This weekend, the “TAG Heuer Virtual Bundesliga” (VBL) starts with the playoff tournament. The best German FIFA-18 players compete for a spot in the final and qualification for the eWorld Cup. We show you which FUT teams the pros will use.
TimoX, Tim Latka, or Mirza Jahic – just a small selection of German FIFA professionals who will participate in the playoffs of the Virtual Bundesliga this weekend in Düsseldorf.
Their goal is to qualify for the final at the end of March. There, a total of €45,000 is at stake and the next step toward the FIFA-18-eWorld-Cup in the summer.
The playoff event on March 10 and 11
On Saturday, March 10, the playoff tournament kicks off, one for Xbox and one for PlayStation.
The qualification took place over four months, from November to February. During that time, 48 players per console could qualify through the “Virtual Bundesliga” mode, and 16 players per console received a starting spot through a Clubcard. Thus, a total of 128 players will compete, 64 on Xbox One and 64 on PS4.
The best eight players from the playoff tournament on each console qualify for the final tournament at the end of March.
The final on March 31 and April 1
The grand final starts on Saturday, March 31, and will be held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
The 16 playoff qualifiers face off against the defending champion Cihan Yasarlar from RB Leipzig as well as at least three wildcard winners. They compete for prize money of €45,000, the title of “German Champion,” and qualification for the playoff tournament of the FIFA-18 Global Series. This is the final hurdle before the FIFA-18-eWorld-Cup Grand Final.
Game mode and team restrictions: These are the rules
The qualification was held in the “Virtual Bundesliga” mode, meaning each club and player had the same strength. In the Playoff tournament and the final, however, the matches are played in Ultimate Team mode.
To prevent every pro from using the same team, primarily consisting of Bayern Munich players, rules were established beforehand. Each FUT team may have up to 3 players from the same club. Additionally, no icons are allowed and only players from the Bundesliga can be used, player special cards may be used.
This leads to players having to carefully weigh where to place their “stars” and where to use cards from smaller clubs.
An example:
In goal, there is a goalkeeper in the Bundesliga with Manuel Neuer who is far ahead in ratings compared to others. Nevertheless, many professionals play with Ralf Fährmann – why?
Fährmann excels in foot defense – a very useful trait in FIFA 18 to save low driven shots. This makes him nearly equivalent to Manuel Neuer in the eyes of many gamers despite weaker stats. Professionals prefer to use their three Bayern players for very strong cards in other positions. Arturo Vidal, Jerome Boateng, Arjen Robben, or David Alaba are very popular.
This is what the teams of the pros look like
Some pros have already announced in advance with which team they have trained for the VBL. The two pros from VfL Wolfsburg and streamer and pro Mirza Jahic will likely compete like this:
Horn – Zuber, Sokratis, Boateng, Diekmeier – Goretzka, Vidal – Robben, Reus – Origi, Batshuayi
Fährmann – Zuber, Boateng, Naldo, Weiser – Goretzka, Vidal – Robben, Bailey – Origi, Werner
Fährmann – Alaba, Boateng, Sokratis, Piszcek – Goretzka, Vidal – Bailey, Origi – Batshuayi, Werner
