128 eSports players took part in the VBL play-offs at the weekend. Their target: the VBL Grand Final. They had to go through five so-called Swiss Rounds with first and second legs. All participants with a maximum of two defeats went through to the Round of 32. After that there was only the one hurdle of the Round of 16 before qualifying for the finals.
Three Leverkusen eSports players started in the play-offs: ‘DETO’ and ‘MARC_LDW23’ on PlayStation 4, ‘B04_DUBZJE’ on Xbox. The latter went through to the knockout rounds with three wins in the five Swiss Rounds. His Black and Red teammates failed to qualify for the Round of 32 in the tournament.
In the Round of 32, the Leverkusen Xbox player De Cae went through against Justin ‘GODLY’ Kampmeier with a 4-2 win (2-2, 2-0). He just needed another victory on Sunday night to go through to the finals.
The opponent in the Round of 16 was Christoph ‘CHRISSI291’ Strietzel. The first match against the Hertha Berlin 20-year-old eSports player ended in a clear 4-1 defeat. ‘B04_DUBZJE’ refused to give up and fought hard in the second game. A 3-1 win was secured after 90 virtual minutes – the #B04eSports player only needed one more goal to force the tie into extra-time and another strike would have put him through to the VBL Grand Final.
This year’s VBL season is over for Leverkusen. The #B04eSports team will play friendlies and exhibition matches against other clubs in the coming weeks. That starts with a friendly on Friday, 21 May against Borussia Dortmund. From 20.00 CEST, the final Bundesliga match of the season will be simulated on on consoles. All matches will be broadcast live as usual on the Bayer 04 Twitch channel.
This summer there will also be a range of tournaments and formats for our fans on Twitch, with viewers able to demonstrate their own talent on the consoles, before preparations start for FIFA 22.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-0 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the 21th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Three goals weren’t enough for the Werkself to beat FC Heidenheim on Saturday. The 3-3 stalemate was Bayer 04’s third Bundesliga draw in a row. After a commanding first half and a two-goal lead, “we didn’t get back into our game,” summarised Mark Flekken, who featured between the sticks for the first time in two months. Patrik Schick once again proved his nose for goal, bagging a brace. He is now the third-most prolific Bundesliga scorer in the club’s history. Despite the squandered points, head coach Kasper Hjulmand remains confident ahead of the final spurt of the season: “We’re ready to overcome this situation.” The Werkself review.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-3 draw at FC Heidenheim on Matchday 27 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 3-3 draw away at Heidenheim despite twice taking the lead on Bundesliga Matchday 27. Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick had given the Werkself a 2-0 advantage in the first half, but Hennes Behrens and a Marvin Pieringer penalty brought the hosts level after the restart. Schick restored the lead not long after. However, Pieringer also struck again in the closing minutes to restrict Leverkusen to just a point away at the Bundesliga’s bottom side.
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Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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