Indian esports organization S8UL (https://s8ul.gg/) has qualified to represent India at the Pokémon UNITE World Championships 2026. The team secured its position after winning the India Qualifier of the Pokémon UNITE World Championship Series 2026.
The global tournament is scheduled to take place in San Francisco from August 28 to 30, where competing teams will vie for a share of the USD 500,000 prize pool, approximately INR 4.7 crore. This marks the fourth occasion S8UL has qualified for the global event, a record for an Indian team. Out of five Indian qualifiers held to date, S8UL has won four.
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S8UL Tournament Performance and Team Roster
The India Qualifier followed a double-elimination format, with all matches played as best-of-three series leading up to a best-of-five grand final. S8UL’s roster, led by captain Manmohan Singh (All Might), includes Anklesh Satelkar (Novaa), Darshan Nate (Kai), Naitik Jain (Wolf), and Md Sarim Hasan (Qing).
S8UL commenced its campaign with a 2-0 victory over Anti Secure in the upper bracket quarterfinals. The team then proceeded to defeat GodLike and Team QML by identical 2-0 scores in the upper bracket semifinals and final, respectively. In the grand finals, S8UL faced Revenant XSpark, securing a 3-2 victory. For their win, S8UL received USD 15,000, approximately INR 14.1 lakh, from the qualifier’s USD 25,000 total prize pool.
Manmohan Singh, Captain of S8UL’s Pokémon UNITE team, commented on the victory, stating that the competition continues to improve, requiring discipline, clear communication, and quick adaptation. He expressed pride in the team’s performance and the opportunity to represent India internationally.
S8UL’s Expanding Presence in Esports
This qualification adds to S8UL’s recent competitive achievements across various titles. Earlier this year, its BGMI roster won the BGMI India Series (BGIS) 2026, and its MOBA Legends 5v5 team secured a victory at the Rai Star x Gyan Gaming Cup. Grandmaster Nihal Sarin also achieved a win at the Menorca Open, while the VALORANT roster claimed VCSA Split 1, and the Honor of Kings team won the Kings Arise India City Tour – Mumbai title. Additionally, S8UL’s Apex Legends roster recorded a top-five finish at the global ALGS 2026 Championship, which is the highest placement for an Indian organization in that title.
S8UL has also been selected as a Club Partner by the Esports Foundation (EF), positioning it among 40 global organizations representing their regions at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026. The organization plans to pursue qualification across 13 titles for the EWC 2026, including Apex Legends, Battlegrounds Mobile India (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.
These results underscore S8UL’s continued activity within the esports landscape and its role in Indian competitive gaming as detailed in recent [esports industry news](https://technosports.co.in/).
