Falcons have made their intents of making more drives into the esports territory after the Saudi-backed organization made a shock buy of superstar Apex Legends squad DarkZero.
The organization made the announcement on social media on Tuesday, with days away from ALGS Split Two and months before the next S-tier LAN at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The team will consist of Australian duo Genburten and Zer0, who both joined TSM’s ImperialHal before the buyout happened. The three of them will now, with the trio, represent Falcons for the ALGS NA Split temporarily.
Meanwhile, DarkZero has rejigged their coaching staff with substitute Sikezz, coach ZZ, and analyst Privacy.
“Thank you Zer0 and Genburten for an incredible past two years, you have impacted DarkZero forever. There will never be enough words to describe how much you both mean to us. No matter where you go we will always be rooting for you.” the org said in a statement.
DarkZero had a huge victory at the ALGS 2022 Championship to put Australia on the Apex map. Since then they have won some other titles and a 2023 Split Two Playoffs win while also finishing in second-place at Los Angles’ Split One Playoffs in May, cementing the team’s legacy in the esport.
That DarkZero team will now play under the Saudi Arabian organization Team Falcons which initially showed interests in other top esports titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 in preparation for the Esports World Cup on home soil later this year.
Meanwhile, the Falcons’ engagement in esports has been tagged as “sportswashing” by many pundits and esports fans. Furthermore, the claim is pushed by a perceived backing for the Falcons’ by those beloved to have connections with the Saudi royal family.
Falcons Apex debut will be on June 1 at ALGS Split Two, before playing at LAN in Riyadh at the Esports World Cup in July.
