Team Qualifies for VALORANT Challengers League but Faces Name Change
A team that successfully qualified for the NA VALORANT Challengers League is facing one final hurdle before competition begins on February 1. The team, known as Squirtle Squad, has been notified that they must change their name due to trademark issues between Riot Games and Nintendo.
Member Peter “Governor” No shared the news on January 25 via Twitter, explaining that the team’s current name infringes on trademarks held by Nintendo. This means they will need to come up with a new name before the start of league play in February.
The team’s use of the Squirtle name and image, which are trademarked by The Pokémon Company, a subsidiary of Nintendo, has led to this requirement. In search of a new name, Governor turned to the fans, asking for suggestions to be considered as the team’s new identity for the Challengers League.
Several replies caught attention, including “Blast-boyz” suggested by Fnatic captain Jake “Boaster” Howlett, which references Squirtle’s evolved form Blastoise. Other suggestions included “Turtle Troop” as an alternative to the original name, and a less appropriate suggestion of “Squirting Squad” that would likely not be approved by Riot.
However, the suggestion that received the most likes, proposed by Squirtle Squad member Anthony “Okeanos” Nguyen, is Moist Esports.
Following the announcement that YouTube streaming superstar Ludwig Ahgren would join Moist founder MoistCr1TiKaL as a co-owner, Moist Esports gained significant attention. Okeanos mentioned both Ludwig and MoistCr1TiKaL in a recent tweet, though they have yet to respond.
With new financial resources and the chance to establish a streamer-owner organization rivalry with DisguisedToast, Moist Esports may seize this opportunity and enter Valorant earlier than expected.
esports, VALORANT, NA VALORANT Challengers League, team name change, trademark issues, Squirtle Squad, Nintendo, Riot Games, The Pokémon Company, Moist Esports, Ludwig Ahgren, MoistCr1TiKaL, streamer-owner rivalry, DisguisedToast