Nils “k1to” Gruhne will play at IEM Cologne, as the current academy player will have to once again stand in for BIG. He will be replacing Josef “faveN” Bauman, who remains sidelined with health problems.

Ever since being removed from the starting lineup, k1to has had to fill in the gaps with BIG’s main lineup on several occasions. Most recently, he helped the German lineup secure a victory at the Roobet Cup.

Earlier in the season, he had similarly stood in for Karim “Krimbo” Moussa at the Pinnacle Cup Championship and had to fill the role of coach at the BLAST Spring Finals, as Fatih “gob b” Dayik was sidelined with a COVID infection.

k1to joined BIG in early 2020, as the team revamped its roster. During his two-year spell with the team, they managed to win several online events but struggled to translate the same form to LAN.

Update: as @favenCS is still in the process of recovery, we will field @k1tocs for #IEM Cologne 2022.

Gute Besserung Josef! ❤️#GOBIG pic.twitter.com/7Xgf2iWVrq

— BIG (@BIGCLANgg) July 3, 2022

At the start of the year, he was moved back to the academy roster to make space for Krimbo to join the main roster, where he remains on a trial basis.

BIG will start IEM Cologne in the Play-In stage and will hope to build on their recent Roobet Cup victory in their home event.