BIG Clan’s journey at IEM Katowice 2025 has come to an end following a decisive 2-0 loss to 3DMAX in the tournament's lower bracket.
The German squad fought valiantly throughout the event, but their run came to a halt against the surging French lineup, who delivered an outstanding performance to secure their spot in the next stage.
BIG Struggle on Their Own Map Pick
Ancient was once again a problem for BIG in Katowice. The map has been a thorn in their side throughout the tournament, and the trend continued against 3DMAX. Despite being well-prepared, they were unable to capitalize on their defensive setups. BIG was leading 9-6 on their CT-side, until it all fell apart. 3DMAX went on a 7-2 run, stealing BIG's pick 13-11 in heartbreaking fashion.
3 bullets. 4 kills for @Makazin_#IEM pic.twitter.com/YSlw8TfFTt
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 2, 2025
"We stood right, we were pretty much in the right spot every time," Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz admitted after the loss. "They hit us with good executes and we didn't hit our shots. We lost on B three times where we had three players, we even killed the first guy, and then it collapsed."
IT'S ALL @Makazin_ AS HE ENTERS B#IEM pic.twitter.com/8o24GOSYJ2
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 2, 2025
This inability to close out winnable rounds haunted BIG all game long, particularly on said CT side. That struggle also carried over to Inferno, where 3DMAX’s relentless aggression and well-structured play left them little room to recover. 3DMAX ran away with that map too, leading 9-3 at the half and winning 13-6 in dominating fashion.
BIG Show Signs of Progress, Despite the Exit
BIG’s tournament began with a disastrous 0-2 loss to Wildcard, where they fell 0-12 on Ancient in the first half. However, they bounced back in impressive fashion, securing victories over Imperial fe and HEROIC to advance into the main stage. Their resurgence suggested they could make a deeper run, but Ancient once again proved their downfall in the second stage. After dropping their own pick against FaZe in a tight 1-2 loss, history repeated itself against 3DMAX, sealing their fate in Katowice.
Out of katowice, painful but still a good showing for the First LAN together. Need to step up in the Future in Games like these...See You in Cluj and thanks for the Support
— Jon de Castro (@JDC_CS) February 2, 2025
Despite the disappointing finish, BIG’s newest additions, Can "kyuubii" Ali and Marcel "hyped" Köhn, showed promise. The roster changes injected fresh energy into the team, which had struggled for consistency at the end of 2024. There were a lot of positive vibes, no matter what the score was, and German CS fans can be cautiously optimistic looking ahead.
Reflecting on their performance, tabseN remained positive about the team’s progress: "Right now, I don't know what happened, but as you mentioned, yeah, until this point it was very good," he said. "I'm still proud of the boys, it was a very good showing. It was the first LAN tournament with them, and I'm still proud."
Heads up, captain! pic.twitter.com/Qc5geyQ4EV
— BIG (@BIGCLANgg) February 2, 2025
While their IEM Katowice journey ends in disappointment, the revitalized squad has shown flashes of potential. With more time to develop, this iteration of BIG could become a more dangerous force in the competitive CS2 scene. Their next LAN-event will take place at PGL Cluj-Napoca, kicking off February 14.