According to sources, S8UL Esports, India’s biggest esports organization, has acquired the VALORANT Challengers South Asia 2025 slot from DUPG Esports, who secured the slot through their performance in Split 3 of the 2024 season. While S8UL’s roster is yet to be finalized, their entry into VALORANT marks a major development for the South Asian scene.
The slot allocation has sparked controversy, with Velocity Gaming’s star player, Ganesh "SkRossi" Gangadhar, criticizing Riot Games for perceived inconsistencies in their rules. SkRossi previously represented Revenant Esports, which had earned a Challengers slot earlier in the year but did not participate in Split 3 after the organization disbanded its roster. Following Riot’s stated policy that slots belong only to organizations, the ex-Revenant roster was not allowed to retain their slot, forcing SkRossi and his current team, Velocity Gaming, to go through qualifiers for the 2025 season.
However, SkRossi has pointed out that Riot’s policies now appear inconsistent. DUPG’s slot has been acquired by S8UL, and Riot has allowed the ex-Orangutan roster to retain their slot despite the organization dropping the team due to financial difficulties. This decision has drawn criticism, with SkRossi stating, “The rules were clear to us—slots belong to the organizations, not players. But now two slots are being handled differently, which seems unfair.”
Meanwhile, the ex-Orangutan roster is actively seeking a new organization to represent while holding onto their slot, further fueling the debate over Riot’s slot allocation policies ahead of the 2025 season.