One of India’s leading e-sports clubs, S8UL on Monday announced the signing of Indian Chess Grandmaster Pranesh M and confirmed its athlete roster across 12 titles for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Riyadh from July 6 to August 23. Pranesh joins Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram, further strengthening the lineup.
Chess made its debut in the EWC last year and makes its return for the upcoming tournament where 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. 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 rosters for EWC 2026
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)
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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
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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)
Last month, the Esports Foundation (EF) had selected S8UL and GodLike Esports, two of India’s leading esports clubs, for its 2026 Club Partner Program. They joined 40 global organisations in a $20 million (approx. INR 189 crore) annual initiative aimed at building a sustainable and connected esports ecosystem.
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Now in its third year, the program provides participating clubs with up to $1 million (approx. INR 9.4 crore) in funding, along with strategic support and international exposure leading up to the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026.
S8UL made history last year as the first Indian organisation selected for the program. The four-time Esports Awards winner has since expanded its global presence across competition and content. S8UL competed at EWC 2025 in Apex Legends, Chess, and EA FC.
GodLike Esports now joins S8UL as the second Indian club in the program. Both organisations will roll out initiatives, including content, creator collaborations, fan campaigns, watch parties, and community events to bring Indian fans closer to the EWC.
