North American team BloodThirstyKings (BTK) has switched from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) to join the Honor of Kings (HoK) esports ecosystem.
The move follows a dispute with MOONTON Games, the developer of MLBB, resulting in the team’s disqualification from the MLBB Mid-Season Cup when representing S8UL.
In recent years, BTK has become a prominent name in mobile esports after strong performances across several international MLBB tournaments. In 2021, it scored a third-place finish at the M3 World Championship, cementing the North American side’s place as one of the best teams in the world.
In May 2025, BTK was acquired by Indian esports organisation S8UL Esports to compete at the MLBB Mid Season Cup, taking place as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the event, MOONTON Games disqualified the team from competing after allegedly breaching the event’s rules. The disqualification was related to Jang ‘Hoon’ Seong-hun and Michael ‘Mobazane’ Cosgun competing in an Honor of Kings event in June.
Following the disqualification, BTK switched from MLBB to Honor of Kings and is set to be one of the first North American teams to compete in the highest tier of competitions. The team remains unchanged from the roster that competed in MLBB esports.
Although the team won’t be competing at the Esports World Cup, it will be attending the King’s World Cup in collaboration with Level Infinite and TiMi Studios.
What Next For Honor Of Kings Esports?
Once the Honor of Kings World Cup has concluded, attention turns to the Kings Pro League Grand Final, where 12 Chinese teams will compete for a chance to be crowned champion.
The Grand Finals of the tournament will take place in the Beijing National Stadium, making the event the joint-largest esports final to be held in China. The 91,000-seater stadium previously held the Grand Final of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship.
