One of many former Overwatch players who made the jump to Marvel Rivals, Strategist main Aramori has solidified herself as a top Strategist player in NA, and Sentinels agreed with the assessment.
Aramori and her six-time Marvel Rivals tournament-winning squad, formerly under NTMR, officially signed with Sentinels today ahead of this weekend’s Marvel Rivals Invitational in North America as the game’s competitive scene quickly takes shape just months after launch, and she’s not taking the new endeavor lightly.
“Signing with Sentinels is incredibly special to me,” Aramori told Dot Esports. “Our team has been waiting since August 2024 for Marvel Rivals esports to take off, and with orgs like Sentinels joining, that’s finally happening! I know we couldn’t be more stoked to show everyone what we are made of. It’s a dream of mine to one day get to play on stage as well.”
“My team has been called ‘one of the best NA’ but I know we want to be the UNDISPUTED best team,” she continued. “Sentinels also is planning some exciting things for fans and viewers bringing us on, and I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions.”
Marvel Rivals esports is entering a new phase now with several top organizations joining the fray such as Sentinels, Luminosity, Fnatic, and more, but hopefully with some lessons learned from similar games, like Aramori had in Overwatch 2 while competing in that title over the past couple of years.
With her Overwatch knowledge and experience in tow, Aramori hopes for more from the Rivals esports scene than what has happened with OW2 over the years, saying that “Blizzard greatly restricted third-party tournaments, which killed the grassroots side of Overwatch esports.”
“I really don’t want to see NetEase make the same mistakes Blizzard made, but I’m not sure if that means a hard NO on franchising or not,” Aramori said. “I think having something solid in place from the devs, while still allowing third-party tournaments to flourish, is the best case situation for Marvel Rivals.”
Aramori and her team (Gomez, Hogz, Karova, RyMazing, and Coluge) will have some high expectations going into this weekend’s Invitational, already having won multiple tournaments throughout Rivals‘ beta and launch period, including the season zero Invitational this past December.
On a roster full of talented players she has become “insanely close” with, by default, Aramori stands out as a woman in the top tiers of competitive gaming. She told Dot she has dealt with her fair share of sexism and unfair treatment, as most women unfortunately have, but it hasn’t prevented her from chasing the esports dream. In fact, being one of the few women currently at the top of the game is part of what drives her.
“As it stands right now, I am the best woman competing in the highest level of Marvel Rivals esports, simply because I am the ONLY woman competing in the highest level of Marvel Rivals esports,” she said. “I don’t think that’s something to be proud of. It’s sad. It’s lonely! It’s all of the pressure in the world and it’s being held under the world’s strongest microscope. Every mistake that I make, even if my peers make the same, mine could be chalked up to ‘she played bad because she’s a woman’ in some people’s minds. It’s terrifying to feel as if you represent your entire gender—that if someone perceives you as terrible, they’ll perceive every other woman even worse.”
As if the world needed any more proof that representation matters across all aspects of life, Aramori says that Geguri, the first female player to join the Overwatch League, was a massive inspiration for her after she broke that barrier way back in 2018.
“I remember religiously watching Geguri even though we speak completely different languages, and feeling a kinship to her on the complete opposite side of the world,” Aramori said. “The thought that I could be that role model for another young girl, pushing her to compete and be her authentic self while she games…God…it makes every second worth it. It makes me want to be better than anyone who has ever touched the game.”
Like Geguri at the time, Aramori is also at the top of her game. She recently reached ninth overall rank in the world in Marvel Rivals during season one, and boasts some of the most impressive Loki play I’ve seen yet. And that in itself is impressive, as the Asgardian Strategist is one of the least-picked healers across all ranks. But she seems to be one of the few who have cracked the code at a high level.
Aramori mentioned the importance of managing Loki’s cooldowns, as all of his abilities are vital to play the Strategist at a high level while at the same time juggling healing and damage output responsibilities. Loki’s Devious Exchange ability also makes him slippery and hard to eliminate. Aramori said her best tip for playing any Strategist was to prioritize staying alive and not give up your life trying to save someone when they make a mistake, a strategy that plays well with Loki’s kit.
She’s far from a one-trick, though, with the ability to flex to a number of characters depending on the situation, such as Cloak & Dagger, Luna Snow, or others, depending on what the current game dictates. And that will definitely be needed when Sentinels digs in for its matches this weekend against other top NA teams.
Her competitive hunger, along with being a possible inspiration “quite literally for every other girl out there watching” makes her want to be not just the best female Marvel Rivals player, but “the best Marvel Rivals player” period. And that would obviously be a welcome addition for Sentinels, too.
“I know [sexism and rude comments] will keep happening, and all I can do is point out the weird behavior and watch them come to terms with their own subconscious biases, but I do hope that women competing in esports wont be ‘special,’ that we will just…be,” she said.
Published: Mar 3, 2025 04:20 pm