Hertha BSC have drawn the last ticket for the play-offs on matchday 32 of the VBL Club Championship. The “most frustrating opponent” in the league spoke about Berlin’s recipe for success
On Wednesday evening, VBL presenter Niklas Nörenberg asked whether the term “anti-footballer” applied to Hertha’s eSports team. “Yes, a bit,” admitted Bastian Puskas candidly. For the Berlin player, it seemed to be neither an attack nor an insult – almost a compliment. He himself was rated by Nörenberg and colleague Tim Schwartmann as the “most frustrating opponent” in the South-East Division. Here, too, ‘bxstip7’ had no objections. And why should they? The fact that they made the play-offs proves him and Hertha BSC right.
The eighth-placed team from the capital had a two-point lead over SV Elversberg going into the final matchday of the regular VBLCC season. The Berliners had won the direct comparison. A draw against Karlsruher SC was therefore enough to keep them in the title race. The double ended up being a tough affair, with the final score being 0:0. “The pressure was so high, you couldn’t expect a 5:1. The motto was to avoid mistakes,” said Puskas, explaining the approach in the 2vs2
In the singles, ‘bxstip7’ rated Hertha’s quality high enough to win at least once – and to secure a point in combination with the doubles draw. After the 2vs2 against KSC eSport player Khalid Gürel, he himself ensured the play-off qualification: As usual, he defeated ‘khalidgrl03’ 2:1 with a strong defense. Not a brilliant performance, but another controlled performance: “Nobody likes playing against Atletico in soccer. There are not only good players. “
“Crosses are the best thing in FC “
Hertha teammate Noah Klitzing made it clearer in the second singles match, beating Karlsruhe’s Lukas Vonderheide 3:0. The Berliners did their homework – which was necessary: Elversberg had previously been successful in the speed run against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2:0, 2:0). With their own victory, the Old Lady rewarded themselves for an extremely consistent season: Hertha had only slipped out of the play-off places after two of 32 matchdays. In between, however, the team only managed to climb to a maximum of fifth place
Puskas suits the meta in FC 24, where crosses are extremely effective. Which is why many other players now also rely on high crosses. “I actually think it’s really cool that it’s becoming more and more established. Crosses are the best thing in FC 24,” said ‘bxstip7’: “And I know that if my opponent crosses a lot, I’m usually better at it. Because I’ve been doing it for years.” The attractiveness of the game is behind the success. Or as Puskas said: “Not everyone plays tiki-taka. “
Draw is enough for Mainz to win the division title
Fine short passing was much more in evidence during the regular season at 1. FSV Mainz 05. Coach Corvin Deterding has developed his protégés Ditmir Alimi and Max Julius Gröne into a top duo in the VBLCC. The Nullfünfer reaped further rewards on matchday 32: a draw against FC Bayern (1:1, 1:0, 0:1) saw Mainz defend top spot in the table against RB Leipzig and become division champions. Even a dominant win against Darmstadt (3-0, 3-1) did RBLZ no favors in the battle for first place.
Deterding was happy to accept the title of “champion coach” from the VBL moderators, but kept the focus on them: “I prepare the boys tactically, but the much bigger compliment goes to them.” While Alimi and Gröne were probably already on their way home at the time of the interview, coach ‘Deter’ still had plans: “I’m going to stay here for a while and have a cold drink or two.” Fully deserved in view of 76 points, +91 goals and 24 wins this season
Augsburg jumps from six to four
Wednesday’s final decision in the table did not concern the club championship, but the VBL individual competition. TSG Hoffenheim, FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg battled it out for fourth and fifth place, which guarantee two direct places in the VBL Grand Final. FCA went into the final matchday in sixth place and under pressure to win, while FCB had the mammoth task of facing Mainz. Hoffenheim had the best cards: in fourth place, they faced 1. FC Nürnberg in eleventh place
The TSG were somewhat surprisingly defeated by the Franconians after a 0:2, 3:2 and 3:4. Augsburg, on the other hand, overcame the hurdle of Heidenheim (4:1, 2:2, 3:3) and overtook Hoffenheim. However, as FC Bayern only picked up a point against Mainz, the Kraichgauers could breathe a sigh of relief – they just about managed to finish fifth. Munich, on the other hand, missed out on direct qualification for the VBL Grand Final for two of their eSports players. Quite annoying, as Augsburg’s Yannic Bederke explained in the run-up to the matchday: “When you’re so close to the top five, you really want to get in there. We all know how difficult the individual play-offs are.”
The VBLCC play-offs, which have now been decided, are also likely to be challenging for all teams involved:
FC St. Pauli – Hertha BSC
SC Freiburg – Hamburger SV
Hansa Rostock – VfB Stuttgart
FC Augsburg – Bayer Leverkusen
VfL Bochum – FC Bayern Munich
TSG Hoffenheim – FC Schalke 04