Cover-Credits:
Although S8UL Esports has established itself as one of the most successful Esports organizations in India, it has not yet acquired any international players/rosters and expanded internationally. In a recent livestream, Siddhant “Sid” Joshi revealed why S8UL has not yet hired any international players and discussed the organization’s international expansion.
Sid reveals why S8UL does not hire international players
When a viewer asked Sid why S8UL does not hire players from Southeast Asia (SEA), he revealed the reasons and difficulties behind the same. He said getting an Indian business visa is very difficult, and bringing players to India on a visit visa is not convenient. He also mentioned that the players must return to their country every three or six months if they come to India on a visit visa.
Sid said, “Bringing SEA players to India is close to impossible. There are a lot of Visa issues, as it is hard to get an Indian visa. Organizations have to bring players on a visit visa, as it is very tough to get a business visa.” Following this, he added, “Depending on what part of SEA they are from, they must return home every three or six months because of a visit visa’s expiration, then bring them again.”
He further added that visa issues also attract problems from the government, so S8UL does not want to acquire any player/roster from SEA yet. However, he stated that if the organization manages to come up with a suitable strategy to deal with the issues it shall look into the hiring process for SEA.
Sid said, “It sometimes also leads to problems from the government. That’s why we do not want to enter the SEA route right now.” He stated, “If we get a solution for it, we will look into SEA rosters in future.”
Following this, he added that if the roster ends up competing only in India, S8UL does not want to grind so hard and invest so much.
“But also, we don’t want to grind so hard to enter Valorant that we get players from SEA or other regions. I don’t think the grind is worth it right now just to compete in India. At some point, maybe in the future, but not right now,“ said Sid.
Sid stated that when Animesh “Thug” Agarwal and Lokesh “Goldy” Jain believe that S8UL has conquered the Indian market, the organization will expand globally. Furthermore, he added that when the time comes, it will enter accordingly and appropriately in a grand fashion..
Sid said, “I’m pretty sure that S8UL will expand internationally. When Thug and Goldy think that we have conquered the Indian market, and decide to go international, then we will enter properly, not in a rush. We will make a remarkable entry into the global market.”
