The target in the third showdown is clear, to be one of the 16 teams with the most points out of 35 teams in the online preliminary round and move on to the offline knockout round, which will take place on 19 December in Cologne, where they will fight for victory in the showdown and other important points for the overall standings.
The points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per win) and offline rounds (2 per win) of the five showdowns will be added up in this ranking, which will decide who goes through to the final round of the German Club Championship next year. Places 1 to 8 will go straight through to the final event, while the teams in places 9 to 24 will compete in a play-off round to determine the remaining eight teams.
The third showdown kicked off with a direct duel between the two winners of the first two showdowns. Bayer 04, winner of the first, met showdown two winners FC St. Pauli - and unfortunately lost against the virtual Kiezkickers. With the new patch in EA FC 26, which has made defending more difficult and scoring goals easier, the Leverkusen team still experienced teething troubles. Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr was defeated 5-2 by Ben ‘FCSP_BLAXE’ Ludwig. Marc Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr then lost 9-3 against Berkay ‘BERKAYLION’ Demirci. This meant a defeat at the start of the online preliminary round of the third showdown.
After Leverkusen had already been eliminated in the online preliminary round following their spectacular Showdown One victory in the second edition last month and had now also lost to FC St. Pauli at the start of the third showdown, a victory in the second match of the evening against Eintracht Frankfurt was a must. But after Marc Landwehr initially lost 2-1 to Julien ‘SGE_JULIEN’ Kurum, the third showdown seemed to end in a false start. However, Sean Landwehr withstood the pressure and made up the deficit. With a 4-1 win against Romeo ‘ROMEO_439’ Rissling, the final score was 5-3 - and the three points against the Eagles were wrapped up.
In the third of the six games - and the final one of the evening - the opponent was FC Schalke 04, who had previously been one of the participants in the offline round in both showdowns. In the first game, Marc Landwehr faced Ali Oskoui ‘PREDATORFIFA’ Rad. However, the Leverkusen player didn't give the most efficient eSports player of the season so far a chance. Landwehr set course for victory with a 7-1 win - and his cousin Sean jumped on the bandwagon: He won his match against Okan ‘OKANNN59’ Dalgic 3-1. 10-2 in total gave them three points - and, looking back at the clash with St. Pauli, it was also good for the goal difference.
Results at a glance:
Showdown 3 (online preliminary round) - Game 1
FC St. Pauli (W) vs Bayer 04 (L)
‘FCSP_BLAXE’ 5-2 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘BERKAYLION’ 9-3 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Total: 14-5
Showdown 3 (online preliminary round) - Game 2
Bayer 04 (W) vs Eintracht Frankfurt (L)
‘MARC_LDW23’ 1-2 ‘SGE_JULIEN’
‘SEAN_LDW07’ 4-1 ‘ROMEO_439’
Total: 5-3
Showdown 3 (online preliminary round) - Game 3
Bayer 04 (W) vs FC Schalke 04 (L)
‘MARC_LDW23’ 7-1 ‘PREDATORFIFA’
‘SEAN_LDW07’ 3-1 ‘OKANNN59’
Total: 10-2
TV highlights:
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With six points at the start, the #B04eSports team is sixteenth in the Showdown Two table and would currently qualify for the offline knockout round. In the overall table, where the points from all online and offline rounds of the five showdowns are added together, the team is currently in sixth place.
The Landwehr cousins continue next Tuesday, 16 December, with the remaining three games of this online preliminary round. Fortuna Düsseldorf, currently in fourth place in the third showdown, as well as SV 07 Elversberg and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 await. The lowdown on our next opponents will follow on Tuesday afternoon. The matchday kicks off at 18:00 CET. and the games will be broadcast live on the Leverkusen Twitch channel.
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