Here’s what’s new: Bayer 04 will no longer be streaming its matches on the club’s own Twitch channel, but will instead be providing even more comprehensive and interactive coverage of all matches on Instagram. Click HERE to access the account. The season kicks off on Thursday at 18:00 CEST. Marc and Sean Landwehr will face VfL Osnabrück, FSV Mainz 05, FC Köln and FC St. Pauli in their opening fixtures. Analysis of opponents to follow.
What remains unchanged is the format of the VBL CC. Since last season, the competition has been run as follows: the participating clubs compete in five showdowns. Each showdown consists of an online group stage followed by an in-person knockout stage. In the online preliminary round, each club plays six fixtures against opponents drawn at random each time. A fixture consists of two one-v-one matches, the results of which are added together. A win earns three points. The top 16 teams qualify for the in-person knockout round.
The competition continues there from the Round of 16 right through to the final. Two extra points are awarded for the overall standings for every knockout round won. The in-person rounds are held in different German cities. The points from all rounds of the five showdowns are combined into a single overall table.
Following the fifth showdown, the overall table will determine who qualifies for the final round of the Club Championship: teams in positions 1 to 8 qualify directly, while those in positions 9 to 24 will compete in play-offs to decide the remaining eight places. Teams in positions 25 to 35 are eliminated. The Club Championship is then decided in the final round, from the Round of 16 through to the final.
The first in-person round will be played on 25 October in Munich. The other venues for the in-person rounds are Berlin on 14 November, Dresden on 20 December, Cologne on 22 January and Dortmund on 21 February. The season will then culminate in the finals at the XPERION in Hamburg on 12–13 March 2027.
The singles championship, which in recent years has comprised the VBL Open, the VBL Open play-offs and the VBL Grand Final, is being given a new name for the new season, along with a new in-game mode to go with it. From now on, the entire competition will be called the VBL Player Championship by WOW – bringing it into line with the VBL Club Championship by WOW.
From the end of October, all EA FC 27 users will find the new in-game mode in the popular Ultimate Team. Participants can compete against one another with their own team, made up of players from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, and by selecting one of the 36 clubs. There will be four fixed stages running until February 2027, with the top 15 players from each stage qualifying for the play-offs. Further places will be allocated via selected wildcards or wildcard tournaments. The final event of the VBL Player Championship by WOW will take place on 16–17 April 2027 in front of a live audience at the XPERION in Hamburg. The best professional eSports players from the VBL CC will also be there.
The new eSports season is just around the corner. The VBL Club Championship by WOW starts on Thursday 15 October (from 18:00 CEST). And, as every year, here’s an overview: What changes are there? What is staying the same?
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Bayer 04 record-appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn invites you to another evening in the popular ‘Rudi lädt ein’ series: on Tuesday 10 November, in collaboration with Bayer AG, the focus will be on the Nazi period. The focus will be on football, Bayer 04 and the city of Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has secured a new network partner in Extreme Networks GmbH. The leading provider of AI-powered network automation has agreed a five-year partnership with the Bundesliga club, running until 30 June 2031. As part of this, the club’s existing Wi-Fi 5 infrastructure will be replaced by more than 400 Wi-Fi 7 access points, which are specifically designed to meet the requirements of a stadium with a high user density. The aim is to enhance the fan experience while optimising operational processes and security.
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New signing Miguel Gutiérrez has made a good start at Leverkusen and has promptly earned a nomination for Player of the Month in his first few weeks in the Bundesliga. He has scored one goal and provided three assists in four league games. The Spanish left-back has also brought some impressive stats with him to Bayer 04. Issue #56 of the Werkself magazine has taken a look at these figures. ‘Facts & Fun’ with Miguel Gutiérrez.
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With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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