The group stage (24 June) and the Round of 16 and quarter-finals (25 June) for 'DETO' were today (Sunday) followed by the semi-finals. And the clashes with Mohammed 'MOAUBA' Harkous developed into a spectacular showdown on the consoles. The Leverkusen player won the first leg against the reigning world champion 3-1 but lost the second meeting by the same scoreline.
So it went down to a decider. And in this encounter, 'DETO' won with a golden goal on 29 minutes thanks to a strike from the virtual Kevin Volland to go through to the overall final. "Getting through to the final pleases me for the whole club. You can see what it means to the members of staff," said the #B04eSports player after the semi-final.
The oldest of all four semi-finalists faced Augsburg's 'YANNIC0109' in the online final. The man from Augsburg somewhat surprisingly defeated Dylan 'DULLENMIKE' Neuhausen (VfL Wolfsburg) in the last four. 'DETO' and the FCA player completed the first leg on PS4. The Augsburg player won this 2-1, leaving the #B04eSports player under pressure to perform on the unfamiliar Xbox One console.
And it initially looked good for the former world champion. He took the lead after half an hour to level the overall result. However, 'YANNIC0109' then hit back late on to secure the title of champion of Germany 2020. "I'm disappointed with the way I approached the final," said a disappointed 'DETO' initially but then declared: "It's been an impressive season for Fabi (Leverkusen's Xbox player Fabian 'B04_DUBZJE' de Cae, ed.) and me. I'd like to thank the whole team at Bayer 04 and my fans for their support."
The club is also happy with the achievement. "I'm incredibly proud of the whole team: Kai, Fabi and everybody in the background. We worked hard for the great finish in the Club Championship and in the Grand Final. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for the big target of the overall victory," said Florian Dederichs, head of internationalisation and eSports at Bayer 04, who went on to promise: "We'll be back again next year!"
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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