Equivalent to real football, the Virtual Bundesliga is also taking a winter break this week. At the end of the calendar year, there were some derbies and neck-and-neck races for the top of the table.
On the last matchday before the winter break, the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship (VBLCC) became really exciting. Who will be at the top of the table over the winter? There were some close duels in both the north-west and south-east divisions.
FCB leaves no doubt
In keeping with the match day in the Bundesliga, FC Bayern Munich and RBLZ Gaming, the eSports team of RB Leipzig, also went head to head virtually. However, not directly: the Munich team faced 1. FC Nürnberg in the Franconian-Bavarian derby, while Leipzig took on 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
The math for the team from Saxony was simple: Munich could not win, but the Red Bulls needed a three-pointer. Only then would there be a changing of the guard at the top of the table at the end of the year.
Bayern got the ball rolling and, although they didn’t create any suspense at first, Munich’s 6-2 victory in the doubles and first singles not only secured them the derby win but also kept them at the top of the table.
Even though the door was slammed shut, Leipzig were under pressure to act. After all, they didn’t want Bayern to pull away and let VfB Stuttgart catch up. Stuttgart were able to win against SV Elversberg after three games and thus potentially draw level with the Saxons.
However, Kaiserslautern made RB work hard for every point. The Palatinate team have been the surprise package in the south-east so far. After a 3-3 draw in the doubles, it was already clear that it would go the full distance, but RBLZ Gaming came out on top in the end. Umut Gültekin and Anders Vejrgang ultimately won their singles 5-2 and 7-5.
Five teams on equal footing in the northwest
The situation in the north-west is even more intense. Only one point separates the teams from first to fifth place. At the top of the table, VfL Bochum, one of the favorites for the title, is in first place – Timo Siep and Jonas Wirth defeated FC St. Pauli in a speed run (6:4/6:2).
In the Rhine derby, Leverkusen wanted to end their negative streak, but were unable to get any points against Gladbach again. It was bitter from the Werkself’s point of view that after two draws, the decision only came in the third match. As a result, the Foals remain close on Bochum’s heels, with both teams level on points.
Borussia Dortmund are in third place. BVB defeated Hannover 96 via speed run – 8:4 and 4:3 was the final score. The black and yellows now have 19 points – but have played one game less. The Virtual Bundesliga continues on January 21.