ESL’s flagship Dota 2 esports event returns in 2026, with a huge crowd ready to soak up top-tier action. You don’t want to miss this year’s ESL One Birmingham, which promises incredible plays from the world’s best players. Let’s blink in and discuss all the essential details in our guide.
We cover the tournament format and schedule, prize pool distribution, competing teams, and how to watch. For those looking to add another layer of excitement to the mix, we called on our experts to write betting predictions for this highly anticipated event.
Disclaimer: All odds quoted are accurate as of March 19, 2026, and are subject to change without notice.
ESL One Birmingham 2026 Schedule & Format
Running from March 22 to 29, ESL One Birmingham 2026 has two distinct stages of competition, starting with the Group Stage.
The Group Stage features all 16 teams and it kicks off on March 22. It also features two single Round-Robin groups of eight teams each, with all matches being best-of-two.
The top two teams in each group advance to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs Stage, while the 3rd- and 4th-place teams move on to the Lower Bracket of the Playoffs Stage. The remaining teams (5th- to 8th-place) are eliminated.
The ESL One Birmingham 2026 Playoffs Stage takes place in front of a crowd at the bp pulse LIVE arena from March 27 to 29, during the DreamHack Birmingham mega event. Eight teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket. The Grand Final is best-of-five, and all other matches are best-of-three.
For exact match start dates/times in your region, visit our Dota 2 betting page.
Prize Pool Distribution
Teams are competing for a share of the $1 million prize pool, which has distinct Player Share ($750,000) and Club Share ($250,000) portions. There’s also a heap of ESL Pro Tour (EPT) points to fight for.
Check out the prize pool and EPT points distribution below.
| Place | Player Share | Club Share | Total Prize | EPT Points |
| 1st | $250,000 | $40,000 | $290,000 | 8,000 |
| 2nd | $100,000 | $30,000 | $130,000 | 6,000 |
| 3rd | $80,000 | $25,000 | $105,000 | 5,000 |
| 4th | $60,000 | $20,000 | $80,000 | 4,000 |
| 5th–6th | $40,000 | $15,000 | $55,000 | 2,800 |
| 7th–8th | $27,500 | $12,500 | $40,000 | 1,300 |
| 9th–10th | $20,000 | $10,000 | $30,000 | 700 |
| 11th–12th | $17,500 | $10,000 | $27,500 | 350 |
| 13th–14th | $15,000 | $10,000 | $25,000 | 180 |
| 15th–16th | $10,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 | 100 |
| Total | $750,000 | $250,000 | $1,000,000 | 35,460 |
The winners of Group A and Group B also get 800 EPT points each, which is included in the 35,460 total.
How To Watch ESL One Birmingham 2026
Dive straight in and watch all the ESL One Birmingham 2026 action right here at Thunderpick. Simply visit our Dota 2 betting page to get started.
Select the camera icon next to any ongoing match to open our live viewer. A stream will appear, alongside our state-of-the-art bet slip, allowing registered users to watch the matches live while placing in-play wagers.
You can also watch the tournament via ESL’s official Dota 2 YouTube and Twitch channels.
Teams At ESL One Birmingham 2026
With 16 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world competing at ESL One Birmingham 2026, sparks are set to fly.
Six teams received direct invites based on their EPT Leaderboard standings, while 10 made it through regional qualifiers.
Here are all 16 teams competing at ESL One Birmingham 2026, divided into their respective groups.
Group A teams:
- Team Yandex
- Tundra Esports
- PARIVISION
- MOUZ (Western Europe qualifier)
- BetBoom Team (Eastern Europe qualifier)
- REKONIX (Southeast Asia qualifier)
- Yakult Brothers (China qualifier)
- GamerLegion (North America qualifier)
Group B teams:
- Team Spirit
- Xtreme Gaming
- OG
- Team Falcons (Western Europe qualifier)
- Nigma Galaxy (Western Europe qualifier)
- Virtus.pro (Western Europe qualifier)
- Aurora Gaming (Eastern Europe qualifier)
- paiN Gaming (South American qualifier)
Our ESL One Birmingham 2026 Predictions
The Dota 2 esports scene’s top dog, Team Liquid, is missing out on ESL One Birmingham 2026 after suffering a devastating loss to MOUZ in the qualifiers, which means the field is wide open.
To create our ESL One Birmingham 2026 betting predictions, we performed diligent research on recent team performances, player form, and outright betting odds. In our analysis, we outline the odds in Decimal and American formats, along with the implied probabilities, to indicate the chance of a team lifting the trophy in Birmingham.
Important: These predictions reflect the perceived strength of teams based on historical trends and the latest available odds. This analysis should not be interpreted as betting advice. Past performance does not guarantee future outcomes. Always gamble responsibly.
Team Yandex (#1)
While Team Yandex had a poor start at PGL Wallachia Season 7, losing to HEROIC in the Group Stage, the squad powered up spectacularly. To claim a spot in the Playoffs Stage, Team Yandex beat MOUZ, Team Falcons, and PARIVISION.
To lift the PGL Wallachia Season 7 trophy, Team Yandex smashed through the Upper Bracket, defeating Aurora Gaming 2–1, and convincingly smashing Team Liquid and BetBoom Team with 2–0 scorelines. In the Grand Final, Team Yandex proved they could perform under immense pressure, winning 3–2 against Team Liquid in a nail-biter.
Their recent performance against the best in the world, on LAN in Romania, gives us confidence that Team Yandex is a top contender. We predict that they’ll become the first team in 2026 to win back-to-back LAN trophies.
Odds of 5.80 (+480) put Team Yandex in the top-four favorites, with a 17.24% chance of lifting the trophy. Team Yandex starts their journey in Group A, alongside the likes of MOUZ and PARIVISION, both of which they recently defeated with relative ease.
Team Yandex roster:
- Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov
- Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov
- Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko
- Martin “Saksa” Sazdov (Stand-in)
- Arman “Malady” Orazbayev
- Alexander “Accell” Litvinenko (Coach)
Team Falcons (#2)
The International 2025 (TI14) champions, Team Falcons, haven’t reached a Grand Final in 2026. We predict this will change at ESL One Birmingham, with Team Falcons finding their form.
While the squad did crash out of PGL Wallachia Season 7 during the Group Stage, they did play with a stand-in, as arguably the best midlane player in the world, Malr1ne, couldn’t make it to Romania.
Despite the poor result, the odds of 3.80 (+280) imply a 26.32% chance that Team Falcons will take home the gold. The squad is therefore the favorite to lift the ESL One Birmingham 2026 trophy. However, we’ve placed them at #2 in our predictions due to Team Yandex’s utterly impressive recent performance.
They’re currently looking at a long haul to make it to the Grand Finals after starting in Lower Bracket 1 as the third seat out of their group.
Team Falcons roster:
- Oliver “skiter” Lepko
- Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak
- Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf (Captain)
- Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
- Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu
- Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling (Coach)
Team Spirit (#3)
The two-time TI-winning core of carry Yatoro and offlaner Collapse, alongside midlaner Larl, is a frightening force in any tournament. With Belarusian support and captain, panto, at the helm, Team Spirit showed promise at PGL Wallachia Season 7. They finished in 4th place after a slugfest against Team Liquid, which narrowly slipped away.
With a new coach, MiLAN, stepping into the battle-hardened boots of two-time TI-winner, Silent, there’s an air of excitement surrounding Team Spirit’s hero drafts and tactics.
There’s a 22.73% chance that Team Spirit will claim the crown at ESL One Birmingham 2026, as indicated by the odds of 4.40 (+340). That’s the 2nd-highest probability of all teams competing, signaling confidence in Team Spirit’s ability to bounce back from recent disappointment.
Team Spirit roster:
- Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk
- Denis “Larl” Sigitov
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Alexandr “rue” Filin
- Nikita “panto” Balaganin (Captain)
- Milan “MiLAN” Kozomara (Coach)
Xtreme Gaming (#4)
With the legendary Chinese PO1 carry, Ame, getting back in his signature, frightening form at DreamLeague Season 28, Xtreme Gaming looks primed for a trophy lift. After all, the TI14 runner-up is packed with experience and talent.
Xtreme Gaming has shown moments of brilliance this year, with a 4th-place finish at DreamLeague Season 28, which adds confidence.
If Malaysian midlaner NothingToSay can keep powering up, and offlaner Xxs can deliver under pressure, there’s a chance Xtreme Gaming could go all the way. Our bold prediction is that Xtreme Gaming will secure a top-four finish, potentially outperforming Tundra Esports.
Odds of 15.00 (+1400) indicate there’s only a 6.67% chance that Xtreme Gaming will lift the trophy in Birmingham.
Xtreme Gaming roster:
- Wang “Ame” Chunyu
- Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang
- Lin “Xxs” Jing
- Xu “fy” Linsen (Captain)
- Yap “xNova” Jian Wei
- Zhang “xiao8” Ning (Coach)
Honorable mentions go to Tundra Esports, MOUZ, and BetBoom Team, who narrowly didn’t make our top-four ESL One Birmingham 2026 betting predictions.
Who Will Win ESL One Birmingham 2026?
Team Yandex enters as a strong contender for back-to-back titles, while Team Falcons and Team Spirit look to bounce back from recent setbacks. Meanwhile, Xtreme Gaming could emerge as a dangerous dark horse. All eyes are on Birmingham to see how it unfolds.
Join us in the hype for ESL One Birmingham 2026 by visiting our Dota 2 betting page, where you can put your esports knowledge to the test. Registered users can place a myriad of bets using their favorite cryptocurrency for maximum thrills.
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