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27.01.2026eSports

#B04eSports: Reunion with Leipzig in part two of the Showdown Four preliminary round

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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With nine points, Bayer 04 are currently in second place in the Showdown Four table. To advance to the offline round, which this time takes place in Berlin on 2 February, a finish in the top 16 out of 35 is required. In the offline round, the teams can earn additional points in the overall table. The points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per win) and offline rounds (2 per win) of the five showdowns are added together in this table, which will decide who makes it to the final round of the German Club Championship next year.

FC Kaiserslautern: With the highest-scoring eSports player in their squad

The matchday begins with a clash against Kaiserslautern, who are 19th in the overall table and fourth in the Showdown Four table. FCK played the first four of their six preliminary round matches last week, winning three of them and therefore have a good chance of reaching an offline round for the first time. In Lauryn ‘LAURYNLIUTKUS’ Liutkus, FCK currently have the most prolific scorer of all 94 eSports players who have played so far (5.5 goals per match). However, with four goals conceded (71st out of 94), the Kaiserslautern player is also somewhat vulnerable at the back.

FCK eSports stats:

Lauryn ‘LAURYNLIUTKUS’ Liutkus (4 games)

1.8 points per single game (13/94)

5.5 goals per game (1/94)

4.0 goals conceded per game (70/94)

Omeed ‘OMEED’ Hakimi (22 games)

1.2 points per game (56/94)

3.4 goals per game (40/94)

4.0 goals conceded per game (74/94)

 

Ruben ‘BOWN28’ dos Santos Pereira (18 games)

1.4 points per game (49/94)

3.9 goals per game (19/94)

3.2 goals conceded per game (30/94)

RB Leipzig: Big clash with top eSports team

RB Leipzig, the top team in German eSports for years, are the opponents in the next match. The Saxons have already won the club championship three times and more often than any other team, including last season. RBL faced Bayer 04 in the final, which they won by the narrowest of margins. The first rematch between the current club champions and runners-up took place in the final of the first showdown in October, when the Landwehr cousins came out on top. However, the Leipzig team also won the third showdown. They are currently in first place in the overall table, but they had imagined a different start to the current fourth showdown: RBL picked up just three points in the first three games, meaning the club is facing elimination in the preliminary round for the first time.

Leipzig's eSports players, who are at the top in numerous stats, can prevent this. In Levy Finn ‘RBL_LEVYFINN’ Rieck, the current German individual champion, as well as Alihan ‘RBLZ_ALIHAN’ Hadzhi and Umut ‘RBLZ_UMUT’ Gültekin, Leipzig once again have three of Germany's best eSports players in their ranks this season.

 

RBL eSports stats:

Alihan ‘RBLZ_ALIHAN’ Hadzhi (16 games)

2.5 points per game (1/94)

5.1 goals per game (2/94)

2.8 goals per game (14/94)

 

Umut ‘RBLZ_UMUT’ Gültekin (21 games)

2.4 points per game (3/94)

4.5 goals per game (6/94)

2.5 goals conceded per game (5/94)

Levy Finn ‘RBL_LEVYFINN’ Rieck (23 games)

1.4 points per game (46/94)

3.3 goals per game (46/94)

3.3 goals conceded per game (38/94)

SC Freiburg: Finishing against another top opponent

A strong opponent also awaits in the final match of this online preliminary round. SC Freiburg, third overall in the table and just one point behind leaders Leipzig, are currently in sixth place in the Showdown Four rankings and have picked up nine points from their first three games. The results of the previous showdowns are also impressive: The team from Breisgau have always made it through to the offline round, twice to the semi-finals and once to the final. In the two previous showdowns, they were defeated by the eventual winners: FC St. Pauli in showdown two in the semi-finals and Leipzig in showdown three in the final. In the first showdown, they also lost to RBL in the semi-finals, with the Saxons losing to Bayer 04 in the final.

SCF eSports stats:

Gianluca ‘SCF_GIANLUCA’ Mautone (30 games)

1.8 points per game (15/94)

4.1 goals per game (12/94)

3.4 goals conceded per game (44/94)

Nassim ‘NASSADA-’ Dahman (31 games)

2.1 points per game (6/94)

4.9 goals per game (4/94)

3.4 goals conceded per game (47/94)

Luca ‘SCF_LUCA’ Schirinzi (1 game)

0.0 points per game (91/94)

3.0 goals per game (58/94)

4.0 goals conceded per game (72/94)

Matches live on the Bayer 04 app and on Twitch

If you want to follow the games of the Leverkusen eSports team: All the matches will be broadcast live HERE on the #B04eSports team's Twitch channel. The duels can also be watched live on the Bayer 04 app. The matches start at 18:00 CET.

 

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