Matchday one in the VBL CC started at 18.00 against Hamburg SV, last season's runners-up in the North West division. The match – as with all other fixtures this season, was decided in a best-of-three format. The 2 vs 2 game came first with Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik on the controllers for Leverkusen against the Hamburg players Daniel ‘HSV_Daniel7’ Dwelk and Steffen ‘Funino’ Pöppe. The game ended in a 4-1 defeat for the Black and Reds.
It was advantage to HSV ahead of the second game although Landwehr was able to secure a 2-0 victory over Hamburg's Dwelk in the 1 vs 1 match. The decider came in the third game between Kayacik and Pöppe with the clash ending in a 2-0 defeat for Leverkusen. That meant HSV were the overall winners and they picked up their first three points of the season.
The second matchday against Holstein Kiel followed later in the evening. The Storks also suffered defeat in their first match against FC Hansa Rostock. The game between the Black and Reds and the Kiel side started with a 2 vs 2 encounter with Landwehr and Kayacik taking on the two Storks Colin ‘COOOLLIIIN’ Völter and Florian ‘IROYALDYNASTY’ Wilhelm. The 2 vs 2 game also ended in a 4-1 defeat for the Black and Reds.
To avoid an early overall defeat, a win was required in the following 1 vs 1 game – and that was provided by Landwehr against Kiel's Jeffrey ‘JEFFREY6TH’ Aninkorah. The Leverkusen players clocked up an emphatic 7-1 victory. The decider again came in the third match with Leverkusen's Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic taking on Kiel’s Völter in a 1 vs 1 game. After Lovrinovic initially went behind, the 19-year-old turned the game round to win 2-1 and thereby secure the first three points of the season for the #B04eSports team.
The Leverkusen team are fifth in the North West division after the first two matchdays. The #B04eSports team are next in action on Saturday 19 November on matchdays three and four: Leverkusen start at 15.30 CET against VfL Bochum and that is followed at 17.00 CET by the meeting with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Results from matchdays 1 and 2:
Hamburg SV vs Bayer 04 (0 points)
Two vs two: 4-1
Dwelk against Landwehr: 0-2
Pöppe against Kayacik: 2-0
Bayer 04 vs Holstein Kiel (3 points)
Two vs two: 1-4
Landwehr against Aninkorah: 7-1
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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