While the Black and Reds had to enter the play-offs in ninth place in the overall league table, where they defeated SV Darmstadt 98t 98, HSV bypassed the intermediate round with just one point more than Bayer 04 in eighth place.
In front of a large number of opposing fans Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr went behind early on against Hamburg's ‘offline ace’ Henning ‘HHENNING23’ Wilmbusse (10’). After that, the game meandered along before the action picked up after half-time and Wilmbusse created several great chances. However, Sean Landwehr also continued to make occasional attacks - and Patrik Schick equalised in the 80th minute to make it 1-1, which was also the final score. An important comeback to avoid going into the second 1v1 game on the back of a defeat.
Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr came up against Hamburg's Brandon ‘HSV_PERKKIX’ Wüschem, who made a very aggressive start to the game. After just three minutes, there was a setback in the form of an early goal for HSV. But Marc Landwehr did not give up, remained composed and played his game mainly down the flanks. In the closing stages of the first half, the Leverkusen man then scored twice (34', 43'). In the second half, Marc Landwehr finally utilised his routine and vast experience, playing in a cool and collected manner - and thus secured his place in the quarter-finals!
The results at a glance:
Round of 16 VBL CC 2025/26:
Hamburger SV (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘HHENNING23’ 1-1 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘HSV_PERKKIX’ 1-2 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Final score: 2-3
The Leverkusen eSports players are in the quarter-finals on Sunday 8 March. Marc and Sean Landwehr face SC Freiburg, who beat FC Kaiserslautern in the Round of 16, from 14:00 CET. Gianluca ‘SCF_GIANLUCA’ Mautone plays alongside Nassim ‘NASSADA-‘ Dahman, currently the best player in the league, FC Pro Open Top 8 and World Cup entrant.
SCF finished the league phase in first place in the overall table. The eSports team from Freiburg entered the offline round in all five showdowns and progressed to at least the semi-finals each time. They went out in the last four three times, lost in a final against RB Leipzig and earned a win against Borussia Dortmund in the final in the fifth showdown.
All quarter-final matches and all subsequent duels in the final round of the VBL CC will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. Fans of eSports can also watch the event free of charge on site at XPERION in Hamburg. A possible semi-final involving the Black and Reds would start at 16:30 CET. The final for the club title will kick-off at 19:00 CET.
Freiburg’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend left them two places but a whole 10 points behind Bayer 04. Their results in general may be mixed, but Julian Schuster’s side are a force to be reckoned with at home, where they have earned 24 of their 33 points. Leverkusen may choose to look for the aerial route if they’re to get the better of their hosts, who have conceded more headed goals than any other team. Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game in our matchday news.
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A boost for the second Bundesliga away game in a row: The Werkself take on SC Freiburg just three days after the convincing 1-0 win at Hamburger SV. Ahead of the game on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the lessons learned from the rearranged fixture at HSV, a trio on yellow cards and young players like Christian Kofane and Montrell Culbreath.
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SC Freiburg suffered their eighth away defeat of the season in Frankfurt last weekend. But at home, at the Europa Park Stadion, coach Julian Schuster's team are clocking up one win after the next. SCF are unbeaten in the last 16 matches at home. On Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), they will be looking to keep the run going in the clash with the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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