FC Bayern Munich finished the winter in second place in the South-East Division of the VBL Club Championship (VBLCC). Some experts didn’t think the eSports team was capable of this – there was even a live apology
“A personal apology” is what VBL presenter and former eSports player Tim ‘Latka’ Schwartmann wanted to say to the FC Bayern Munich eSports team. One of his five predictions before the current season was: “FC Bayern will not perform like Bayern in the Virtual Bundesliga.” A prediction that turned out to be wrong at the end of the year. Because: “You are now in second place and Bayern are also in second place in the Bundesliga,” said Schwartmann, addressing the VBLCC team. Their performance had “surprised him in a positive way”.
The apology was conveyed to Thomas ‘xThomas_om’ Ostermaier on behalf of the team in the livestream on Wednesday evening. Together with his FCB team-mate Lukas ‘Lukas__1004’ Seiler, he had just swept SpVgg Greuther Fürth off the virtual pitch with two 7:1 victories. In an interview afterwards, ‘xThomas_om’ described the performances as “two deserved victories” – and certainly didn’t lean too far out of the window. As has been the case throughout the season.
Clear contrast in Munich’s attitude
The Bavarians have set themselves the goal of “getting as much out of the VBLCC as possible”. This is in stark contrast to Munich’s aspirations on the pitch, where a season without a Bundesliga title is tantamount to disaster. The footballing expectations of the record champions are huge, especially at national level. In eFootball, on the other hand, “the pressure is not so great”, says ‘xThomas_om’. This is also in line with Bayern’s public approach.
There is no mention of participation in the VBL on FCB’s eSports channels on social media. The announcement of the entry could only be found in the depths of the club’s website. The squad players were chosen via selection tournaments. This all suggests that Munich – unlike BVB, for example – only participate in the VBLCC because they are included in the DFL statutes and licensing regulations. Because it has been mandatory since this season.
However, the eSports players do not seem to be negatively affected by this. After a somewhat bumpy start to the season with four points from three match days, Bayern are going from success to success virtually. After the resounding victory against Fürth, the VBL trio of ‘xThomas_om’, ‘Lukas__1004’ and Fabiano ‘Epixal’ Loos picked up six more points on Wednesday. VfB Stuttgart (1:1, 1:1, 5:2) and 1. FC Kaiserslautern (4:1, 2:2, 4:1) were also beaten. FCB have therefore won all of their last seven matches. “We didn’t necessarily expect things to go so well. We’re very satisfied at the moment,” said Ostermaier.
Bayern go into the winter break in second place in the South-East Division, with a five-point lead over third place. Only 1. FSV Mainz 05 are in a better position in the table. But “we’re not really looking at the Rheinhessen team,” says ‘xThomas_om’. Instead, they want to constantly increase the gap to the bottom. Perhaps also in the knowledge that, despite the club’s big name, they were seen as the underdogs in the battle for the upper echelons before the season.
According to expert and FIFA 19 World Cup winner Mohammed ‘MoAuba’ Harkous, Ostermaier & Co. are “not players who were brought in to finish first”. ‘xThomas_om’ did not contradict him, but said: “All three of us know that we can play really well and have talent.” The 21-year-old and his colleagues have recently provided reliable proof of this every week. Quite “Bayern-like” after all.
Augsburg unbeaten, Mainz top of the table
At the end of the season, the Munich side are framed in the table by leaders Mainz and third-placed FC Augsburg. Both met on the last three-match day in 2023 – and were both unbeaten before this encounter. Mainz’s run was broken, with the 2v2 being the decisive factor: Yannic Bederke and Haci Umut Saracoglu defeated Ditmir Alimi and Max Julius ‘Diviners’ Gröne 2:1, with the singles ending 2:2 in each case.
As the FCA then also drew against SC Freiburg (1:1, 2:5, 3:2), the Fuggerstädter go into the winter break as the only unbeaten team in the South-East Division. However, they drew too often against their opponents to finish the year in one of the top two places – six times in twelve matches. Mainz, on the other hand, suffered their first defeat but won all eleven of their other matches.
The Nullfünfer can even extend their four-point lead over Bayern before Christmas: On December 20, RB Leipzig’s three fixtures scheduled for Wednesday will be made up – including the clash with Mainz. The reigning German club champions were unable to compete due to illness in the team. All VBLCC results and tables can be found in our matchday overview.
