ESL One Birmingham: Everything You Need To Know

Last updated: April 29

Fresh off the back of DOTA 2's Elite League comes another Tier-1 DOTA 2 tournament on the horizon. ESL One Birmingham is bringing professional DOTA back to the UK on April 22 as the first DOTA 2 event held in the country since 2019.

Twelve of the world's best DOTA 2 teams will compete for a slice of the $1M prize pool at ESL One Birmingham 2024, with powerhouse teams like BetBoom Team and Gaimin Gladiators waiting for their moment.

Read on for more details about ESL One Birmingham, including the tournament format, the complete schedule, all twelve teams competing, the current standings, and other bonus information.

ESL One Birmingham 2024: Format

Boasting a format similar to ESL One Kuala Lumpur in December, ESL One Birmingham has two phases: a Group Stage and Playoffs to decide the ultimate champion.

Here's a brief rundown of the event's format.

Group Stage: April 22 - 24

• There will be two single round-robin groups, with six teams in each
• All series' will consist of two games
• The top two teams from each group advance to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs
• 3rd and 4th place teams from each group advance to the Lower Bracket of the Playoffs
• The remaining teams are eliminated (four teams in total)

Group Stage Tiebreaker Rules

In the event of a Group Stage tie, a series of tiebreaker matches come into play.

If the tie is over a position of significance: 

• If two teams are tied, a Bo3 is played
• If it involves three teams or more, a Bo1 round-robin is played

If the above doesn't resolve the tie, the tiebreaker will be replayed with the three tied teams til a result occurs. If there is a schedule allowance and it involves explicit elimination, 1v1 tiebreakers will continue to play out.

If the ties are not over a position of significance (ordered in importance): 

1. Neustadl score
2. Head-to-head record between tied participants, taking only game score into account
3. Record vs the first team below the tied teams, continuing to each subsequent team until the tie is resolved
4. 1v1 tie breakers

Playoffs: April 26 - 28

• Eight teams compete in a double-elimination bracket in the Playoffs
• All matches except the Grand Final are best-of-three (Bo3)
• The Grand Final is best-of-five (Bo5)

ESL One Birmingham 2024: Teams

Twelve of the strongest DOTA 2 teams worldwide will arrive in the UK to compete in ESL One Birmingham 2024. Four teams were pre-invited based on their top positions on the EPT Leaderboard: Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom Team, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Liquid.

The remaining eight teams earned their slots through seven regional qualifiers, with two slots going to Western Europe and one slot each going to Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

1win was also meant to represent Western Europe but had to drop out of the competition two weeks before the event kicked off due to VISA issues after being unable to secure visas in time.

Here are all twelve confirmed teams competing in ESL One Birmingham 2024 and their complete player rosters.

Invited Teams

• Gaimin Gladiators: dyrachyo, Quinn, Ace, tOfu, Seleri
• BetBoom Team: Nightfall, gok, MieRo', Save-, TORONTOTOKYO
• Xtreme Gaming: Ame, Xm, Xxs, XinQ, Dy
• Team Liquid: miCKe, Nisha, 33, Boxi, Insania

Western Europe

• Tundra Esports: Pure~, Topson, Tobi, 9Class, Whitemon
• OG: bz, Wisper, Ari, Ceb

Eastern Europe

• Team Spirit: Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka

MENA

• Team Falcons: skiter, Marl1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, Sneyking

China

• G2.iG: Monet, NothingToSay, JT-, BoBoKa, xNova

Southeast Asia

• Talon Esports: Akashi, ChYuaN, Ws, Jhocam, ponyo

North America

• Shopify Rebellion: Arteezy, Yopaj-, SabeRLight-, Thiolicor, Kitrak

South America

• HEROIC: K1, 4nalog, Davai Lama, Scofield, KJ

ESL One Birmingham 2024: Schedule

Tensions are sky-high as ESL One Birmingham draws closer to its start date on April 22. Which team will emerge victorious and bring that winning spirit back to the UK? Only time will tell.

• Group A: BetBoom Team, G2 x iG, Shopify Rebellion, Talon Esports, Team Falcons, Team Liquid
• Group B: Gaimin Gladiators, HEROIC, OG, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming

All times will be in BST, and match winners will be in bold.

April 25 - Upper Bracket Semifinals

• 12:00 PM: Team Falcons vs. Tundra Esports
• 3:30 PM: OG vs. BetBoom Team

April 26 - Lower Bracket Round 1

• 12:00 PM: Team Liquid vs. HEROIC
• 3:35 PM: Xtreme Gaming vs. G2 x iG

April 26 - 27 - Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

• 7:00 PM: Team Falcons vs. Team Liquid
• 12:00 PM: OG vs. G2 x iG

April 27 - Upper Bracket Final

• 3:35 PM: Tundra Esports vs. BetBoom Team

April 27 - Lower Bracket Semifinal

• 7:00 PM: Team Falcons vs. OG

April 28 - Lower Bracket Final

• 12:00 PM: Tundra Esports vs. Team Falcons

April 28 - Grand Final

• 4:00 PM: Team Falcons vs. BetBoom Team

ESL One Birmingham 2024: Venue & Streams

Like all professional S-tier DOTA 2 events, several matches will happen simultaneously in the first round. To ensure you don't miss a second of the action, English-speaking primary, secondary, and tertiary livestreams will be available for all matches.

Check out the tournament's Liquidpedia page for other regional-specific broadcasts, including Russia, China, Spain, and Brazil.

The primary ESL One DOTA 2 Twitch channel is embedded below, as it'll be the hotspot for all Playoffs matches later in the event.

Tickets to watch ESL One Birmingham live in person at the Resorts World Arena are still available via Ticket Factory, so grab 'em while you still can! A regular day ticket starts at £33.40, equating to around $40 USD. Please note that children under 14 must be accompanied by an 18+ adult with a valid ticket.

Final Thoughts

That was our complete rundown of ESL One Birmingham 2024. When the official Group Stage schedule is released, we'll update this article accordingly, so stay tuned!

Want more gaming content? Check out our blog page, which is teeming with goodies, including all DOTA 2 heroes by their release date, the upcoming DOTA 2 hero Ringmaster, DOTA 2 MMR, the latest OW2 patch notes, and tons more. If you want to level up your betting game, check out our dedicated ESL One Birmingham 2024 betting guide, designed to help you win big!

Place big brain bets using Same Game Combos for DOTA 2! Rake in the big bucks using esports SGCs and put your DOTA 2 knowledge to the test, with tons of different betting markets available, all for the same game. Make the most out of the least and win big $$$. Are you up for the challenge?