LEGIJA steps down from BIG; keev benched

5-2-2018 21:15

BIG's roster has been depleted to just three players as Nikola "LEGIJA" Ninić has decided to step down from the team, while Kevin "keev" Bartholomäus has been moved to the bench, the German organisation has announced.

The announcement comes in response to the team's disappointing campaign at the ELEAGUE Major, where they went out in the New Legends Stage with just one victory from four matches.

Nikola "⁠LEGIJA⁠" Ninić will remain involved with the squad as BIG's new Head of CS:GO, assisting Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik and coach Alexander "⁠kakafu⁠" Szymanczyk with his "great experience and leadership", the German organisation noted, while Kevin "⁠keev⁠" Bartholomäus will continue to support the team from a backup position.

LEGIJA and keev are no longer on BIG's starting roster

These are the first roster moves made by BIG since the creation of the team, at the beginning of 2017, when the organisation paired the three former German players of NRG with Johannes "⁠nex⁠" Maget and keev, who were signed from mousesports and ALTERNATE aTTaX, respectively.

BIG made waves in the scene later that year after winning the Europe Minor and finishing top eight at PGL Major Krakow. But since then the team have been through a rough patch, which culminated with elimination from the ESL Pro League and a 12th-14th place at ELEAGUE Major Boston.

"Although we finished 2nd at DreamHack Denver and ESWC Paris in October and November, we weren’t completely satisfied with our performance since August 2017 and started to work on possible solutions before the ELEAGUE Major preparation started," a BIG statement read.

"The practise results were promising, the team worked extremely hard and we also regained confidence. Unfortunately, the results in Atlanta didn’t show all those efforts and we didn’t reach the playoffs in Boston.

"After intense evaluations of the current situation and under consideration of all possible alternatives, we came to the joint conclusion that a roster change will help our team in the upcoming leagues, qualifiers and tournaments."

Regarding the future of the team, BIG revealed that they are currently "testing possible candidates" to fill the two vacancies, with more news expected soon.

BIG's roster now looks as follows:

Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik
Johannes "⁠nex⁠" Maget
Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz

Alexander "⁠kakafu⁠" Szymanczyk (coach)
Nikola "⁠LEGIJA⁠" Ninić (Head of CS)

Kevin "⁠keev⁠" Bartholomäus (backup)

+++ CS:GO ROSTER UPDATE +++ pic.twitter.com/oGfyLRSx4K
— BIG (@BIGCLANgg) February 5, 2018

finally

2018-02-05 21:17

4 replies

2018-02-05 21:18

GOOD. LEGIJA WAS TRASH

no BIG no BIG lul

2018-02-05 21:19

#stolt

2018-02-05 21:20

lul

3 replies

expected but not expected. family my ass lul.

1 reply

They keep both in the team

2018-02-05 23:43

Rip BuG

2018-02-06 01:21

Goddammit

Legija stepped down from the starting 5, he's still part of BIG.

2 replies

so keev is. for now.

2018-02-05 21:22

they own part of the org

2018-02-05 23:47

Yessssss

Amennnnnnnn

Wtf???

FINALLY LUL

Holy fk the shuffle is real

Expected

My Teeeaaam :(((

FeelsBad

+denis +ayken

+ayken +syrson actually

2018-02-05 21:39

2018-02-06 12:58

lmao. +krystal and denis or spiidi?

Why would they take in a bot when they just got rid of one? krystal is worthless

2018-02-05 21:21

idk maybe because nobody would want to join them.

Syrson best german awp atm

2018-02-06 00:57

Lmao I just watched Krystal drop only 7 frags and lose against Qb Fire while all 4 of his teammates dropped 20+

2018-02-05 21:41

HF guys

rip

BIG TIER 1 NOW

3 players = TIER 1 OMEGALUL

Better than Legija and Gob B

gob is still in roster tho

2018-02-05 21:23

LUL

who are they gonna get?

WAAAT

WTF?????

5 replies

haha rip big fanboys

rude

how is that rude. what are you a little bitch?

2018-02-05 21:24

Laughing about someone's pain is rude cutie. Furthermore try to end a sentence, which is obviously a question, with a question mark not a point. :) bitch

2018-02-05 21:26

"pain"

2018-02-05 22:11

Expected F<T-S

FINALLY FFS OMG IT WAS SO LONG PLS FIX THIS GERMAN FUCKFEST

+ who?

No BUG No WIN

about fucking time they got rid of these two useless fucks

ez 4 big now

TIER 4 TEAM

+Spiidi +Denis

6 replies

Not realistic, they need an awper

they just contracted by sprout. i don't think it will be any sprout guy

2018-02-05 21:29

2018-02-05 21:33

Hope so too. When they contract Nato how I expect Sprout will have a nice fire power. Maybe the Org let some Sprout players go, because they know gob, tabsen, nex really well.

2018-02-06 00:22

even though BIG takes spidi and denis who's gonna awp? keev is best awper in scene. i don't know why did they bench him maybe something personal

2018-02-06 04:07

I think there are a lot of good AWPer in the german scene who could play on the level of BIG. In my opinion keev is not the best AWPer in the german scene, but Im also a kRYSTAL fan so:) .Also funny in my Opinion that they dont want to buy Players out of there contracts *hust*: Keev, Nex, Kakafu. Maybe they have no money anymore.

2018-02-07 22:08

Finally bot legija gone

still better than turk goat molesters

2018-02-06 07:38

not really... any SS player > legija

2018-02-06 12:59

I thought this would never happen. finally

OMEGALUL

Now remove gob b tabsen next , and u are ok

kick star player LUL

He is done , check his performance at major .. Tabsen off

tabsen is top class player. don't forget this is a team game and he has gob b and LEGIJA in his team. i would even say nex because he is inconsistent af.

2018-02-05 21:30

U do realize tabsen is the only one trying to win in this team? Just like s1mple in navi

wtf abiii?

ayken ?

there goes his career lul

expected

after twenty raped games , they finally do that . +1

Sad

What is head of cs

I think management/support of the csgo team. Like analyst or assisting the coach or whatever

they also owners of the org. you can't fire yourself so >>> Head of CS lel

2018-02-05 21:32

HAHAHAHAHA MH new nickname then

9 replies

namechange incoming for you!!

7 replies

Any Suggestion?

as a mouz fan maybe add_dennis_ffs :D

My old name

Done, ty =D

2018-02-06 18:46

u mean denis ? our lord and savior

2018-02-06 07:43

add_LEGIJA_ffs suits well

"disband_BIG_ffs" cause many HLTV Users dont like them so they like you

Änder doch einfach zu kick_gobb_ffs oder carti :>

2018-02-06 06:24

nex out to?

BIG to become competitive again? monkaS

+denis +someone else

Finally some fucking good news

wow!

Funny. keev was scrimming with BIG just 1 1/2 hours ago.

What about the WESG finals now?

They should be fine, since they still have 3 of the 5 that qualified them. And keev is only benched, so he would be available at the WESG finals if they need him.

But you have to be one nationality to play at wesg

2018-02-05 22:37

they will prob pick up germans

2018-02-05 23:05

Its finally fucking happening RIP krystal about to get cucked of his players again lol

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD HEHEHEHEHEHEHE

RIP ?

FINALLY

BUG LuL

nex was missing from the post and i found nothing about him so i started to worry wether it was just a mandela effect and he doesnt even exist and im mental

had a formatting issue. apologies

I forgive u admin =D go BIG

2018-02-05 21:27

nice!

HAHAHAHAHA SERBIAN CS WHERE U AT NOW

Hes German Kappa

2018-02-06 00:58

Berlin international gaming What a bad name

Dennis and kyrstal i guess

+bug +bug

+denis +zehn

OMG BOTB FINALLY LEAVING BOTIJA

Where's nex

+shroud +n0thing ez top10

+DOG HUNDEN

Sweet now +2 random german puggers since every known german player has been given multiple chances for what should be top german teams and theu all proved theyre either inconsistent or just straight up trash

2018-02-05 21:25

+syrsoN +spiidi/denis

why syrson

He has improved a lot since last year and he can awp really good. I think they should try him out

2018-02-05 21:28

RIP Legija's pro career At the same time, tabseN has some time to catch his breath from all that weight he had to carry around

8 replies

if you look at it from realistic pov who tf can they add...

Might try picking up Sprout members, but I doubt they'll be successful

We have already seen denis and spidi against better teams nato can be successful doe idk if he speaks german you still need one player,I could arguably say stfn but.....

what do you mean? denis did well on qualifier

2018-02-06 13:03

and how denis did through all the years he was in mouz?

2018-02-06 14:47

denis is very good ever since NiKo left why are you bringing out the past???

2018-02-06 17:44

I'm not bringing out the past, I'm just stating the facts... When you have 5 players who can't frag 1 or 2 will start performing it's always like that,if all of them would underperform they would lose every match 16 0... look at styko in hellraisers and styko in mouz for example...

2018-02-06 17:50

they're called big for a reason, no skinny kids allowed

Legija is literally the dumbest pro out there

keev is worse than whiffZz

NO BUG NO BIG

but who do they even pick up if they want to keep it german?

k1to + Lyght

2018-02-05 21:35

+ denis + Lyght/Syrson i call it

GIVE SYRSON AND K1TO PLEASE!!!

19 replies

Syrson and Denis i think

dont really wanna see denis ... rather spiidi or a guy like ecfn, stfn, k1to, kressy, faven, alexr ... from the lower german teams ... but syrson should be safe because he is just the best german awper atm

2018-02-05 21:34

syrson is overrated

16 replies

say me another awper from germany

15 replies

idk dude but they have mroe insides than us

12 replies

i could only think about krystal but he doesn't want to play awp anymore ... so germany hasnt got awpers ... keev and syrson are the best possible atm in the german scene at least

11 replies

chrisJ would be so awesome :/

10 replies

never thought about this tbh ... :o but he doesn't really like to speak german ... and also BIG couldn't attend at the WESG then ... or have to play with stand ins ...

2018-02-05 21:42

who cares about one tournament dude

2018-02-05 21:43

free prize money lol

2018-02-05 21:44

i know but having a standin is not a big problem tho

2018-02-05 21:45

or just let chris become a german citizen like we did with legija :D

too late tho

2018-02-05 21:46

fack :l

pls let dennis join mouz for cj and styko be igl please

2018-02-05 21:55

dont really believe chris is leaving mouz for big ...

2018-02-05 21:57

maybe he gets kicked because tbh chrisJ is a bad igl

T R O U B L E E Y

2018-02-05 23:00

2018-02-06 06:27

ENDLICH!!!!!

no wonder, they were trash

tabsen god

2018-02-05 21:31

legija head of cs?! wtf lol

just like an analyst ...

bot legija for analyst. great idea.

2018-02-05 21:36

his skill wasn't good enough for the top tiers ... but his brain isnt that bad ... he coached a team at a major one time i guess ... forgot which one but i will look

2018-02-05 21:37

he coached the old kinguin at the major with maikelele, dennis, fox, rain and scream at the esl one cologne 2015

no big no bug

nice

Why keev ? Why not nex, because nex was reaaaally underperforming. keev has been average but better than nex overall. LEGIJA had to go anyway, he was never good enough to fight against tier1. +stfN ? +syrsoN ?

Yes...-nex

2018-02-05 21:38

Idk they`ve lacked so much of a firepower. But who can they add? I guess some young players, but jesus, pls, do not add some washed up pro`s like Krystal or whatever

big is not a good team they were the surprise of the last major and they couldnt stay in T1 any longer (QBF exact same thing mark my words)

Maybe +spidii +zehn is the most realistic options rn

rip the major legends xD

About fucking time Legija.

about time

team of one major xD

+denis +kHRYSTAL

And what would be the alternatives ? Only option is to merge with sprout and there aren't players on that team that can be considered that much of an upgrade

There are a lot of lower tier german players they can sign, like syrson (awp), k1to, ecfn, stfn, troubley...

2018-02-06 06:28

+REASTEN +DENNIS

how dumb do you think dennis is to go join this shitshow who can't play without bugs? have some respect for him.

+denis +spidii confirmed

2018-02-05 21:40

+dennis

legija is the problem, deserved kick. keev is alright, just his chairs may be expensive as he is rumored to break a lot of them.

LEGIJA was a problem yes, but keev? German shuffle incoming

+denis and zehN, perhaps konfig

+k1to +ayken

+Spiidi +cajunb

-nex +k0nfig +dennis +Jugi

you idiots?

2018-02-05 21:50

Would be nice

2018-02-05 22:00

ez natosaphix

would be nice but can he even speak english?

2018-02-05 23:07

Essentially every dane can. Might even be able to speak German, he should atleast know the german basics.

2018-02-06 13:42

I hope they dont go international

Imo, they should've gotten rid of kakafu and try a new "coach". Often works wonders. -legija, alright but who is there to replace keev? He had decent impact and there are literally no awp players in Germany..at least I don't know any good ones as a German.

2018-02-05 21:47

+JDM INC Kappa

2018-02-05 21:49

Keev to sprouts?

+dennis +shroud

2018-02-05 21:51

+ w0xic + lowel

2018-02-05 21:52

noooo... unexpected, rip keev

2018-02-05 21:53

no bug no big

Even though I'm sure they have a reason I find it weird that they benched keev.

2018-02-05 21:58

rip bug

2018-02-05 22:01

penta core is back? lul (mouz also) +dennis +Spiidi

2018-02-05 22:02

wtf is (Head of CS)

2018-02-05 22:04

fucking finally

2018-02-05 22:10

unexpected

can't believe LEGIJA will continue to steal paychecks as "head of CS" lul

+ayken +stfn ez t1.5

2018-02-05 22:12

+dennis +cajunb

2018-02-05 22:13

Add cosmeeen and smooya

2018-02-05 22:15

gob b 0.84 rating omfg

2018-02-05 22:16

He is really good and a great igl

2018-02-05 22:30

this shows how much u know about CS in general :)

2018-02-05 22:38

so you're saying he's good ? why his team sucks then ? why didnt he do anything relevant since krakow major ?

2018-02-06 00:28

that shows that you don't know shit about cs being IGL doesn't mean you have to be trash at cs

2018-02-06 11:25

time to find a new bug

2018-02-05 22:17

keev was their biggest problem. one of the most overrated awp players ever I said this many times and finally most people realize it too. Hopefully they will not sign a player like krystal this would be another mistake.

2018-02-05 22:23

+1 keev was the biggest problem

2018-02-05 22:40

biggest literally

2018-02-05 22:55

Hmm idk if really overrated maybe he just couldnt find into the heavy tactical style by gob, he was really good when he played in attax

2018-02-05 22:44

youtube.com/watch?v=X2icXzXuqNM

2018-02-05 22:28

LEGIJA Head of CS:GO, you mean head coach??

the new big boss

2018-02-05 22:45

Finally

2018-02-05 22:31

+ denis + aykeN

2018-02-05 22:34

yes its no problem play with proven cheaters this days anyway +1

Finally Legija was horrible

2018-02-05 22:43

+troubley inc

2018-02-05 22:59

Last year 3-0 and almost finals This year rip :( I hope this shuffles works

Mouz should try to get tabsen instead of dennis

Both dennis and tabsen are riflers and they wont want to do the work styko does.

2018-02-06 06:30

+Troubley

Legija deserves a better team honestly, i feel bad for him.

2018-02-05 23:12

+spiidi and denis

2018-02-05 23:18

Till today I didn't know that BIG = Berlin International Gaming :3

2018-02-05 23:26

2018-02-05 23:33

another change ResidentSleeper RIP CS:GO

2018-02-05 23:36

please +tiziaN and +syrsoN gob and tabsen core is strong, nex can step up huge we all know but he has to get consistent. or go international good free agents atm

2018-02-05 23:51

finally disband

2018-02-06 00:04

BIG ayken BIG k1to

2018-02-06 00:36

they have to find another BUG to compete again. eks dee

2018-02-06 00:51

i'm surprised they weren't sitting on bench considering how heavy they are

2018-02-06 00:55

2018-02-06 00:56

-keev - LEGIJA +csdev + csdev . To find a new BUG

2018-02-06 01:00

can't do shit without bugs, garbage "team"

2018-02-06 01:02

keep keev in the roster get dennis from sprout instead of legija

2018-02-06 01:12

no BUG, no BIG

2018-02-06 02:30

They should just stop the whole team. There are no good cs go players in germany, so they should switch to other games.

2018-02-06 03:33

because there are no players in germany who can contend on a top 5 level, they should disband? do you even know what you are suggesting? by that measure 3/4 of the world needs to quit any given sport :D

2018-02-06 06:48

There are no because they keep paying the same old fuck dudes... there are plenty of talented german players with balls for the big stage in faceit/esea

2018-02-06 09:20

+2 bugs and back to tier 1 gg

2018-02-06 03:42

really good news

2018-02-06 03:50

+smn +cLy

2018-02-06 04:58

Finally lol

2018-02-06 05:45

keev should not have benched lol there is no other option from germany

2018-02-06 06:00

no bug no big LMAO

2018-02-06 06:04

2018-02-06 06:25

+GABEN

2018-02-06 06:26

Wtf keev is 26? I thought he was much younger

2018-02-06 06:31

inb4 +denis +spiidi

2018-02-06 07:28

tbh all Big members except tabseN should step down.

2018-02-06 07:46

-gob b +inferno bug -nex +cache bug -tabseN +cbble bug -LEGIJA +Mirage bug -keev +train bug EZ TOP1

2018-02-06 08:19

They already have their awper in GOD SolEk, maybe Troubley joins too

2018-02-06 08:23

finally this bot

2018-02-06 09:01

-gob b please He still thinks this is 1.6 not csgo... his fucking slowpaced no balls playstyle sucks. Talented players like tabsen and nex are much better used with more freedom given to them.

2018-02-06 09:18