Spotlight on the Top 20: BIG
2020 was a fantastic year for Berlin International Gaming.
In this series, we take a look at the teams that finished 2020 in the Top 20 rankings. Today we take a look at number 4.
Name: BIG (Berlin International Gaming)
Origin: Germany
BIG was definitely one of the biggest surprises of 2020. The German team started the year as number 46 on the world ranking but during the summer they reached the number one spot. A huge accomplishment for the roster.
Roster:
Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz
Tizian "tiziaN" Feldbusch
Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş
Florian "syrsoN" Rische
Nils "k1to" Gruhne
Transfers:
In: Florian "syrsoN" Rische (Sprout)
In: Nils "k1to" Gruhne (Sprout)
Out: Owen "smooya" Butterfield
Out: Johannes "nex" Maget
Highlight of the year:
The three tournament victories in DreamHack Masters Spring, cs_summit 6, and DreamHack Open Summer elevated BIG into the number 1 ranking in the world. There they stayed for a month and a half. An impressive feat for the Germans, who had successfully revitalized the team during 2020.
Low point:
The early exit of ESL One Cologne came in the wake of their fantastic summer making the last-place finish on home soil even more disappointing. Especially painfully was the opening defeat in the hands of their fellow Germans from Sprout.
The Future:
BIG ended 2020 on a high note. At IEM Global Challenge BIG defeated Astralis, Team Vitality, and Furia before being knocked out in the Semi-Finals by Team Liquid. A good showing from the German team, who qualified for the tournament due to a withdrawal from Chaos.
It will be interesting to see, how the German team will fare in 2021. They clearly needed a break after a very tournament heavy 2020. Their first tournament will be the German Championships on the 17th of January.
