BIG qualify for IEM Sydney

BIG have punched their ticket to IEM Sydney after topping the European qualifier with a 3-0 victory over G2.

BIG advanced to the grand final of the IEM Sydney Europe Closed Qualifier through the upper bracket as they beat Valiance, HellRaisers, and 3DMAX 2-1. G2, on the other hand, became their opponents after defeating 3DMAX in the consolidation final.

The German team had an automatic 1-0 advantage in the best-of-five grand final as they progressed through the upper bracket. Things got even better for BIG as they had an 8-1 start on their T-side on Cache. Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik & company finished the half 9-6 ahead and closed out the map 16-8, making it 2-0 in the series as Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş posted a 2.21 rating.

BIG didn't struggle against G2

The series continued on Dust2 where G2 started on the T-side. The game was tied at 5-5 in the early stages but BIG ran away with the half, leading 10-5 at halftime. BIG's second pistol victory paved the way for a quick 3-0 series victory as the German team won the map 16-12. With this victory, BIG have secured their place at IEM Sydney 2019.

The 16-team event taking place in Australia on April 30-May 5 will have a $250,000 prize pool. The first three invites have gone to FaZe, MIBR and Renegades who will be joined by six other invited sides in Sydney. The remaining six spots will be given out in regional qualifiers.

The team list for IEM Sydney 2019 is below:

Renegades
MIBR
Invite #4
Invite #6
Invite #8
Greater China qualifier
Oceania qualifier
AU/NZ national champion FaZe
BIG
Invite #5
Invite #7
Invite #9
NA qualifier
Southeast Asia qualifier
East Asia qualifier MIBR #8 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloJoão 'felps' Vasconcellos Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş Age: 23 Team: BIG Rating 1.0: 1.23 Maps played: 900 KPR: 0.87 DPR: 0.70 FaZe #4 Olof 'olofmeister' KajbjerLadislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsNikola 'NiKo' KovačHåvard 'rain' NygaardFinn 'karrigan' Andersen Valiance #19 Nemanja 'huNter-' KovačNestor 'LETN1' TanićNemanja 'nexa' IsakovićOtto 'ottoNd' SihvoRokas 'EspiranTo' Milasauskas Fatih 'gob b' Dayik Age: 31 Team: BIG Rating 1.0: 0.85 Maps played: 908 KPR: 0.57 DPR: 0.67 3DMAX #30 David 'Davidp' PrinsTimothée 'DEVIL' DémolonAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussBryan 'Maka' CandaGaëtan 'JiNKZ' Jamin HellRaisers #18 Kirill 'ANGE1' KarasiowAbay 'HObbit' KhassenovÖzgür 'woxic' EkerBence 'DeadFox' BöröczIssa 'ISSAA' Murad Renegades #13 Justin 'jks' SavageAaron 'AZR' WardJoakim 'jkaem' MyrbostadSean 'Gratisfaction' KaiwaiJay 'Liazz' Tregillgas FaZe #4 Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevOlof 'olofmeister' KajbjerLadislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsNikola 'NiKo' KovačHåvard 'rain' Nygaard BIG #15 Fatih 'gob b' DayikJohannes 'tabseN' WodarzTizian 'tiziaN' FeldbuschJohannes 'nex' MagetIsmailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş G2 #17 Audric 'JACKZ' JugRichard 'shox' PapillonKenny 'kennyS' SchrubAlexandre 'bodyy' PianaroLucas 'Lucky' Chastang