SC Paderborn 07 are the new WOW Virtual Bundesliga champions after defeating RB Leipzig in Sunday’s final.
The team’s duo Jamie “Chaser” Bartel and Jonas “Jonny” Wirth didn’t enter the competition as the main favourites but have since made history by adding Paderborn’s name to the list of former winners which include 2023 champions RB Leipzig, 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and SV Werder Bremen.
A record 35 teams from Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 participated in the 2023-24 season, which kicked off in November. The clubs from the Bundesliga which joined the revamped competition include FC Bayern Munchen, Borussia Dortmund and Sport-Club Freiburg. The new faces from Bundesliga 2 were Fortuna Düsseldorf, SV Elversberg, 1. FC Magdeburg, VfL Osnabrück, and SV Wehen Wiesbaden.
𝐉𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇.
𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐋.
𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐓.𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. ✨#VBLCC pic.twitter.com/OA737oyFtQ
— VBL | WOW VIRTUAL BUNDESLIGA (@vbl_official) March 24, 2024
The 35 clubs were divided in two divisions, the North-West Division and South-East Division. Paderborn were in the North-West Division where they finished in second place, proceeding to the finals.
In the group stage, they finished fourth and then put on a spirited performance in the knockouts, where they stopped F.C. Hansa Rostock in the quarter-finals and SV Werder Bremen in the semi-finals. Their epic journey concluded with an unforgettable victory over defending champions RB Leipzig represented by Anders “RBLZ_Vejrgang” Vejrgang and Umut “RBLZ_Umut” Gültekin in the finals last Sunday.
A whopping €87,500 will be shared by the clubs who competed in the event.
More to Follow in the Virtual Bundesliga
There is still more to come in the Virtual Bundesliga, with the Playoffs of the VBL Open taking place on the first weekend of April. The VBL Grand Final will then conclude the season as an offline event in front of fans later next month from 19th to 21st in Cologne.
The newly crowned German champion will then walk away with a huge share of the €100,000 prize pool. On top of that, he is assured a spot in the first-ever EA SPORTS FC Pro World Championships, which will take place in the summer.
The top four players from the WOW Virtual Bundesliga will represent their clubs in the expanded UEFA eChampions League (eCL), which was announced earlier this year.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch an das gesamte Team des @SCPaderborn07, dem neuen Deutschen Club-Meister der WOW #VirtualBundesliga 🏆🎮
Mehr ➡️ https://t.co/GctJjjM5RU pic.twitter.com/9MjJFqLYOA
— DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga (@DFL_Official) March 24, 2024
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