The 2023/24 season of the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship (VBLCC) has begun. The first team to top the table in the North-West Division is 1. FC Köln, who started with a real goal spectacle
VfL Osnabrück had already set an exclamation mark with its squad nomination before the start of the VBLCC: The team from Lower Saxony will line up with a trio of players. In view of the fact that virtual soccer is still heavily dominated by men at the top level of competition, this is a statement “for diversity”. However, the “special kind of eFootball team” suffered a bitter defeat on the first match day.
First, they were beaten 0:9 in a doubles match against 1. FC Köln, before Selin ‘zzz-Chiefs-zzz’ Simsek was also beaten 0:8 by Tim ‘TheStrxngeR’ Katnawatos. After these thunderous victories, the goal-hungry billy goats are the first leaders of the North-West Division in the 2023/24 season. ‘TheStrxngeR’ described the overall result afterwards as an “ideal start to the season”: “We quickly realized in the games that something was possible today. That everything would work going forward today. That also made us want to play. “
Dortmund missing a goal – ‘TimoX’ wants “to go to the final “
Far from an ideal start to the season was VBLCC newcomer Borussia Dortmund. The Westphalians were defeated by VfL Bochum in their debut match in the small district derby. The decisive factor was the initial 2vs2: Timo ‘TimoX’ Siep and Ali ‘PredatorFIFA’ Oskoui Rad narrowly defeated the BVB duo of Roee ‘BVB_Feldman’ Feldman and Dennis ‘BVB_Denninho’ Malcherczyk 2:1. The two subsequent singles matches each ended 2:2 – Bradley ‘BVB_Bradley’ Destoop also made his VBL debut
From the Belgian’s point of view, a connection was lost five minutes before the end of his match against ‘TimoX’. The Dortmund player had just scored the 2:2, put considerable pressure on Bochum’s defense – and was then thrown off his rhythm by the technical break. The Black & Yellows thus find themselves in eleventh place among the 18 clubs in the North-West Division after matchday one. Bochum are two places higher and are currently ninth in the table.
The experienced ‘TimoX’ even revealed Bochum’s internal objectives to the presenters towards the end of the matchday. They are “not aiming for the top to take the pressure off”. But the players themselves “know what we can do. We want to reach the final of the VBL Club Championship and then also perform there.” Siep has “already won one or two things in his career. But the Club Championship is still missing. “
Hansa strong even without ‘levyfinn’ and ‘Henning’
VfL could face serious competition for a place in the VBLCC final from a number of northern representatives. Hansa Rostock, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli have all had successful starts to the new season. They currently occupy places two to five behind Cologne
The Rostockers proved that they should be kept on the radar even without their former key players Levy Finn ‘levyfinn’ Rieck and Henning ‘Henning’ Wilmbusse. With 3:1 and 6:1 they hardly gave 1. FC Magdeburg a chance. Bremen’s clash with FC Schalke 04 was also a high-scoring affair: a 5:1 lead put Werder on the road to victory in the doubles. Berkay ‘BerkayLion’ Demirci’s 4:3 against Bastian ‘Bubschi10’ Rupsch then secured the three points for Green-White.
HSV, meanwhile, won 1-0 and 3-1 against Holstein Kiel. City rivals FC St. Pauli had to play a full three games against Hannover 96 for the overall victory, despite a clear 6:1 in 2vs2. The South-East Division, featuring defending champions RB Leipzig and debutants FC Bayern Munich, kicks off the season on Sunday at 3.30 pm. You can find all the results from the VBLCC 2023/24 opener in our matchday overview