bevestor Virtual Bundesliga: 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 crowned German Club Champion in eFootball
28 March 2021 – 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 are the new German Club Champions in eFootball. The team featuring the players Deniel “Denii10” Mutic, Denis “Denis” Müller, Niklas “Niklugi” Luginsland, Oliver “edler-litter.de” Häussler and Serhat “Serhatino01” Öztürk beat FC St. Pauli 6:0 in the final of the VBL Club Championship by bevestor on Sunday afternoon.
The VBL Club Championship by bevestor is a competition within the bevestor Virtual Bundesliga, in which Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs compete against each other with their eFootball teams in EA SPORTS FIFA. All matches played over the weekend were also shown on the VBL’s digital channels. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the matches were played in online mode to prevent infection. The VBL Club Champions trophy stayed in the studio throughout, and the winners received it afterwards.
Andreas Heyden, EVP Digital Innovations of the DFL Group, said: “Many congratulations to the new German Club Champion, 1. FC Heidenheim 1846! Today’s final was a great end to the VBL Club Championship season, we took lots of steps to make the competition even more attractive. We are hugely grateful to all the clubs and players, as well as our partners bevestor, ESL and EA SPORTS, for achieving this together. The VBL season is now continuing as a single-player competition, and we are keen to find out which player will claim the eFootball championship title in the Grand Final on 6 June.”
In the 2020-21 season, 26 clubs took part in the VBL Club Championship eFootball competition organised by the DFL. Given the record number of entries, the participants were first split into two regional divisions of 13 clubs each. After 26 matchdays, 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 finished second in their South-East Division. On finals weekend, the club’s eFootballers successfully negotiated the group phase on Saturday, and qualified for the semi-final as group winners. On Sunday, they were crowned as the new German champions, succeeding SV Werder Bremen, who won the competition in its first two seasons.
What happens next: VBL Playoffs by bevestor and VBL Grand Final by bevestor
As in previous years, the clubs’ eFootballers have also qualified to play in the subsequent competition for the individual-player title of “German eFootball Champion”. Two players from each of the first four clubs in both divisions will qualify directly for the VBL Grand Final by bevestor. Two players from each of the clubs in fifth to tenth place in both divisions will take part in the VBL Playoffs, another potential route to the VBL Grand Final. A further 104 play-off entrants have already qualified for the VBL Open by bevestor, which is open to all.
About the Virtual Bundesliga
In 2012, the DFL became the first professional football league to have its own eSport competition when it launched the VBL in partnership with EA SPORTS. The VBL has enjoyed steadily growing popularity since its launch, with around 130,000 participants taking part last season. In 2018, the decision to launch the VBL Club Championship with the clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in addition to the VBL Open competition for individual players was taken in response to the increasing popularity of the VBL, the growing relevance of eSport in general and the DFL’s focus on football simulation games. The two competitions are brought together, first in the VBL Playoffs and then in the VBL Grand Final.
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