BIG take their OMEN Academy project to the next level

Becoming four years old this year, our Academy project together with OMEN is one of the most successful ones in CS:GO. We look to continue that success as we welcome back one of the greatest talents in Germany: Karim "Krimbo" Moussa. Joining him from our 2021 line-up is Nico "Aqua" Kembitzky and David "prosus" Hesse. Rounding out the roster are Elias “s1n” Stein and Marcel “hyped” Köhn, who have both shown great potential in national leagues.

Standing behind the team as the head coach will be former BIG. OMEN Academy ingame leader Markus “Anhuin” Paeseler, who will be using his tactical prowess to guide the team forward. These changes mean we are parting ways with Alexander “glaVed” Pletz, Luca “pr1metapz” Voigt and Niklas “NIKZEj” Burmeister. All three of them have been key in our 2021 successes, and we wish them the best of luck for their next chapter!

The past few years have shown the importance of academy teams and developing talent internally, which is something that we will continue with OMEN with maximized efforts. This change marks our biggest investment in our Academy team since its inception, as we hope to already bring strong results in the upcoming ESL Meisterschaft and WePlay Academy League seasons. Together with OMEN, we will continue building the foundation for our future CS:GO operations.

Statement Daniel Finkler, CEO

Having invested a multi-million dollar amount in our CS:GO operations by purchasing both BLAST Premier and ESL Pro League Spots over the past 12 months, the development of our BIG. OMEN Academy Team has become more important than ever. In order to be successful in the long term, scouting and promoting the greatest esport talents is a key success factor. I am therefore very pleased that we will be able to continue to expand our investments in talent development together with OMEN in 2022. We will start the new year with some of the strongest talents from the DACH region and I am looking forward to the results of our BIG. OMEN Academy Team in the WePlay Academy League and the ESL Championship by 99Damage. #GOBIG

About the BIG. OMEN Academy Team

Since joining forces with OMEN to support young talents, an intensive five-week application and casting phase in October 2018 resulted in the official BIG. OMEN Academy team unveiled to the public. While evaluating hundreds of applications, replays and motivation letters and sifting through selected talents, the team of experts from BIG and OMEN looked for the perfect line-up.

Since then, our Academy project has brought home incredible results at a national level, and have left their mark internationally as well in various cups and events. Winning Season 15 of the 99Liga, the team have also qualified for both ESL Meisterschaft Spring 2022 and ESEA Advanced. Joining the WePlay Academy League as founding partners in 2021, the team have successfully reached the LAN Finals of both seasons so far. Their competitive efforts over the years have netted them a total of $47,175 in winnings already.

Entering 2022 we have restructured our BIG. OMEN Academy team, keeping heavy hitters prosus and Aqua from the original line-up, and welcoming back one of the greatest talents of Germany in Krimbo. Young talents s1n and hyped round out the roster, making the strongest roster competing under the academy banners so far. We are now looking to challenge for the WePlay Academy League trophy, and continue our meteoric growth in national and international leagues.