The objective in showdown four is clear: After two rather disappointing outings, the aim now is to build on the strong performance in the first showdown, which Bayer 04 won. As one of the 16 teams with the most points out of 35 teams in the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds are looking to go through to the offline knockout round to be played in Berlin on 2 February where they will fight for victory in the showdown and further important points for the overall table. The points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per win) and offline rounds (2 per win) of the five showdowns will be added together in this table, which will decide who advances to the final round of the German Club Championship next year.
The first match was against VfB Stuttgart. When Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr lost 3-2 to Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller in the first duel, the match appeared to have got off to a false start. But that was the only defeat on the night! Against Dylan ‘DULLENMIKE’ Neuhausen, Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr stayed calm and collected as he produced a goal fest. In the end, he secured victory in match number one with an 8-3 scoreline and the first three points in 2026.
The duels against Hannover 96 continued, with Sean Landwehr and Djamal ‘DJAMALJNR’ Golla playing out a close game that gradually turned in Bayer 04's favour. After being level at 1-1, Sean took a 5-2 lead. Two more goals from Hannover made it exciting again, but the 5-4 win was good enough for Sean in the end. Marc Landwehr then followed up by beating Mustafa ‘XMUSTI19’ Cankal 7-0 - with everything from fantastic free-kick goals and long-range strikes to impressive counter-attacking goals as a result of quick transitions.
The perfect start to the new year and showdown four still needed a win against FC Augsburg - and the Landwehr cousins secured it in a commanding fashion. Sean Landwehr took a 3-0 lead against Yannic ‘YANNIC0109’ Bederke. The Leverkusen player responded to two Augsburg goals by scoring two more - in the end it was 5-2. Marc, who was in outstanding form, then gave Niklas ‘NIKLASRANK’ Rank no chance as he delivered the next resounding victory. The score was 7-1, with the Leverkusen player again impressing with a composed performance and impressive strtikes. Leverkusen made a perfect start by picking up nine points. They are currently second in the Showdown Four table and seventh in the overall table.
Showdown four results:
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 1
VfB Stuttgart (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DENIS’ 3-2 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘DULLENMIKE’ 3-8 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 6:10
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 2
Hannover 96 (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DJAMALJNR’ 4-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘XMUSTI19’ 0-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 4:12
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 3
FC Augsburg (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘YANNIC0109’ 2-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘NIKLASRANK’ 1-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 3:12
The #B04eSports players are next in action with the final three matches of the preliminary round. They face FC Kaiserslautern, RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg. The current German club champions and Showdown Three winners await the Landwehr cousins in Leipzig, following on from some memorable moments against the team from Saxony last year. More on this in the lowdown on our next opponents on Tuesday.
The matchday kicks off at 18:00 CET and the games will be broadcast live as usual on the Leverkusen Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app.
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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