
Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will again be on the search for virtual goals for the Black and Reds. The duo are joined this season by the new Bayer 04 eSports talent Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic. The trio are in action in the opening clash against the Hamburg SV console pros from 18.00 CET. The Red Shorts finished second in the North West division last season.
This year's VBL campaign will be played exclusively on PlayStation 5 and the format and assessment of the matchdays have also changed: Every meeting will again involve up to three individual players and be played in a best-of-three format. However, individual matches will no longer be awarded points. The club winning after two or three individual games receive three points in the division table with the losing club collecting no points. In the event of a draw after three individual games both clubs will receive one point.
As with last season, the matchday evening in the VBL CC will consist of a double matchday this term. The games against HSV will be followed by the next meeting from 19.30 CET: The Leverkusen eSports players then play Holstein Kiel on matchday two. The Storks ended last season bottom of the table.

The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
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A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
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For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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