Dortmund hadn’t expected to win the title, but they did it anyway. Perhaps that’s why it was so difficult for the BVB players to put their triumph in the VBL Club Championship into perspective.
Francesco Allocca and Dennis Malcherczyk had not agreed on anything on Sunday evening. There wouldn’t have been time for that anyway. Immediately after winning the German club championship in FC 26 and a brief detour to the presenter’s couch, the Dortmund eSports players gave the traditional winner’s interview. They chose the same term.
Allocca in English, Malcherczyk in German: It felt “indescribable” to hold up the Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship (VBLCC) trophy. “I have no idea what to say – it’s just awesome,” added the latter. This was the spontaneous reaction of two eSports players who are currently experiencing the highlight of their careers so far. And who hadn’t expected it.
“Honestly? No, I didn’t expect that two days ago,” Malcherczyk admitted. It was only the round of 16 on Saturday that really sparked their belief in their chances of winning the title. On the one hand, because of the “absolutely awesome” victory in the local derby against Schalke 04. On the other hand, because of the defeat of defending champions RBLZ Gaming against TSG Hoffenheim.
“The fact that Leipzig lost on the first day gave us the feeling that anything was possible,” said Malcherczyk, who became the match winner in the duel with S04. After Allocca’s 3-4 defeat to Okan Dalgic, he turned the overall result around with a 6-4 victory over Bastian Rupsch. It was a small taste of what was to come over the weekend, when the previous roles were reversed.
‘Denninho’ becomes Dortmund’s MVP in the final
While Allocca had been the more consistent Dortmund player during the league phase, Malcherczyk turned up the heat in the final round. In the quarter-final against Paderborn, he turned a 2-3 deficit after game 1 into a 5-2 overall victory. He then decided the final after a 4-4 draw in the opening game with a 4-3 win against Bayern Munich’s Furkan Kayacik.
Malcherczyk, whose gamertag is ‘Denninho’, became aware of this comeback strength in the last showdown before the final round against Elversberg. At that time, he had to turn the tide for BVB after a 3:5 deficit in match 1 – which he succeeded in doing. “That’s when I realized I could do anything,” said the Dortmund final MVP.
And Allocca, who had played a great regular season but faltered at times in the final round? He was rooting for ‘Denninho’ – especially in the second final match against FCB: “It was terrible to watch. I trust him completely, I wanted it so badly.” The pain of defeat would also have been difficult to describe. But instead, the BVB eSports players were able to celebrate the first eFootball championship in the club’s history – just two and a half years after joining the Virtual Bundesliga. “The biggest title we could win in Germany at club level,” Malcherczyk enthused.
The Dortmund native wanted to save the numerous digital congratulations from friends and family for a few more hours on Sunday evening: “My phone is still in airplane mode. It’ll be a surprise when I go to bed later.”
