Ahead of the event in Germany, thrilling tournaments were held in the USA, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, India as well as the MENA region (Middle East/North Africa). The winners of these regional competitions took part in the VBL International Series in Germany where they formed teams with the Bundesliga clubs. Bayer 04 were joined by Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and FC Augsburg. Each team consisted of an eSports player from the club, a winner of the regional tournaments and a content creator from that region.
Sean Landwehr represented Bayer 04 in the team Bayer 04 x MENA together with Muhannad Almesmari from the UAE (winner of the tournament in the MENA region) and contact creator Ahmed Saabiri from Morocco.
Before the start of the group stage, the visitors from the MENA region had the opportunity to get the know Bayer 04 better through a range of activities. Almesmari and Saabiri were also involved in producing content and had the pleasure of a shirt with their own name on.
The group stage – there were two groups of three teams – took place in Basestack, a gaming venue in Dortmund. The team Bayer 04 x Mena played Dortmund and Stuttgart and ended the group stage in second place behind VfB. Augsburg came out on top in Group B ahead of Leipzig and Bremen. The first two teams in each group went through to the semi-finals.
The round of the last four teams saw Landwehr and Co. face Augsburg's Yannic Bederke and the Indian eSports player Charanjot Singh plus influencer "hemant_sharma10". Landwehr and Almesmari beat Singh and Bederke 2-1 in the 2 vs 2 game and Almesmari sealed a place in the final with a 3-1 win against Singh in the 1 vs 1 clash.
The final was against Leipzig's Lena Güldenpfennig and the American duo ‘adidafifa’ (pro) and Joebaena (content creator). A 2-2 draw in the doubles match was followed by a 4-2 win in the 1 vs 1 game to seal the first trophy in the history of Leverkusen eSports. The trophy was presented by Roman Weidenfeller.
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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