The VBL Club Championship final saw Anders ‘Anders’ Vejrgang on the big public stage – his handling of the pressure was remarkable.
At 6.30pm last Sunday it was finally done: RB Leipzig had defeated FC St. Pauli in the Grand Final of the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) Club Championship by bevestor. In addition to the revenge for the semi-final defeat the year before, the longed-for national title was finally won.
Of course, Anders ‘Anders’ Vejrgang, Leipzig’s FIFA prodigy, was in the spotlight throughout the final weekend. The Dane has only been allowed to take part in official EA competitions since the end of January, and just two months later he stepped onto the big stage of the final round for the German championship.
Live atmosphere and RB false start
The final of the VBL Club Championship was held for the first time as an offline event at the Cologne Strassenkicker Base. And although no spectators were allowed yet, the atmosphere was of course quite different from at home in the bedroom or in the usual premises at RB in Leipzig.
The pressure was already evident to ‘Anders’ on Saturday: On the first day of group play – in the first encounter with final opponents St. Pauli – he completed the 2vs2 alongside Umut ‘RBLZ_Umut’ Gültekin. The 0:0 sealed the 2:5 aggregate defeat and Saxony’s false start in the final round.
The offensive engine is sputtering badly
In the following duel with SV Werder Bremen, ‘Anders’ was allowed to play against Ali ‘PredatorFIFA’ Oskoui Rad in the Xbox singles – and was quite lucky not to lose in another 0-0 draw. Especially the 16-year-old’s strong offence faltered, the displeasure about his own game was noticeable.
The experienced duo of ‘RBLZ_UMUT’ and Richard ‘RBLZ_GAUCHO’ Hormes took the coals out of the fire with a 4:0 win in the doubles. Vejrgang, on the other hand, ended Saturday without a win and without a goal – but also unbeaten. For the enormous self-claims of the Dane, however, this yield was not enough.
Tears already well before the final whistle
The big eruption of emotions followed on Sunday during the decisive third day of group play. Their opponents were Hamburger SV, and after a 1-1 draw at the PlayStation, the pressure weighed a little heavier on ‘Anders’. Again, the teenager could not score for a long time, which visibly frustrated him.
Until the 79th minute, when he scored the redeeming first goal of the final weekend with a combination through the middle. With the 1:0 against Steffen ‘Funino’ Pöppe, the pent-up emotion was released and ‘Anders’ burst into tears after a short celebration – although there were still more than ten minutes on the virtual clock.
The pressure seems immeasurable
RB coach Daniel ‘Fehrminator’ Fehr needed some time afterwards to refocus ‘Anders’ – but he obviously didn’t quite succeed: ‘Funino’ took control in the closing stages and equalised in the 90th minute. Once again, Vejrgang could not pull off a victory, it was gnawing at him tremendously.
After the final whistle, the tears flowed again, even during the matches there were repeated blows to his own head. The pressure of the offline event, the public’s gaze and his own expectations due to his previous successes seemed immeasurable for the just 16-year-old.
Full Leipzig confidence in ‘Anders’
The reaction of Vejrgang was all the more impressive: He also played the decisive 2vs2 against HSV with ‘RBLZ_UMUT’, the 2:0 secured the semi-final. And there the Dane was not given a break either, with his 1:0 against shooting star Levy Finn ‘levyfinn’ Rieck of Hansa Rostock he lifted RB into the final.
The RBLZ’s confidence in their FIFA jewel was unshakeable, the experienced ‘RBLZ_GAUCHO’ gave way completely on Sunday and left the stage to ‘Anders’. The latter, in turn, made the most of it. He provided the sporting highlight of the weekend at the absolutely perfect time: in the final against fearful opponents St. Pauli.
Demonstration of power with a switch
The 1:1 in the initial double left everything open for the further course of the final, ‘Anders’ met the previously outstanding Mustafa ‘xMusti19′ Cankal on the Xbox in the second game. Those who had expected another fluttering of nerves due to the magnitude of this duel saw themselves deceived.
Anders’ found the switch and went from being a vulnerable youngster to perhaps the best FIFA player ever. He beat ‘xMusti19’ 7:0 in a dominant and ice-cold manner – the German national player had no chance. Vejrgang finally showed the face the world expects from him.
The discrepancy between the almost unstable impression made during his singles match against the Hamburg ‘Funino’ and the coolness, the total self-confidence with which ‘Anders’ dominated a top player like ‘xMusti19’ and outclassed him for long periods was remarkable.
RB doesn’t want to change ‘Anders’ at all
Vejrgang himself could hardly appreciate the importance of his performance in the aftermath of the title win. “It was good to win so high in the final. He is a really strong player, but I was just really good. I’m happy with the outcome,” ‘Anders’ said.
Afterwards, teammate ‘RBLZ_GAUCHO’ took over the explanations: “If you know him, you know that he is a very emotional guy – in both directions. Defeats hit him very hard, he wants to be an absolute champion. On the other hand, he can also push himself extremely high.”
‘Anders’ is “emotional”, but according to Hormes, “that’s just part of it with him”. They don’t want to change that in Leipzig – after winning the VBL Club Championship there is no reason to do so. After all, it is the hallmark of “absolute champions” to overcome their weaknesses in the important moments.
