#B04eSports: Structural changes for the VBL CC 2025/26

exclusively one-v-one games

In future, matches will no longer be played according to the "best of three" principle with two one-v-one and one two-v-two games. From now on, a match will consist exclusively of two one-v-one games. All goals scored after the two 90-minute duels are added up and a winner is determined - so every goal counts! As usual, a win earns three points. A draw is also possible in the event of a tied score from both matches.

New Format: Showdowns instead of Divisions

Another new feature is that the 35 clubs will no longer meet within geographically allocated divisions. From the new season, all teams will compete against each other in five qualifying tournaments, known as showdowns. The showdowns will take place every month from October to February.

A showdown lasts around ten days and consists of an online and an offline round. In the online round, each club plays six matches spread over two days. The teams are drawn again for each monthly showdown. Points are awarded for each match according to the new principle mentioned above.

The top 16 teams on points in each online round will advance to the offline round of the respective showdown. The showdown is over for the remaining teams. The offline round is held as a knockout phase and always takes place on site in a different major German city.

In the offline knockout round, the teams play from the Round of 16 to the final. The first-placed team from the online round meets the 16th-placed team from the online round, the second-placed team meets the 15th-placed team, and so on.

The winner of the final match of each showdown does not receive any special benefit, but the advantage is still great: on the one hand, the teams in the offline round get more match practice over the course of the season and, on the other, more chances to earn additional points than those teams for whom a showdown was already over after the online round. And points are important, because all points scored from all online and offline rounds of the five showdowns contribute to the overall table at the end.

The clubs in places 1-8 of this overall table will qualify directly for the VBL-CC final, which will be played in Hamburg on 7/8 March 2026. The clubs in places 9-24 in the overall table will play the remaining eight teams for the final in the play-offs on 25/26 February. For the clubs in places 25-35, the season ends after the final showdown in February.

unchanged: Final format and 'Ultimate Team'

The final of the VBL Club Championship, to be played in Hamburg, will follow the usual format. The 16 teams will be divided into two groups of eight. Within the groups, all teams play against each other, resulting in a table. The season is over for the fifth to eighth teams in each group. The top four teams in each group will ultimately play in a knockout format to determine the VBL CC winner.

The matches will continue to be broadcast on the #B04eSports Twitch channel and the VBL Twitch channel. The matches will also take place in EA SPORTS FC 26's 'Ultimate Team' mode, in which eSports players can put together their teams from players from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. The eSports players can still nominate two players from their 'own' club as so-called 'VBL Power Items' with a maximum total strength of 99.