BIG Receives Invitation to ESL One Cologne

​BIG received the second invitation to ESL One Cologne on Wednesday.

ESL invited the German ​Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team to its upcoming tournament with a video posted to its YouTube account. The video lauds the team as fan favorites, playing up each team member with a short highlight from recent tournament performances.

BIG was the runner up at ESL One Cologne, ​falling 3-1 in the finals to Natus Vincere. That team ​received the first invitation to ESL One Cologne 2019 Jan. 23, making the two finalists the only rosters already set to attend.

BIG's roster has changed slightly since it appeared at ESL One Cologne 2018. The team ​replaced Johannes "nex" Maget with XANTARES in a ​controversial acquisition at the end of December.

ESL announced ESL One Cologne's return to the LANXESS Arena on Nov. 27. The organizer plans to invite 10 more teams, plus four more to qualify through competitions, for a total of 16.