Mumbai, May 11 (IANS) With a commanding run at the King’s Arise India Qualifier, India’s global esports and gaming content provider, S8UL, has officially qualified for the Honour of Kings World Cup (KWC) at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026. It will now represent India at the global tournament, where 20 of the world’s top Honour of Kings teams will compete for a prize pool of USD 3 million (INR 28.5 crore approx) from July 30 to August 8.

The lineup featuring Indian players Saad Sardar (Darkness), Hayrambh Monga (Meruem), Prabhat Mahato (Xtreme), Vishnu Khatri (XesoL), Rahul Lavhate (Kyurem), and new addition Saurabh Jagadale (Kael), alongside Nepal’s Suyog Paudel (Doofy) and China’s Ang Xin Hao (Kong), entered the playoffs after winning the Kings’ Arise City Tour – Mumbai.

The team began its playoff campaign with a 4-2 victory over Resurrection Imp. in the quarterfinals before defeating GodLike Esports 4-1 in the best-of-seven semifinals to secure qualification for KWC 2026, as the top two teams from the event advanced to the global tournament. S8UL will now face Revenant XSpark in the grand finals on May 17 to determine the champions of the India qualifier.

Commenting on the qualification, Saurabh Jagadale, aka Kael, IGL of S8UL’s Honour of Kings roster, said, “Qualifying for the Honour of Kings World Cup is a massive achievement for us. Everyone on this team has worked extremely hard over the past few months to build chemistry, adapt to each other’s playstyles, and improve with every series. What makes this journey even more special is the opportunity to represent S8UL on one of the biggest stages in global esports. We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but the focus now is on preparing ourselves for Riyadh and proving that we can compete against the best teams in the world.”

Having been selected for the Esports Foundation’s Club Partner Program for the second consecutive year, S8UL announced its most ambitious international campaign yet, competing across qualifiers for 13 titles including Apex Legends, BGMI, Call of Duty: Warzone, Chess, EA Sports FC, FATAL FURY, Fortnite, Honor of Kings, MOBA Legends 5v5, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, and Trackmania.

While the organisation narrowly missed qualification in PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and fell short in the semifinals of the MOBA Legends 5v5 qualifiers, it has now secured qualification in both Fortnite and Honour of Kings, while remaining in contention across the other titles.

For this year’s campaign, S8UL has also placed strong emphasis on Indian participation alongside proven international talent, ensuring homegrown players get a chance to participate across multiple titles. One of the major highlights of the initiative is the organisation’s first-of-its-kind Talent Hunt Program for fighting games, through which six Indian athletes were selected for FATAL FURY, Street Fighter 6, and TEKKEN 8. The selected players will receive professional coaching, fully funded tournament participation, complete travel support, a monthly stipend, and integration into S8UL’s wider content ecosystem.

“Qualifying for the Honour of Kings World Cup is a huge moment for us and an important milestone for Indian esports. What makes this journey even more special is seeing Indian players get the opportunity to represent the country on one of the biggest esports stages in the world. We’ve always believed that Indian talent can compete at the highest level globally, and this qualification is another step toward proving that. At S8UL, our focus has always been on creating opportunities, building strong ecosystems, and giving players the support they need to grow and succeed internationally,” said Animesh Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO, S8UL.

The qualification further highlights S8UL’s growing success across multiple esports titles on the international stage. The organisation’s Pokémon UNITE roster also recently secured qualification for the Pokémon UNITE World Championships, further strengthening S8UL’s presence across diverse esports ecosystems while elevating Indian representation on the global stage.

–IANS

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