Marvel Rivals North America vs Europe: Which region is stronger?

The Marvel Rivals esports scene has quickly expanded into a global stage, with the international Marvel Rivals Championships (MRC) taking place in multiple regions and Marvel Rivals Ignite boasting a prize pool of millions. 

North America and Europe have stood out as the top regions, but fans have long debated which region is truly the best. Europe has long been dominated by Virtus.pro, hailed by many as the best team in the world, while North America arguably has the fiercest competition internationally.

The question of which region is stronger remains the biggest debate in competitive Marvel Rivals, with several factors making it difficult to determine a clear winner. From match results, player rankings, and more, we pit the two regions against one another to determine which has the stronger Marvel Rivals esports scene. 

Regarding Marvel Rivals EU, one team stands out: Virtus.pro. The organisation debuted by signing the original team that won Season 0 MRC on February 19th, 2025. Since then, the team has dominated every competition it’s participated in—from winning the EMEA Invitational to standing as the longest-reigning champion of Rivals Fight Night EU brackets. 

During the EU Rivals Fight Night #10 finals, Connor ‘Avast’ Prince, commentator for Rivals Fight Night EU, said: “They (Virtus.pro) look mechanically like monsters. Their synergy is insane across the board. They’re not doing the gifted and talented pipeline where they fall out of it afterwards.

“Like, this team is overall so good across the board and remains the clear number one team in the region, if not potentially the world.”

However, Europe does not have many active esports teams competing at the same level. Since the EMEA Invitational, teams like Twisted Minds, Fnatic and OG have disbanded their Marvel Rivals rosters. There are only a few teams left, such as Luminosity EU. But in recent times, gaps have had to be filled by teams without organisational backing. 

Commentators have praised the performance and form of Virtus.pro, but the lack of high-level, consistent competition makes it difficult to gauge whether this is down to skill or being a big fish in a small pond. It is hard to determine if Virtus.pro would perform to the same level in the NA scene or fall short. 

There are examples of one region or team dominating their respective esports scene in other titles. For example, in the League of Legends scene, the LCP region saw one team dominate the rest – CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO). The teams performance has also made it difficult to judge the region’s strength in comparison to others, such as LCK.

Virtus.pro, in many ways, has inhabited the same traits for Marvel Rivals EU. By regularly defeating its competition, it has inadvertently discouraged other teams from joining the fray as interest in other teams deteriorates and more flock to see Virtus.pro play. 

This lack of top-tier teams has also made organising events with invitations in the region more difficult. Take the Marvel Rivals Ignite scene, for instance. Invited teams for the EU have yet to be fully completed; In stark contrast, NA has already filled all of its positions. 

From a fan’s perspective, NA boasts more hype and excitement, while the EU is plagued by uncertainty about what to expect. 

While EU has had one team dominate the scene, NA has had a different winner in every tournament. In NA’s case, 100 Thieves won the 2025 NA Invitationals, Sentinels won Season 1 MRC, and recently, ENVY became the talk of the town after winning The Shroud Gauntlet. Meanwhile, EU has had no other winner aside from Virtus.pro when it comes to official events hosted by NetEase. 

This may potentially be due to NA’s more fleshed-out ecosystem, with various organisations such as FlyQuest, Shikigami and even Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek’s return to esports through Shroud-X. Therefore, it has been observed that strength and skill are more evenly spread out in NA — and there’s more opportunity to push one another as a result.

During the EU livestream of #9 finals, Andrew ‘ZP’ Rush, Commentator for Rivals Fight Night EU, said: “You can make a case with some of the NA teams, but the reality is that VP has been consistent and untouched, whereas NA has had roster mania.

“NA has had a lot of shifts, twists and turns. Who’s at the top? Right now it’s Sentinels, but maybe it’s someone else in a few weeks. NA has not had the consistency that EU has had on the very top.”

The differences between the two regions can be seen through the week-by-week results of Rivals Fight Night. VP has only ever missed one victory in Rivals Fight Night since it began— and that was because it wasn’t competing that time. Meanwhile in NA, the title of champion has been interchanging. In #6 it was 100 Thieves, #7 was Shikigami, #8 was Sentinels, #9 was FlyQuest, #10 was Shroud X, and recently, ENVY became the latest winner in #12. 

During the NA livestream of #12 finals, Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez, host for Rivals Fight Night, said: “The last five/six champs or so, all new faces. It’s basically the anti-EU, like if EU is a sacred timeline, where VP just dominates, NA is a fork in the multiverse for sure.”

Virtus.pro has become EU’s ace in the hole when it comes to the argument of which region is stronger. However, there are some factors at play which tilt the scales more in NA’s favour. So we’ve compiled data across various tournaments and sites to determine once and for all which is the better Marvel Rivals region. 

In terms of global leaderboards, based on data shown by Rivals Meta, we’ve taken the 10-highest-ranking esports players who have competed at least once. However, leaderboards are constantly changing, so their current rankings may differ. 

These are the rankings as of May 27th, 2025:

What’s interesting to note here is that EU’s highest-ranking esports players do not belong to an official organisation and compete in events such as Marvel Rivals Ignite, as either former pros showcasing their skills to attract backing or casual players who have assembled a faction for fun. 

On the other hand, NA’s top placements are entirely comprised of professional players from an official team, with Shroud-X and Shikigami boasting the highest-ranked players. 

Ranking isn’t a sole indicator of a team’s strength, as Brr Brr Patapim has higher-ranking players than Virtus.pro, but time and again Virtus.pro claimed victory in Rivals Fight Night. 

We can also look at stats such as those posted by Fight Night Group for in-game performances during matches to gauge the best players. Regarding the most healing during a game, the top players come from NA, such as Cooper ‘coopertastic’ with over 30,000 healing as Loki. However, as far as eliminations are concerned, Virtus.pro is the only team from EU that breaks the top five, but boasts the highest stats, with William ‘SparkR‘ Andersson boasting an average of 23.42 as Winter Soldier. 

These results show that both regions are strong in their own right, but for differing reasons. Based on what has been gathered, data shows that EU has reached higher peaks in terms of team strength and individual skill, but NA has been observed to be far more consistent across the board. 

In this regard, EU may have the strongest teams with Virtus.pro, whereas NA is a stronger region with more official teams regularly performing at the highest level.  

Should the two regions ever compete against one another, the sentiment online has swayed in NA’s favour. Fans are increasingly of the mind that while Virtus.pro is a powerhouse by its own right, NA has more chances to win based on the overall skillset of all its teams, making it more likely to come out on top should the two sides ever clash. 

In many aspects and in most scenarios, NA is often the top region in the Marvel Rivals esports scene. However, only time will tell. At the upcoming Ignite tournament, Virtus.pro will have the opportunity to live up to its reputation — or NA may finally be able to crown its one true champion.