By Sagar V. Mankar 
The Marvel Rivals Showdown Twitch Rivals tournament concluded on January 19, 2025, leaving fans thrilled with intense gameplay and a mix of drama. The event featured 12 teams (each with 6 players, totaling 72 participants) of North America’s top streamers competing for a share of the $200,000 prize pool.
Team Hogzmr’s Triumph
Team Hogzmr, led by the streamer Hogzmr, emerged as the champions, displaying exceptional teamwork and strategy throughout the tournament. Their journey to victory was marked by consistent performances, beginning with the group stages and culminating in a commanding win over a crowd favorite Team xQc in the grand finals.
Key Results:
- Quarterfinals: A clean 2-0 win against Team Zentreya.
- Semifinals: A closely contested 3-2 victory over Team Shroud.
- Finals: A 3-1 triumph against Team xQc, securing the championship.
Event Format and Highlights
The two-day tournament, held on January 18 and 19, followed an exciting structure. Teams were split into two groups, where they competed in a round-robin format to determine rankings. The top teams advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while others faced elimination rounds.
- Bracket Stage: The quarterfinals were played in a best-of-three format, while the semifinals and finals followed a best-of-five structure.
- Random Map Selection: Maps were randomly selected, with no repetition from previous rounds, adding an element of unpredictability.
The event included prominent streamers such as Shroud, Sykkuno, and Valkyrae, who brought in large audiences with their engaging gameplay.
Prize Pool Distribution
Day 1: Teams earn $750 for each match win and $450 for each match loss.
Day 2:
- 1st Place: $21,000 – Hogzmr
- 2nd Place: $18,000 – xQc
- 3rd-4th Place: $12,000 each
- 5th-8th Place: $8,750 each
- 9th-12th Place: $7,500 each
Controversial Rule Changes
The tournament wasn’t without its challenges. A series of last-minute rule changes created confusion and frustration among participants.
Originally, teams were limited to two Grandmaster+ players to ensure a balanced competition. However, this was raised to four players a week before the event, then reverted to the original rule just a day prior.
This sudden change led to frustration among many streamers, including Valkyrae and Sykkuno, who felt that the event had shifted from a fun, casual competition to a highly competitive one dominated by top-tier players.
Some streamers were even removed from their teams to make room for higher-ranked players. One of the most notable casualties was dokibird, a top 30-ranked player who had meticulously checked with Twitch staff about her team’s eligibility. “I messaged staff multiple times and quadruple checked everything,” she explained in her statement. Despite receiving repeated assurances, she was forced to withdraw to keep her team eligible. Though offered spots on other teams, she chose to step away entirely, allowing smaller streamers to get the exposure.
Another prominent steamer Sykkuno was also initially removed from his team. “I was in the middle of practicing solo queue at 3am — and then bogur [team captain] was like ‘Hey man, you have to be removed from the team,” Sykkuno stated. However, he was later reinstated after backlash from both fans and fellow streamers, including Ellum, who threatened to boycott the event.
Former Overwatch pro Bogur highlighted what he saw as an unfair treatment: “We shouldn’t have followed the rules because they don’t apply if you just ignore them and play anyways.”
Top female streamer Valkyrae, who just returned to Twitch after five-year exclusivity with YouTube, voiced frustrations. “I waited five years to play in Twitch Rivals just for this s**t to happen? This is insane, who planned this garbage?” she stated during her stream.
Despite the controversies, the event maintained strong viewership numbers and provided exposure opportunities for smaller streamers. Twitch did offer compensation to streamers forced to withdraw due to the rule changes.
175.9K Peak Viewers for @MarvelRivals Showdown on Twitch Rivals!
Top Channels:
#1 @xQc
#2 @necros_ow
#3 @shroud
#4 @TwitchRivals
#5 @ValkyraeFull stats on this #TwitchRivals event:
💜 https://t.co/VfjqhAG7nd pic.twitter.com/Jqcj0qQvSJ— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) January 20, 2025
For viewers who missed the live action, all matches remain available for viewing on the Twitch Rivals channel.
Sources: Twitch Rivals Official Channel