BIG has finalized the acquisition of Can ‘kyuubii’ Ali from fnatic and elevated academy player Marcel ‘hyped’ Köhn, the German organization revealed on Tuesday. These two players will replace Rigon ‘rigoN’ Gashi, who has departed, and Florian ‘syrsoN’ Rische, who has been benched, following the conclusion of the 2024 season.
This is the latest instance that hyped has been elevated by BIG to take syrsoN’s place. In February 2023, he was promoted to the main roster, but four months later, he was reassigned to the academy team when the organization brought in Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski.
‘hyped’ dedicated the following eight months to competing with BIG Academy. In February 2024, he was sent on loan to ALTERNATE aTTaX, where he made notable appearances at the IEM Cologne Play-In Stage and the IESF World Championship.
‘kyuubii’ makes a comeback after nearly eight months on the bench of fnatic. Joined from Sangal in November 2023, the German player faced difficulties in his performance while with the British organization and played his last match for the team at ESL Pro League Season 19 in May.
The German team is aiming for a solid beginning to the 2025 season following a disappointing year where they had difficulties advancing far in major tournaments. BIG’s initial challenge will be the BLAST Bounty Season 1, set to begin on January 14.
BIG Announcement
BIG roster is as follows:
- Johannes ‘tabseN’ Wodarz
- Jon ‘JDC’ de Castro
- Karim ‘Krimbo’ Moussa
- Marcel ‘hyped’ Köhn
- Can ‘kyuubii’ Ali
- Alexander ‘kakafu’ Szymanczyk (coach)
- Florian ‘syrsoN’ Rische (benched)
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