S8UL Signs Grandmaster Pranesh M, Fields 12 Titles for Esports World Cup 2026

According to a release, Pranesh joins Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram, further strengthening the lineup as the organisation balances proven international talent with a strong emphasis on Indian participation across multiple titles on the global stage.

Following its debut at EWC last year, Chess returns to the prestigious tournament, where the world's best players will compete for a $1.5 million (~Rs 14 crore) prize pool from August 11 to 15. With the defending champion automatically qualified, along with two players from the Speed Chess Championship 2025 and one from Chess.com Open 2026, four spots have already been secured.

Nine players will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour standings, where S8UL's Nihal currently ranks seventh and Pranesh fifteenth, making them the two highest-ranked Indians in contention. Additional qualification opportunities include DreamHack Atlanta from May 15 to 17, which offers four spots, and the Last Chance Qualifiers closer to the tournament, which will award the final four places.

Alongside Chess, S8UL will compete across mobile, PC, console, fighting games, racing, battle royale, and strategy titles, fielding a blend of championship-winning existing rosters and newly signed talent as it looks to make a major impact at EWC 2026 in Riyadh from July 6 to August 23, where over 2,000 players from 200 clubs across more than 100 countries will compete for a record-breaking $75 million (~Rs 711 crore) prize pool.

S8UL's rosters for EWC 2026 are as follows:

Apex Legends - Rick Wirth (Sharky), Benjamin Spaseski (Jesko), Tom Canty (Legacy)

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) - Aaryaman Seth (Thunder), Harsh Paudwal (Goblin), Khush Singh (Jokerr), Nakul Sharma (NakuL), and Yash Choudhary (LEGIT)

Call of Duty (COD): Warzone - Aidan Provenzano (Knight), Chris Paez (Clumziy), Raul Mercado III (Rxul)

8Chess* - Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin, Pranesh M

EA Sports FC - Aditya Chadha (Krusher), Jonas Wirth (Jonny), Julien Perbal (Fouma)

Fatal Fury and Street Fighter 6 - Ansh Arora (Closing Regent), Prateek Bhaunt (B Haunt), Prince (Prince)

Fortnite - David Ciubotariu (Faded), Kaan Tafli (Kaan)

Honor of Kings - Darkness, Meruem, Xtreme, XesoL, Kyurem, Kael, Doffy and Kong

MOBA Legends 5v5 - Bikash Tamang (Bobe), Chirag Singh (Radium), Debasish Sana (Anti), Jay Mehta (J), Mohammad Saad (Apex) and Muhammad Syahroni (Ronn)

TEKKEN 8 - Akhil Kakar (Tetsu), Gurashish Singh (Soul), Mohammad Sameer (AK Arhaan), Nakul Sharma (Weak Akuma)

Trackmania - Alexander Page (Whizzy), Kunal Upreti (Spark) and Neal Kamdar (Neal)

For this year's campaign, S8UL has added new players in Chess, COD: Warzone, EA Sports FC, Fatal Fury, Fortnite, Honor of Kings, Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8 and Trackmania. The organisation will continue with its established lineups in Apex Legends, BGMI, and MOBA Legends 5v5.

A major highlight is the organisation's first-of-its-kind Talent Hunt Program for fighting games, through which six Indian athletes were identified 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, creating a long-term pathway for Indian fighting game talent to develop and compete internationally.

Commenting on the announcement, Naman Mathur, Co-founder, S8UL said, "The Esports World Cup, with its scale of competition, diversity of titles, and quality of teams involved, is the biggest stage in competitive gaming. For us at S8UL, esports is no longer viewed through the lens of a single game or region, which is why we have built rosters that combine international stars with top talent from India. Competing at this level requires patience, planning, the right people, and a culture where players feel fully supported to perform at their best. We have worked hard behind the scenes to create that environment, and I'm proud of the teams we are sending into this year's EWC. Our goal is to make our community proud and continue proving that an organisation from India can belong among the very best in world esports."

With a wide global footprint, returning champions, and elite new additions, S8UL enters EWC 2026 with the aim of continuing its mission to elevate India's presence on the world stage while competing against the very best in global esports.

- ANI