“Honoured, I’m honoured to be sharing the stage amongst all the top organizations and holding this [Esports Award] feels amazing,” said Naman “MortaL” Mathur, co-founder of S8UL Esports, moments after walking off stage in Las Vegas having received the Esports Content Creator of the Year, presented by Xfinity award on behalf of his organisation.
For MortaL, collecting awards from us was becoming a regular habit. In 2022 S8UL won the Content Group of the Year award, at the first ever Mobies earlier this year the group was honoured with the Global Impact on Mobile Gaming award and just a few weeks ago took home the Esports Content Creator of the Year, presented by Xfinity award.
The success at our events mirrors the success S8UL has had over the past few years, quickly becoming one of the largest content groups in the esports world. You may not be overly familiar with their content, but in their home region of India, the members of the group are quickly achieving mainstream celebrity status thanks to the content they produce, which is watched by millions.
The group was founded when MortaL’s Team SouL merged with 8bit to form a content and esports group that was focused on the mobile scene in India. MortaL was a pro PUBG Mobile player, achieving some significant success in the scene and winning major events, but he started to transition into the content creation world where he found massive success, and that put a strain on his time as a pro.
“It was a bit difficult for the team, along with me, to perform because I had to travel a lot,” said MortaL. “What me and my team decided was [that] we can give it a try and focus on content. Let’s focus on building S8UL as a content team and we’ll obviously have a [pro] team which will be playing esports separately. And it worked for us.”
The idea worked, with MortaL focusing more on the content side of things and taking a backseat in the esports division. Along with many other creators who are a part of the group, the views and followers started to pour in and soon S8UL became the brand for competitive mobile content, and just content surrounding the stars involved. It’s a similar model to how FaZe Clan found success, with the original stars becoming major influencers while the pro side of things going in its own direction, still overseen by the big names who founded it.
But for MortaL himself this success in the content world, and having to co-manage a massive business meant he had little time to play PUBG Mobile, especially at the high level that he was known for. Now his role is well outside of playing in top tournaments on a regular basis, although he would like to return when he gets the chance.
“I totally miss being a pro player,” said MortaL. “ It was just a few months back I was on social media saying it feels so bad that I’m not able to perform right now, and I cannot play being a pro player because of so many obligations, because of travelling a lot.”
All the success that S8UL has found has made them an influential voice in the mobile gaming scene. From highlighting new talent to pushing games forward and trying to build up the mobile and Indian esports scenes on the global level the group has quickly become a name you need to know and listen to.
The West doesn’t hear about the thriving mobile esports scene as much as it should, but it is an industry that is thriving with massive player counts and impressive tournaments. S8UL is leading the charge when it comes to widening the global awareness of the Indian region, and it’s very likely it will keep growing and growing.
“Gaming right now, it’s just the beginning in India,” said MortaL. “That’s the best part, you know? We still gotta dig deep in India, but it’s just the beginning now.”
With two Esports Awards and a Mobie in the S8UL trophy cabinet, the group is already one of the most successful ever when it comes to our award shows and its impact on the industry should not be understated. When it comes to mobile gaming and content creation in India there is no bigger brand, and the group has been responsible for growing the mobile esports fan base massively. Now as the group becomes more known in the Western world, it only feels like a matter of time before it becomes a truly global player in the industry, and probably picks up a few more awards while doing so.
