Sources: Team BDS Secure Boukada from SK Gaming for €200,000

After weeks of negotiations between SK Gaming and Team BDS, the two teams have finally reached an agreement: Team BDS have secured the signing of Jungler Mehdi "Boukada" Lahlou, sources tell Sheep Esports. To finalize the transfer, Team BDS are set to pay SK Gaming a buyout close to €200,000. The reasons behind the high price tag for a player with a few months left on his contract, and the lengthy negotiations, will be explained in this report.

In search of a jungler after mutually parting ways with Jungler Doğukan "113" Balcı, Team BDS have been actively exploring options. Very early in the offseason, they already started tryouts with Boukada, along with a few other junglers — namely, highly decorated Jungler Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski and BK ROG Esports' Jungler Enes "Rhilech" Uçan.

Unfortunately for Rhilech, his situation was very similar to that of Toplaner Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin. With roster lock set for July 9th, LEC teams were concerned about not being able to secure a German visa in time for the Turkish player. Nevertheless, for Team BDS, this probably didn’t change much, as Boukada was always their priority.

With Boukada being their number one option, Team BDS reached out to offer SK Gaming a buyout in order to sign the player. At first, numbers below €100,000 were discussed, but they eventually reached amounts well above that threshold. SK Gaming and Team BDS could not reach an agreement after several discussions. On Sunday last week, it seemed negotiations had reached a dead point.

For SK Gaming, receiving this buyout money could have helped them acquire their desired solo laners. Indeed, following the benching of Toplaner Janik "JNX" Bartels and Midlaner Steven "RKR" Chen, SK Gaming reached out to various ERL teams to acquire new solo laners. For example, SK Gaming asked Misa Esport for the buyout of Toplaner Baek "Mihile" Sang-hwi, but the buyout was too high for SK.

However, as negotiations with Team BDS didn’t work out, SK Gaming decided to lock in solo laners who were free to pick up without a buyout: Toplaner Park "DnDn" Geun-woo and Midlaner Felix "Abbedagge" Braun. Interestingly, Abbedagge particularly preferred to join SK Gaming if Boukada was part of the team. Both sololaners joined the team on Monday this week.

On Wednesday this week, following Sheep Esports’ reports of DnDn and Abbedagge joining SK Gaming, both organizations re-entered discussions for Boukada. Eventually, they managed to reach an agreement on an amount nearing €200,000, close to numbers that had already been previously discussed.

It was surprising for SK Gaming not to find an agreement at first, as Boukada desired to join Team BDS — especially as he only had one split left on his contract with the organization.

Team BDS aren’t paying such a huge amount just for one split, though. They will be signing a new contract with Boukada that will last until the end of 2026, proving the Swiss organization’s willingness to commit to the player. With this move, they have now finalized their roster for the upcoming summer split.

Per sources, this sale won’t affect SK Gaming’s offseason decisions, as they remain committed to DnDn and Abbedagge. However, with a jungler spot now open, they have begun exploring multiple options. Sheep Esports will keep you informed once a final decision is made.

It’s hard to say if SK Gaming are winning in this final deal for Boukada — many LEC teams factor in mid-jungle synergy heavily when making offseason decisions, and it is unclear whether they will find an ideal match for their roster. However, while not without risk, they have successfully raised the buyout number from what was initially discussed.

Toplane: Park "DnDn" Geun-woo
Jungle: TBD
Midlane: Felix "Abbedagge" Braun
AD Carry: Tim "Keduii" Willers
Support: Kim "Loopy" Dong-hyeon

Toplane: Shin "Rooster" Yun-hwan
Jungle: Mehdi "Boukada" Lahlou
Midlane: Ilias "nuc" Bizriken
AD Carry: Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon
Support: Polat "Parus" Furkan Çiçek

UPDATE: The General Manager of SK Gaming, Mitch "Krepo" Voorspoels, commented this report on Reddit: