The Leverkusen players on the virtual turf are again Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik, who both extended their contracts with the Werkself last month. The duo are joined by the new Bayer 04 eSports talent Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic.
29 teams will compete in the coming season in the VBL Club Championship 2022/23 – more than ever before. The teams will be split into two North-West and South-East divisions as usual. The Leverkusen trio will compete in the North-West section along with the following 14 clubs: FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hansa Rostock, Schalke 04, FC St. Pauli, Hamburg SV, Hannover 96, Hertha Berlin, Holstein Kiel, SC Paderborn 07, Werder Bremen, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Braunschweig.
In addition to matches at the weekend, the kick-off times for games during the week are always on Tuesdays in the North-West section. Matchday one for the Black and Reds is on 15 November. The final matchday in the current calendar year is on 20 December before games resume on matchday 11 on 10 January. That gives all friends of Bayer 04 the chance to follow and support the Werkself during the Bundesliga break. The final matchday 14 in the VBL Club Championship 2022/23 will be played on 28 February 2023.
As usual, the teams finishing first and second in the two sections will qualify for the final rounds of the VBL Club Championship on 25 and 26 March 2023. Teams finishing from third to sixth in the two sections will take part in the VBL Club Championship play-offs on 7 and 8 March to decide the remaining four places in the finals. The German Club champions will be the winner of the eight final teams in the knockout tournament.
That will be followed by the German individual championship in the so-called VBL Grand Final. Qualifiers are the two eSports players from the four best clubs in the division from the VBL Club Championship. Another 24 players from the clubs in the VBL Club Championship also have the opportunity to take part in the Grand Final via VBL play-offs.
A total of 104 players will meet in the VBL play-offs who have qualified via the VBL Open for the VBL Play-offs. The VBL Open gives everyone the opportunity to take part in the knockout rounds of the VBL play-offs. From the 128 participants in the VBL play-offs, 16 players will qualify for the VBL Grand Final.
The 32 eSports players in the Grand Final will compete in a group stage before playing for the German Individual Championship in knockout rounds.
The head coaches of the U16 to U19 youth teams at Bayer 04 welcome some new faces to the coaching staff for the 2025/26 campaign. Overview of new set-up.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their richly deserved summer break up to 23 June following the best Bundesliga season in the club’s history. Six weeks after last season’s final matchday at VfL Wolfsburg (1-3), head coach Roberto Pätzold will welcome his squad for the first training session at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre on Monday morning. There will be a break in the preseason from 20 July to 3 August before training resumes on Monday, 4 August.
Show moreThe Werkself summer timetable is taking shape. The team under head coach Erik ten Hag will play four friendlies following the training camp in Rio de Janeiro (14 to 24 July). Bayer 04 are away to VfL Bochum, Fortuna Sittard and Chelsea. Another friendly is planned for the season opener at the BayArena.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the Germany U17 international Osman Turay. The 17-year-old joins the Werkself for the new season on a free transfer from Schalke 04. The talented left-back will strengthen the Bayer 04 U19 squad.
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