
In two groups of 16, the eSports pros from across Germany first competed in the Swiss Mode. The first four rounds were drawn out at random and then the players played round for round against participants with the same record of wins and defeats. The Leverkusen eSports player Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr ended the games in the first group in tenth place on Saturday 10 June. Kayacik played at the same time in the second group ending his games in seventh place.
The two Leverkusen players Landwehr and Kayacik each then faced each other after the group stage on Sunday 11 June, Kayacik won 1-0 to progress to the Round of 16. The Black and Red eSports player then lost 1-0 to Khalid ‘KHALIDGRL03’ Gürel (VfL Wolfsburg) and thereby missed qualification for the last eight in the VBL Grand Finals 2023.
The VBL Grand Final:
The 32 best eSports player in Germany competed in the VBL Grand Final after qualifying via the VBL Club Championships or in the play-offs in the VBL Open. The prize money was €100,000.
Results:
Landwehr in Group 1
Two games won, two games lost
Kayacik in Group 2
Two games won, two games lost
Round of 32
Landwehr against Kayacik: 0-1
Round of 16
Gürel against Kayacik: 1-0

“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.
Show more
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.
Show more
“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.
Show more
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...
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more