
The opening fixture on Tuesday 15 November (18.00 CET) is against Hamburg SV who finished second in the North West division last term. The opponents at 19.30 on matchday two are Holstein Kiel. The Saturday games on 19 November see the Leverkusen eSports players take on VfL Bochum (15.30 CET) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (17.00 CET).
Further exciting games follow at the beginning of December: On Sunday 4 December there is first the virtual derby against FC Köln from 15.30 CET and then the clash with last year's winners of the North West division, Hansa Rostock, from 17.00 CET. The Black and Reds then play the runners-up of the VBL Club Championship 2021/22 two days later: The fixture against FC St. Pauli is at 18.00 CET on St Nicolas Day.
The calendar year is rounded off with a treble matchday: Tuesday 20 December brings games against Schalke 04 (18.00 CET), Hertha Berlin (19.30 CET) and Werder Bremen (21.00 CET). The second half of the season starts in the New Year on Tuesday 10 January (18.00 CET) with the return match against HSV. The last match of the season is on Tuesday 28 February.
As usual, each fixture involves a best-of-three format, with two one-v-one games and one two-v-two match. The games are assessed individually according to three points for a win. At the end of the 30 matchdays, the top two teams in each division compete for the final round of the VBL Club Championship on 25 and 26 March 2023.
The teams finishing from third to sixth in each division meet on 7 and 8 March in the VBL Club Championship play-offs to determine the remaining four places in the finals. The German club champions are then determined by a knockout competition between the eight teams in the finals.
Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will go in search of virtual goals this term and the duo are joined by the new #B04eSports talent Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic. As with last year, the matches involving the Leverkusen eSports players will be broadcast live on the club’s Twitch channel.
Further information on the participating teams and the structure of the season for this year's VBL Club Championship plus the ensuing VBL Grand Final, where the German individual championship will be played, can be found HERE.

Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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