CHESS
Esports World Cup 2026: S8UL confirms national, international athletes across 12 titles
S8UL, having announced the signing of Indian chess Grandmaster M. Pranesh, confirmed its athlete roster across 12 titles for the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC).
Pranesh joins Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram, further strengthening the lineup.
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 (~INR 14 crore) prize pool from August 11 to 15. With the defending champion automatically qualifying along with two players from the Speed Chess Championship 2025 and one from the 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 15th, 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 (~INR 711 crore) prize pool.
S8UL’s EWC 2026 roster across disciplines. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
S8UL’s EWC 2026 roster across disciplines. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
S8UL’S EWC 2026 ROSTER
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)
Chess - Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin, M. Pranesh
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)
-Team Sportstar
Published on May 04, 2026