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.
Job done: the Bayer 04 eSports team defeated SV Darmstadt 98 in the play-offs to secure their consecutive participation in the VBL Club Championship final. The journey continues now for Leverkusen on Saturday 7 March (from 17:00 CET) with a last-16 encounter at Hamburger SV.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the second leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will play Offenbacher Kickers: As part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the regional football league club, the Werkself will play a friendly at the Hessen club in the summer. On Saturday, 25 July 2026 (kick-off: 15:00 CEST.), coach Kasper Hjulmand's team will face OFC at Offenbach's Bieberer Berg stadium. The supporters of both clubs have maintained a close fan friendship for many years. This makes the match in preparation for the 2026/27 season a very special one, and not just for Offenbach fans.
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