A professionalValorantteam was forced to change their name over issues with Nintendo’s trademark. They are currently in the process of choosing a new name before competing in the upcoming North AmericanValorantChallengers League in February.Formed in January this year, the North American team known asSquirtle Squadis composed of Peter “Governor” No, Matthew “WeDid” Suchan, Mohammed “Harmful” Choudhary, Anthony “Okeanos” Nguyen, and Jack “Add3r” Hayashi. Most of the players made names for themselves in the past when they played for various tier 1 and 2Valorantteams, such as NRG, XSET, and TSM Academy. After an impressive last-chance qualifier run during theValorantChampionship Tournament (VCT) Challengers qualifier round, Squirtle Squad is gearing up to go up against some of the best teams in the region starting February 1st.RELATED:Riot Games Comments on Porting Valorant to Other PlatformsHowever, just a week before the tournament, Squirtle Squad team captain Governor tweeted out that they need to change their name due to an alleged conflict of interest betweenRiot Gamesand Nintendo, and asked his followers to give suggestions of names they can use during VCT Challengers. In a follow-up tweet, he quickly clarified that they were flagged for trademark issues as their team name was a reference fromPokemon, which is a Nintendo original title. As of writing, he and his teammates hasn’t announced their new name.
There were some interesting suggestions under Governor’s tweet, which included otherPokemon-related names, like “Charming Charmanders,” “Blast-boyz,” and “Bulbasaur Bros.” Meanwhile, Okeanos suggested that they should be signed underMoist Esports, the organization owned by YouTube content creators Charles “Cr1TiKaL” White Jr. and Ludwig Ahgren, since it hasn’t signed aValorantteam yet. Although Ludwig acknowledged the fact that fans want them to sign Squirtle Squad, he said they have yet to decide on whether Moist will enter theValorantscene in the future.
Nintendo is known for its strict copyright policy, which oftenimpacts YouTube channels like Did You Know Gamingthat use clips from the company’s games. In a way, it comes as no surprise that Squirtle Squad was eventually flagged for using aPokemon-related team name as they go into a professional esports tournament. However, longtime Nintendo fans might also see this as another case of the company ruining the fun for others because of its strictness.
Whatever happens, Governor and his teammates were more than willing to cooperate, and their fans are expecting an equally memorable name from them. Perhaps they will consider “Turtle Troop,” as one follower suggested.
