
The #B04eSports-Team with Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr and Sean 'Sean_LDW07' Landweh finished the first half of the season on six points in fourteenth place with just one win to their credit. That did not live up to their own expectations. The Black and Reds are looking to secure a second win against Hamburg SV on Thursday, 23 January brackets at 20.30 CET.
The Hamburg team are currently ninth on ten points in the VBL CC table in the North West division. Three points would underpin the current ambitions of the Leverkusen eSports players to qualify for the play-offs, as well as sending out a message to the competition at the start in 2025. They are currently four points behind Werder Bremen who are eighth in the lowest position of the play-off places. The match can be followed on Twitch, on the Bayer 04 app or live in the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
Five days later, on Tuesday 28 January, there is Matchday 11 at 21.00 CET, which is the first offline matchday in 2025 as well. All clubs in the division travel to Dortmund to face each other. For the #B04eSports team the opposition is SC Preußen Münster. They are currently two points above the Black and Reds in twelfth spot.
Markus Hüttemann is the second eAcademy player alongside Justin Schwier to join the Leverkusen VBL squad. The youngster can officially take part in VBL CC fixtures from the start of the Rückrunde. Markus has been a member of the eSports section under the Cross since September. Selection had to wait until his 16th birthday according to DFL rules.

Standing on the pitch where the Werkself players perform - for many Bayer 04 club members, this wish became reality at this year's Members' kickabout. Around 400 active participants of all ages took the opportunity to experience the BayArena from a new and special perspective. And there was also plenty going on in the stands: The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors in total and provided an atmospheric end to the season.
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Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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Following the final match of the 2025/26 season, the prevailing feeling was naturally one of disappointment after missing out on qualification for the Champions League. The Werkself finished the Bundesliga in sixth place, meaning they'll start the 2026/27 campaign in the Europa League. "But to talk negatively about everything now because of that would be wrong," stressed captain Robert Andrich following the final game, knowing that the past year at Bayer 04 was marked, more than almost any other, by the start of a new era and the courage to change – and in particular, the belief in a positive direction. Everyone was aware this process would need time. The first part of the 2025/26 season review.
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