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Marvel Rivals Pros Descend Into Madness During Technical Pause

Cale Michael

Screenshot via Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals is slowly building out its competitive scene but, during one of its biggest early events, a massive delay led to some of the most entertaining content in the game. 

In a clash of two of the current top Marvel Rivals teams, 100 Thieves and Sentinels looked ready to rumble for a spot in the Marvel Rivals Invitational North America grand finals. Unfortunately, a poorly timed disconnect led to a sizable delay between rounds and some frustration from the players. 

Why Was 100 Thieves vs Sentinels Delayed During Marvel Rivals Invitational North America?

During the opening round of 100 Thieves vs Sentinels in the Marvel Rivals Invitational North America upper bracket final, the tournament observer disconnected in the middle of the first map. As a result, a roughly one-hour delay took place to discuss how to proceed. 

According to 100T’s terra, his team won the map 100-0 and was pushing for NetEase Games to give them a point for Hell’s Heaven heading into the second round. However, because of the DC and stoppage in play, that was not provided. 

Instead, NetEase opted to have both teams restart the map from scratch while using the same hero draft and map. 100T would go on and win the map 2-1 and the series 3-0, advancing to the MRI grand finals. 

Player Reactions to Marvel Rivals Invitational 100 Thieves vs Sentinels Delay

Outside of 100T wanting credit for their round win, and not getting it, the entire situation ended up being a mess of memes, filler commentary, and players finding other ways to pass the time. 

The delay was roughly 53 minutes long, which led Cozy and Dogman to sit on stream to talk about the current Marvel Rivals meta and both teams for a solid chunk of time they likely weren’t planning to fill. There were also plenty of ads for recently released skins and other updates playing to give them a breather too.

That also left the players sitting around in the lobby waiting for a ruling before anything could move forward. Some took to talking in game chat or filming stuff, likely for upcoming content with their teams. There was even a moment in the in-game chat where players started teasing each other about… other interests—with shroud getting involved at one point.

But others decided to keep competing through other means, with terra and SuperGomex playing an online version of Connect 4.

The mid-tournament gaming sessions are nothing new, especially for Sentinels. During the opening weekend for MRI: NA, SuperGomex spent time playing Plants vs Zombies while waiting for games to start.

Despite the apparent crashouts, 100T’s claim that the delay would be longer than the first match was correct, as 100T closed out the map 2-1 in about 18 minutes before going on to win the series. This brings the team to 3-0 all-time over SEN since the two squads were signed, with 100T’s Vinnie saying “Who the fuck thinks this is a rivalry.”

“Karova has called me and hxrvey very bad players from the start, and we don’t think he’s good but he calls us bad. The only time they’ve ever beaten us in a map was with triple [ressurection] but we’re beating them on that now…Maybe they’ll eventually win a series” SJP said. “[Rymazing’s] two tricks still didn’t work. They went to their last resort, still didn’t work. I don’t know. That team is a lost cause at this point.”

In the end, not only can terra say 100T handed Sentinels another loss, but he also beat SuperGomez in Connect 4.

Marvel Rivals Esports Delay Highlights Importance of Observers

Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals.
Doctor Strange / Marvel

While most esports fans already have an appreciation for the tournament organizers and production staff that keep events and broadcasts running smoothly. But the pause in action at the Marvel Rivals Invitational North America highlights just how important every piece of those teams is. 

According to the stream, the entire delay was simply caused by the game’s observer disconnecting in the middle of a map. 

Related Article: Marvel Rivals was Almost Canceled per New Report on NetEase

Observers are not just spectators for a match, they act as camera operators in matches, directing the action through available lines of vision, player point of view, and more. The role becomes especially important in games where there are teams of players strategically positioned on a map.

An observer needs to understand how to read the flow of the game they are working on, anticipating and communicating just like the players are so that production is on the same page and can seamlessly follow the action. Without them, commentators would have less to work with and viewers would only be watching as someone swaps between player cameras with little variation or oversight.

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Cale Michael
CALE MICHAEL

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