BIG have been very active in the roster change department recently for their Counter-Strike 2 team, adding a new AWPer and now making the surprising decision to bench their star player and add a new IGL.

The outgoing player, Karim “Krimbo” Moussa, has been the highlight of what has been a difficult few years for BIG. Once touted for big moves away from the German organization before signing a multi-year contract extension in late 2023, it’s a surprise to see the team move away from him, given the fact that he is the team’s highest-rated player in the last three months.

Krimbo Replaced by Academy IGL

In his place arrives Lukas “FreeZe” Hegmann, who has been promoted from BIG’s academy team. A 27-year-old with little to no tier one experience, there will be plenty of hope from German CS fans that the untested leader can step up to the plate.

That change also means that Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz will relinquish the IGL role after taking over as leader when Faith “gob b” Dayik retired in 2019. This isn’t the first time he has attempted to do so, however, there were plans for Elias “s1n” Stein to become the IGL in 2023 before he was benched and sold to M80.

In a statement posted alongside the moves, BIG’s CGO, Roman “Roman R.” Reinhardt explained:

“As we set the course for the coming season, I want to be transparent about the ‘why’ behind these moves. FreeZe brings a new structure and a fresh perspective to our in-game leadership, while tabseN’s role change ensures his influence remains central to how we play with all his experience and dedication for BIG.

“After extensive dialogue, Karim and we reached a joint decision to pause his participation in the active lineup. I am sure that whatever his next step may be, he will continue to perform successfully at the highest level and appreciate his dedication and the standard he has set. He has our gratitude and our support.”

After 1319 days and a joint decision between @KrimboCS and us we decided to move him out of the active roster.

He has been an integral part of our history and words can't say how thankful we are for his contributions.@FreeZe_csgo will take his place and act as the new IGL of… pic.twitter.com/ytoozBurx7

— BIG (@BIGCLANgg) October 12, 2025

BIG’s recent activity in the transfer market is the result of what has been a difficult 2025 for the team. They started the year 18th in the Global VRS rankings, but have now slipped all the way to 38th after getting trapped in the unpredictable land of online CS2.

To address this slip, the team recently promoted David “prosus” Hesse from their academy team in favour of Can “kyuubi” Ali, as well as making the difficult transition to switch to English communication by signing Gleb “gr1ks” Gazin from HEROIC.