In an interview with HLTV, new BIG coach Alexander "kakafu" Szymanczyk revealed that the decision to replace Fatih "gob b" Dayik was made by the club's management, not the players, as the former coach had claimed. The Austrian specialist, who previously served as an analyst, said he received the promotion offer on the day of the official announcement.
"This decision came from the management. On the day they decided to remove gob b, they asked me if I was ready for this task and if I wanted to participate in the upcoming tournaments, and that's how I ended up here. I have no idea how the players were involved or what was written on Twitter."
kakafu was not given specific goals upon becoming head coach. However, he noted that he aims to lead the team to the next major tournament – Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.
"Like any club, if you qualify for a major, you're in the game; if you don't, you're out. I think that can be considered a goal, and the closer we get to it, the better. If you make it to a major, you rise in the rankings, get invitations to tournaments, and everything is generally fine. Moreover, franchise leagues are ending in 2025.
I don't know how everything will turn out, but I think the major will be decisive. The club will evaluate all of us, including me, so we'll see. If we go to Shanghai, that's good; if not, it's bad."
Currently, BIG is in the United States participating in IEM Dallas 2024. The German team started with a loss to NAVI and will play an elimination match against FlyQuest next.