Riyadh Falcons Sign Alluka on Loan From FaZe Vegas, Bench Pred Ahead of Champs
In one of the more surprising roster moves heading into the biggest tournament of the season, the Riyadh Falcons have confirmed a loan agreement with FaZe Vegas to bring in rookie Flex Mohammed "Alluka" Bindal for Champs. The move comes with a high cost: Amer "Pred" Zulbeari, the Falcons' starting SMG and a 2024 World Champion, has been benched heading into the biggest event of the year.
The timing & who was benched have raised eyebrows across the community. Falcons enter Champs off the back of a season that never quite lived up to the expectations set by their aggressive offseason spending, and swapping out a proven Major-winning veteran for a player who hasn't logged a single CDL map this year is as bold a bet as any team has made this year.
Who is Alluka?
Alluka was originally signed by FaZe Vegas as a substitute early in the season, brought in on the strength of a hot Challengers run that made him one of the more talked-about rookies heading into the season. Since then, he's spent the year developing in Challengers rather than getting reps on the CDL stage, with the org opting to keep him in reserve rather than rotate him into their lineup during a season in which Vegas has firmly positioned itself as one of the league's top contenders.
That inexperience is exactly what makes this move to Riyadh notable. Alluka arrives at Champs with zero official CDL matches played, asked to step directly into the toughest environment of the season for a team that needs him to perform immediately.
Why bench Pred?
Pred has been a fixture of the Falcons roster since he was signed mid-season last year, bringing a Major MVP and World Championship pedigree to the org's SMG position. Benching him now is a significant risk for the franchise and signals that the Falcons' front office & coaching staff believe something has to change if they want to make a real run at both Champs & the Esports World Cup.
Reporting ahead of this move indicated the Falcons were exploring changes to their lineup as early as late June, with the front office weighing a shake-up before ultimately deciding that Pred, rather than another piece of the roster, would be the one to sit. A separate deal that would have brought in SMG Travis "Neptune" McCloud alongside Alluka reportedly fell through in the days that followed, leaving Alluka's loan as the lone move to survive from what was originally a broader shakeup.
Falcons' Champs roster
With the move official, Riyadh Falcons will head into Champs with:
