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\u2019s Suyog Paudel (Doofy) and China\u2019s Ang Xin Hao (Kong), entered the playoffs after winning the Kings\u2019 Arise City Tour - Mumbai.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Commenting on the qualification, Saurabh Jagadale, aka Kael, IGL of S8UL\u2019s Honour of Kings roster, said, \u201cQualifying 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Having been selected for the Esports Foundation\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For this year\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s wider content ecosystem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The qualification further highlights S8UL\u2019s growing success across multiple esports titles on the international stage. The organisation\u2019s Pok\u00e9mon UNITE roster also recently secured qualification for the Pok\u00e9mon UNITE World Championships, further strengthening S8UL\u2019s presence across diverse esports ecosystems while elevating Indian representation on the global stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n