Dustin “DuDe” Großmann is taking a break from coaching BIG's CS:GO team for personal reasons.
Following Dexerto's report, the organization's CGO, Christian Lenz, this will see assistant coach Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić replace him in the upcoming tournaments. LEGIJA had already run BIG between 2018 and 2019 when the Germans had a diverse roster and have played for them in the past. He's been on the sidelines since January 2021, when Envy put the entire CS:GO division on the transfer list, but has been working behind the scenes as BIG's assistant coach since May, according to HLTV.
DuDe became head coach of BIG in January 2021, after a three-month term as an assistant. It's unclear how long the hiatus will last at this time, but BIG is expected to miss the PGL Stockholm Major, which kicks off on October 2 if they earn enough Regional Grand Ranking (RMR) points to qualify for the $23 million tournament.
LEGIJA's debut will be in the BLAST Premier Autumn Group B, which will take place from September 20-22. The Germans will face off against Ninjas in Pajamas, G2 and MIBR in the Fall Finals. At the end of the month, the last RMR event, the team will have some time to prepare for IEM Fall Europe. BIG recently played in season 14 of the ESL Pro League and finished their campaign in Group C with a 2-3 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.