Black and Red supporters were able to hear a new voice on the live stream on the Bayer 04 Twitch channel: Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik led the viewers as presenter and commentator through the evening broadcasting live from the TV studio at the BayArena with a view of the pitch. The 22-year-old joined Leverkusen before the start of the new season in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) and is now also working as a content creator.
Kayacik’s teammate Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr had the controller in his hands for the first clash in the new VBL campaign Controller. The Leverkusen youngster registered a 1-1 draw on PlayStation 5 against Kiel's Cihat ‘CIHAT_6161’ Korkmaz. As Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae beat the Holstein eSports player Nils ‘SAMSTAG_11’ Mohr 3-1 in a head-to-head clash on Xbox Series S/X, a lead was taken into the doubles match.
The two youth eSports players Landwehr (19) and new signing Paul ‘B04_PAUL’ Degner (18) started for the Black and Reds. With almost two thirds possession, Leverkusen had control of the game and ended with a 1-1 draw – and an overall 5-2 win for starters.
The late evening brought the encounters with the Schalke 04 eSports players. The Royal Blues beat VfL Bochum 6-3 on matchday one – but then stood no chance against the #B04eSports team.
Landwehr secured a 3-0 win on PS 5 against Hasan ‘HASOO’ Eker, de Cae beat Schalke’s Serhat ‘SERHATINHO’ Öztürk 2-0 on Xbox. The youngsters again played in the doubles for Bayer 04. They were also winners (2-1) as they concluded a perfect matchday against the Royal Blues.
It was a successful first night for the Black and Reds. "A great snapshot. But we’ve only completed the first two matchdays and we've got lots of work ahead of us," said Florian Dederichs, head of internationalisation and eSports at Bayer 04.
Leverkusen are top of the table in the North West division with 14 points. Equal second on 10 points are FC St. Pauli, Hansa Rostock and Hamburg SV.
Next Tuesday night, de Cae and Co. play seventh-placed VfL Bochum (18.00 CET) and eighth-placed Hannover 96 (20.00 CET).
Bayer 04 vs Holstein Kiel 5:2
PlayStation 5: 1-1
Xbox Series S/X: 3-0
Doubles (PlayStation 5): 1-1
Bayer 04 vs FC Schalke 04
PlayStation 5: 3-0
Xbox Series S/X: 2-0
Doubles (PlayStation 5): 2-1
As with the other youth teams (U16 to U19), Bayer 04 are also relying on familiar faces—some in new roles—and fresh impetus from the coaching staff for the 2026/27 season in the younger age groups. An overview of the U11 to U15 teams.
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After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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As well as internal changes and familiar faces, Bayer 04 are also looking to bring fresh impetus to the coaching staff of the senior youth squads for the 2026/27 campaign. Here is an overview of the U19, U17 and U16 teams.
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Bayer 04 have signed 16-year-old defensive midfielder Kennet Eichhorn from Hertha Berlin. The Germany U17 international is joining the Werkself from the Berlin Bundesliga 2 club on a long-term contract. Eichhorn made 19 appearances for the Hertha Berlin first team last season, scoring two goals.
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