Anders Vejrgang from RBLZ Gaming starts his first VBL Grand Final on Friday afternoon. The Dane was not eligible to take part last year – now the DFL wants to make its league more attractive internationally
Favorite status for the very first participation? Quite normal for Anders Vejrgang since he celebrated his 16th birthday at the beginning of 2022 and was allowed to compete in official eSports tournaments in FIFA and FC for the first time. Nevertheless, the Dane missed out on the two VBL Grand Finals that have been held since then. Not for sporting reasons, but because he did not meet the entry requirements for the German individual championship in each case.
Until the current season, candidates for the title had to be resident in Germany. In 2023/24, however, it will be sufficient to be under contract with a club in the Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2 – in Vejrgang’s case, this is RB Leipzig. Accordingly, the 18-year-old qualified for the VBL Open Playoffs via the RBLZ wildcard tournament, where he made it through to the Grand Final with five Swiss victories and three successes in the winners’ bracket.
No “Lex Vejrgang”: Looking beyond the national horizon
Jörg Höflich, Head of Virtual Bundeliga, does not see the rule adjustment as a “Lex Vejrgang”. Rather, the DFL is looking beyond national borders. “We saw that the ePremier League and other leagues offer the opportunity to participate even if you don’t live there,” said Höflich at the VBL media briefing on Tuesday. “Then we had to ask ourselves whether it didn’t make sense to align ourselves there. “
The VBL had established “that we are the only one of the major leagues to enforce the rule that a German residence is required”. This approach was gradually questioned internally. “There is always the romantic view that everything stays as it is. Or you just adapt to the circumstances,” said Höflich. The external image of the league also played a role: “The VBL would otherwise be less attractive in an international context for top-class players with club connections.”
However, the VBL managers were unable to make this decision unilaterally. “As a rule, adjustments to the rules are decided by the VBL General Assembly – i.e. the 35 participating clubs,” explained the VBL boss. The opening of the German individual championship was supported by a “very, very large majority.”
Ten years after Jahic: Second non-German VBL winner?
Vejrgang will face Hisham Badreddine of Viktoria Köln in the first Swiss round – the Dane is favored in this match as well as in the entire final round. The Israeli Roee Feldman from Borussia Dortmund, who will also be making his debut in the VBL Grand Final, is at least among the extended group of favorites. The same applies to the Swiss Gianluca Mautone from SC Freiburg. Will a foreign eSports player be crowned German champion in 2024?
Not an entirely new scenario: in 2014, Mirza Jahic from Austria won the VBL trophy. Back then, “Germany, Austria and Switzerland were operating in a global ecosystem,” Höflich explained. Accordingly, players from the other two DACH countries were also admitted in the early years of the VBL. Ten years later, eSports players from all over the world could in principle take part in the Grand Final
