While things are going well for BIG at the DreamHack Masters internationally, the team also triumphed nationally and cheered at the debut of the Merkur Masters.
With 2:0 (16:3; 16:8) on Vertigo and Mirage against Alternate aTTaX, the lineup around Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz secured the title in the starting season of the new tournament.
On the way to the final the German showpiece team beat the Unicorns of Love 2:0 (16:8; 16:13). As the best placed team in the HLTV ranking, BIG was seeded for the semi-finals, as was Sprout as the reigning winner of the ESL Championship.
However, the offspring lost their semi-final against aTTaX by a narrow margin of 1:2 (16:11; 13:16; 10:16) and after a 2-0 win (16:14; 16:3) against UoL they at least finished third and thus earned themselves 5,000 Euros in prize money.
Champions once again! 🏆
We come out on top in the @MerkurMasters grand final after a strong showing on both maps! Thank you for tuning in, and GGWP to @ATNattax! #GOBIG pic.twitter.com/6MfugCtYZR
— BIG (@BIGCLANgg) May 24, 2020
National tournament crown
With 45,000 euros for each of the first two seasons, the Merkur Masters are aiming for first place in the national competition alongside the ESL Championship (40,000€) and 99Damage League (10,000€). BIG is not playing in either of these competitive events.
Title sponsor is the Gauselmann Group. Its brand “MERKUR Casino” is the market leader in the gambling industry in Germany and, according to its own statements, provides more than 300 “entertainment centres”. Thus, a slot machine was also part of the product placement in the official stream to the tournament.
