracket Finals by Citadel Gaming (then Brr Brr Patapim). Stage 2 saw the ultimate redemption story for Virtus.pro after it defeated the same team 4-2 in the Grand Finals.

It will be the first time fans will get to see Virtus.pro compete against international teams, facing off against rosters from Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Only time will tell if the team can carry over its momentum from Stage 2 or fall short yet again.

The Ignite Grand Finals will take place during Marvel Rivals Season 4.5, an update that has seen drastic changes to some of the most popular characters in the game.

Dive is particularly strong at the moment, with characters like Venom seeing a lot of play during Ignite Stage 2, and will likely be the go-to strategy for a lot of teams. This may also include characters such as Psylocke and the most popular character from the Mid-Season Finals, Emma Frost.

There has also been a rise in triple support comps, utilising characters like Ultron and Jeff the Landshark to keep the team alive while outputting high amounts of damage. To combat this, esports rosters have been experimenting with using damage boosts more, using characters like Mantis to secure eliminations.

The talk of the town is whether Daredevil, the latest addition to the hero shooter, will see any play in the LAN event. Daredevil boasts a unique flanking/dive-heavy playstyle, being able to prioritise targets and deal out high-damage combos.

Fans can watch the matches in-person at DreamHack Atlanta to see how the Grand Finals unfold, or watch the live broadcasts through the official Marvel Rivals Twitch and YouTube channels.