Mortal Criticizes Krafton India Awards 2025, Branding Nominations “Shitty”
- Sagar Mankar
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
The Krafton India Awards 2025, the first-ever esports and gaming awards show by Krafton for the Indian BGMI community, has drawn sharp criticism from popular content creator and S8UL co-owner SouL Mortal.
Nominations were announced around November 25, 2025, for categories honoring top influencers, creators, esports players, commentators, and hosts, with the invite-only ceremony set for January 9, 2026, in Mumbai. But instead of celebration, the lineup has sparked backlash.
During a live stream, Mortal unleashed a rare, unfiltered rant, calling the nominations "shitty" and questioning their legitimacy: "I’m sorry to say, but these nominations are shitty. How is Joker not nominated? How is Aman in the ‘Rising’ category? This is completely bullshit. Who is operating this, and what are they even doing? The authenticity is dropping completely."
His main grievances centered on two S8UL creators: "Joker," a key team member not nominated in any major category like Influencer of the Year, and "Aman," with over 1 million YouTube subscribers, placed in the rookie-focused "Rising Creator" category alongside lesser-known names like Admino, ZGod, Mamba, and Saumraj.
Mortal, who is himself nominated for Influencer of the Year (alongside Jonathan, Snax, Scout, Lolzz, and Shreeman), even offered to "operate" the nominations himself for better results, emphasizing a perceived drop in "authenticity."
Here's the full list of announced nominations (fan voting is open via official links):
Influencer of the Year: Jonathan, Mortal, Snax, Scout, Lolzz, Shreeman
Rising Creator: SMR, Aman, Mamba, Admino, Zgod, NoobPari, Saumraj
Favourite Creator (Male): Jonathan, Scout, Dynamo, Lolzz, Sayip
Favourite Creator (Female): Kaashvi, Payal, SharkShe, Dobby, Mizo
Best IGL: Jelly, Aaru, Saumraj, Omega, Punk
Rookie Esports Athlete: Levi, Devotee, Thunder, Kalyug, BeardBaba
Esports Commentator: Spero, Mazy, Ocean, Ra1, Ankii
English Commentator: Nekrouu, Icybaby, Jonny, Fyxs, Salty
Host of the Year: Rohit Varghese, Surej Sundaram, Sameena, Dharshita, Ravin Kundu
Esports Player of the Year: Jonathan, Goblin, Nakul, Admino, Akop
Clips from Mortal’s stream blew up on X and Instagram, stirring mixed reactions. Fans praised his “ruthless” honesty and pushed for fair voting, with one commenting, “Goat speaking facts.” Meanwhile, critics accused him of bias or S8UL favoritism, saying, “Him being nominated himself just shows how rigged it is.”