Roaring Bears form first registered BIG fan club in Germany

The well-known German fan-club "Roaring Bears" have created an officially registered entity to expand their support for BIG. Today, the Roaring Bears and BIG met in Berlin to issue a joint statement to support a positive, diverse and tolerant esports fan culture.

By registering in the Berlin Register of Associations, the Roaring Bears have reached a significant milestone in the history of both BIG and the fan club, establishing themselves as an official entity. In the future, the Roaring Bears will play a large role in organizing fan activities in Germany and Europe, while BIG will support them in these initiatives as a loyal partner.

Over the course of the past few years, the Roaring Bears have already shown the world their level of support at numerous events, most memorably with their fan march at IEM Cologne 2022. Their support transcends specific titles, as they have organized fan outings to cheer for our players at League of Legends and Tekken events as well. Through these events, they have gained popularity in the esports world as one of the few organized fan clubs.

As an important first step, the two parties have issued a joint statement where they outlined their mutual values and commitments. While the Roaring Bears will function as an autonomous, independent entity, they will be committed to upholding a positive and tolerant fan culture, and speak out against all forms of hate, racism and discrimination. BIG will establish a Fan Relations department through which it will support the development of both the Roaring Bears and other BIG fan clubs. The two parties will meet face to face on a semi-annual basis for mutual exchange of feedback and planning.

Statement Andreas Wolny, Head of Fan Relations at BIG

Our declaration today with the Roaring Bears as a fan club underlines our shared commitment and understanding of values for a positive, diverse and tolerant Esports fan culture. We believe that it is essential to have an environment where every individual is treated with respect and openness. We condemn hate, racism and discrimination in any form and are committed to ensuring that they have no place in our community.

In this context, we are very pleased to sincerely congratulate the Roaring Bears on the successful establishment of their registered fan-club association. We believe that supporting and promoting the independence and autonomy of fan clubs can make an important contribution to creating a positive and diverse esports fan culture.

Statement Steffen Urmoneit, President of Roaring Bears

This declaration comes from the very core of what we represent. We want an esport that stands for equality, openness and respect – values that we represent both online and offline. Despite all the rivalry and words on social media, our goal is to establish a fan culture in esports that distances itself from violence, negativity and exclusion. Together with BIG, we have captured this here today.

What started as an idea in 2019, we now want to take to the next level. As a registered association, we want to work even harder for esports and its recognition by the public. As far as we know, no fan group in esport has yet embarked on this path. With the e.V. we want to unite fans and create unique experiences with them.

We are looking forward to the next weeks and months and thank BIG for their support during this process.

About BIG

Berlin International Gaming, worldwide known as BIG, is one of the most successful European esport organizations. Currently, the German organization employs professional teams and players in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Quake Champions, Trackmania, StarCraft 2 and Tekken, each of which are among the best in Germany and Europe. The organization’s flagship is the distinguished CS:GO team built around team captain Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz. With millions of spectators and crowded arenas, Counter-Strike is one of the hottest and most prestigious titles in the sport. Since 2017, the German team has established itself among the world’s top teams and celebrates numerous respectable successes.

Besides acquiring a BLAST Premier Partner Slot in January 2021, BIG was able to purchase a partner slot within the elite ESL Pro League in October 2021 after a competitive bidding process in a multi-million dollar deal. Over the past year BIG has participated in some of the largest CS:GO tournaments in the world, such as the IEM Rio Major, which is considered the biggest Major to-date. In total, BIG’s professional teams have won over USD 2,518,000 in prize money.

About The Roaring Bears

Formed in 2019 by a collective of BIG fans, the Roaring Bears are a completely self-organized BIG Fan Club. Over the course of the past few years, their numbers have grown from a few dozen to several hundred active members, with more members applying and joining on a daily basis. Showing their support for BIG’s players and teams both online and in person, the Roaring Bears regularly travel to some of the biggest events in the world to cheer for any participating BIG players.

Running their own social media channels, organizing their own events and even producing their own merchandise, the Roaring Bears have become an integral part of the organization’s ecosystem. Branded after the same Berlin Bear that has inspired the branding of BIG, the Roaring Bears stay close to the image and values of the organization, while still operating independently. Since February 18, 2023, the Roaring Bears have become an official entity by registering themselves in the Berlin Register of Associations.