TabseN ahead of IEM Cologne: “If we manage to go to the arena, everything can happen.”

The seventeenth edition of the prestigious Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO tournament has just kicked off, this time on the home ground of the German squad BIG. The Roobet Cup Champions hope to repeat BIG’s appearance from Cologne in 2018, where the team reached the Grand Final.

Going into one of the most prestigious events in CS:GO calendar, the players of Berlin International Gaming are encouraged by their recent victory at the Roobet Cup, where they beat the current world’s top team FaZe Clan. According to the words of the team’s IGL Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz, they feel motivated, with their recent achievements “pushing them even further”. 

Towards success game by game

However, rather than going into the event with wild expectations, tabseN and his team will try to stay in the present and progress through the tournament step by step, always pointing their focus towards the next following game. 

“My expectations are game by game,” said tabseN during the ESL Gaming’s press conference ahead of IEM Cologne. “First is play-ins, then next game after next game and then we will see what happens. If we manage to go to the arena, then everything can happen.” 

He compared the competition to the previous IEM edition which took place in Dallas, United States — the home country of Cloud9. Despite the fact that the current Cloud9 roster fields only CIS players, the audience in Dallas vigorously cheered them all the way to the stage, where they rewarded fans with a clean Grand Final victory against ENCE.

“We saw it in Dallas with Cloud9”, said tabseN. “One of the reasons [for C9 victory] was surely the crowd. There are many tournaments where obviously the crowd is helping the teams, so I’m looking forward to just get the tournament started and keep rolling.”

Hopes to repeat the success from ESL One Cologne 2018

TabseN and Tizian “tiziaN” Feldbusch still remember what it was like four years ago at ESL One Cologne 2018, when they and the rest of the BIG roster back then reached the Grand Final. Despite finishing second after a loss against Natus Vincere, it still counts as one of the club’s biggest achievements in CS:GO. 

TiziaN recalled that thrilling day: “Obviously we remember the crowd, we remember how the whole Cologne went crazy after we got into the final. After every game, we went on the stage and the audience was on fire. Hopefully, it’s going to be the same again.”

According to tabseN, the current BIG lineup have what it takes to achieve the same success. “It was a dream which came true and hopefully, we will also be able to spend our dreams with this team as well because they deserve it,” he said. “Of course, it’s a dream of every German player to play in this kind of tournament with this kind of crowd and hopefully, we will be able to make it true.” 

Indeed, the charm of a live audience can bring an electric atmosphere and with it sometimes also phenomenal plays and unforgettable esports moments. Maybe the hype induced by a crowd of their fellow countrymen is exactly what BIG need to succeed in this event.

Header: BIG