The ties in the eCup will – similarly to the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) – be played on a best-of-three basis. First up are two 1 vs 1 games. The Leverkusen eSports players Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will first individually meet an opponent from FC 08 Hassloch from the Rhineland Palatinate. If there is no overall winner from these two games then a third will be played as a 2 vs 2 to decide the winner. The winner in the first round proper will progress to the second round of the competition.
The games in the tie between FC 08 Hassloch in the first round proper of the DFB eCup will be streamed on the Bayer 04 Twitch channel as well as the Bayer 04 app.
The DFB eCup is a statewide virtual football competition run by the German Football Association (DFB). In addition to eSport professional players, amateur teams from Germany can also take part. The first round proper brings together the winners from the qualifying rounds and eSports players from the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). The Bayer 04 eSports team ended the North West division of the VBL in seventh place.
Forthcoming fixture dates:
Second round: 26 April
Round of 16: 25 May
Quarter-finals: 16 June
Semi-finals and final: 17 June
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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