It began with the so-called Swiss stages. Each eSports player played five games with at least three having to be won to qualify for the knockout stages. Sean Landwehr lost his first two games against Tom Leese from Hashtag House (1-2) and Ibra6577 (3-4). The Leverkusen player mounted a strong comeback by winning the next three games – including a runaway 6-0 win against Perkkix from Hamburg SV. Landwehr progressed to the knockout stages.
Two wins in three matches were required to qualify for the group phase in the FC Pro Open. The first opponent was Paolo Neto (Atalanta United FC/USA), who came through the Swiss stages with a perfect 5-0 record making him the top player in the tournament. Sean Landwehr suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat despite an impressive performance.
The second match against Tekkz (Manchester City/England), one of the most successful players in recent years in the FC scene, went to penalties. The Leverkusen player again lost out narrowly and went out of the tournament.
Marc Fiedler, responsible for the eSports section at Bayer 04, said after the event in London: "After the unsuccessful start in the Swiss stages, Sean mounted an impressive comeback. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the end but here at Bayer 04 we are very proud of his display and his performance over the whole tournament." And he added: "The full focus is now on the VBL. Bochum are next up on Thursday and we are certain that Sean together with Marc will build on his performance at the FC Pro Open to bring three points back to Leverkusen."
On the FC Pro Open:
The FC Pro Open Global Qualifier is an offline tournament that takes place in London. 63 eSports players from across the globe take part in the event and compete for a place in the FC Pro Open. Five games are played in the Swiss mode, of which three have to be won, to qualify the second day of the tournament. Here two knockout games have to be won to secure a place in the FC Pro Open.
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
Show more
Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
