BIG parted ways with head coach Fatih “gob b” Dayik ahead of IEM Dallas, the German organization announced Saturday.
Assistant coach Alexander “kakafu” Szymanczyk of Austria will take over for BIG.
The 36-year-old gob b previously competed in Counter-Strike before pursuing a career in Valorant. The German served as a coach for BIG Academy and BIG before the organization let him go.
“Following a decision by the organization, gob b is stepping down from the role of head coach,” BIG wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The decision was made after the ESL Pro League. In the meantime, kakafu will take over his position. We appreciate all your hard work and the impact you had on BIG since 2017.”
BIG finished in 13th-16th place at the recently completed ESL Pro League Season 19.
In his own posts on social media, gob b made it clear the parting wasn’t mutual.
“I have given everything for the development of our team since I was asked to come back,” he wrote. “Despite difficult circumstances and difficult decisions, I have always worked with the resources available and, together with the players, achieved and sometimes exceeded expectations.
“Our last goal was the EPL playoffs, which we achieved. With this knowledge, I was of course already working on further plans and analyses and was accordingly shocked when this change was initiated by the majority of the players.
“I don’t know what the future holds. First I have to process the current feelings and need some time to recover from this.”
BIG’s all-German roster consists of Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz, Florian “syrsoN” Rische, Karim “Krimbo” Moussa, David “prosus” Hesse and Jon “JDC” de Castro.
–Field Level Media
