#B04eSports: Aiming to secure direct entry to the offline round against Bayern and Co.

Bayer 04 are currently in third place in the Showdown Five table with nine points from the first three preliminary round matches. The offline round will take place in this final showdown on 22 February in Stuttgart. As usual, the 16 teams with the most points out of the 35 teams in the preliminary round will advance to this round.

In the overall table, where points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per game) and offline rounds (2 per game) are totted up, the #B04eSports team are currently in eighth place with 58 points. After this fifth showdown, the overall table will decide who progresses to the final round of the club championship on 7/8 March (direct qualification for places 1-8, play-off round for places 9-24).

1. FC Nürnberg: Bottom side of the overall table first up

To kick off the matchday, it's 1. FC Nürnberg in the fourth match of the preliminary round. The side from Central Franconia are currently in 35th and last place in the overall table with five points, the weakest defence (276 goals conceded) and the worst goal difference (-133). Of the 28 matches they've played so far, they've won just one. As a result, FCN have not yet managed to progress to an offline round. Things are also looking rather bleak in this fifth showdown: Zero points in four preliminary round matches so far means they're in 32nd place in the Showdown Five table.

The FCN eSports player stats:

1. FC Magdeburg: Table leaders in terrific form

They then play 1. FC Magdeburg, who, like Bayer 04, won their first three games of this preliminary round, but are ahead of the Black & Reds in first place in the Showdown Five table due to their superior goal difference. In the overall table, they're in 14th place with 47 points. The eSports players from Saxony-Anhalt have taken part in just one offline round, in the second showdown. Back then, they made it all the way to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund.

The FCM eSports player stats:

Bayern Munich: Already qualified for the final event

Bayer 04 face FC Bayern in the final showdown of this season's preliminary round. The Munich side are currently fifth in the overall table with 73 points and have already secured their place in the final event for the German Club Championship. The gap to ninth place (VfL Bochum 1848, 54 points) is 19 points. The FCB eSports players featuring former Leverkusen player Furkan ‘FURKYPLAYZ’ Kayacik (2021-2023 at Bayer 04) have yet to win a showdown. However, with the exception of Showdown One, which as we all know the Black & Reds won, they did take part in the offline rounds of all the other showdowns. In the second showdown, FC Bayern lost to SC Freiburg, who are currently top of the table, in the quarter-finals, while in the third showdown, they lost to the same opponents in the semi-finals. Last time out, the Munich side were defeated in the final by Borussia Mönchengladbach, who had previously beaten Bayer 04 in the semi-finals.

The FCB eSports player stats:

Matches live on Twitch

You can follow the matches of the Leverkusen eSports team HERE on the Virtual Bundesliga Twitch channel, where all the games on the matchday are broadcast live. The matches start as follows.

Fixtures at a glance: