In a change from the usual VBL format, the first game of the evening was played on Xbox Series S/X instead of PlayStation 5. Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae faced Bremen’s Ali ‘PREDATORFIFA’ Oskoui Rad – and he ended up losing 3-1 after 90 virtual minutes. The Black and Reds remained pointless after the following one-on-one match on PS5: Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr suffered a narrow 1-0 loss against Werder eSports player Max ‘DIVINERS’ Gröne.
Bayer 04 only rediscovered their defensive strength in the two-vs-two with Paul ‘B04_PAUL’ Degner playing alongside Landwehr. However, as no goals were scored, the doubles match ended goalless. "Of course, we hoped for more but now it's about beating Rostock," was the half-time assessment of Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik, who was again in action as presenter and commentator on the live stream on the club’s Twitch channel Twitch.
The Leverkusen eSports players met Hansa Rostock for the first time later in the evening. The second division club in reality, put their team forward in the virtual top-flight for the first time this season in the VBL CC. The individual match on Xbox ended in a 3-3 draw. The following one-on-one on PlayStation saw Landwehr win for the Black and Reds and the two-vs-two brought the second draw of the night – the final score 2-2.
Leverkusen conceded nine goals against Bremen and Rostock. By comparison, only 19 were conceded in the previous eight matchdays – the least of all clubs in the North West division up to that point. That means the Werkself have now slipped down to sixth place but de Cae and Co. are still in a position to qualify for the Club Championship play-offs at the end of the season.
The first ten matchdays in the VBL Club Championship have been completed. There are no games next week and that is followed by the virtual derby against FC Köln. The first match against the Cologne team is on Tuesday, 21 December at 18.00 CET. The #B04eSports players only have one opponent on the night due to the odd number of clubs in each division. The competition continues in the New Year on 11 January.
Bayer 04 vs SV Werder Bremen 1-7
PlayStation 5: 0-1
Xbox Series S/X: 1-3
Doubles (PlayStation 5): 0-0
FC Hansa Rostock vs Bayer 04 2-5
PlayStation 5: 0-1
Xbox Series S/X: 3-3
Doubles (PlayStation 5): 2-2
Bosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
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