The Dota 2 season is entering its really competitive stage with ESL One Birmingham. With Elite League, PGL Wallachia qualifiers and BetBoom Dacha Dubai behind us, Birmingham is the next tier 1 event stop. This will be the 2nd event in the ESL Pro Tour system this year. We watched the Falcons take the Dreamleague Season 22 trophy, but this will be a different story. ESL One events have a special wine and special weight to their name.
ESL One Birmingham – Event Summary:
Dates: April 22nd – April 28th
Event tier: 1
Prize pool: $1,000,000
Location: Resorts World Arena @ Birmingham
Teams: 12
Top country representation (players): Russia (11), China (7), Malaysia (6)
Stages: Group stage + Playoffs
Last ESL One (Kuala Lumpur) winner: Azure Ray
Top-ranked teams in the event (EPT rankings): BetBoom / Xtreme Gaming / Team Falcons
Teams participating in ESL One Birmingham 2024 are guaranteed at least 280 ESL Pro Tour points. The first team will take $300,000 and EPT points, while a total of 26,640 EPT points are up for grabs.
Group Stage – Analysis:
12 teams are separated into 2 groups of 6 teams. In each group of ESL One Birmingham, the top 2 teams advance to the upper bracket of playoffs, while 3rd and 4th ranked teams go to lower bracket playoffs. The last 2 teams in each group are eliminated from the tournament.
Group A:
Group A consists of tournament favorites, Team Falcons and 3rd favored team, Team Liquid. BetBoom could be a threat too, but they are not consistent at all, so this is a big question mark for me. I think those 3 teams have the highest chance of advancing in this best-of-two bloodbath, but I do think that G2xIG can make a mess in that top 4 for sure, even the top 2.
On paper, they can fight for a direct spot in the upper bracket playoffs, I have no doubt, but their performance recently was not on point. Their best achievement was that they won 1st place PGL Wallachia qualifiers for China, which is a good result, taking into consideration that those qualifiers are super stacked. But playing with EU teams is a different story.
Group B:
Xtreme Gaming, most likely the strongest Chinese team right now, is placed in group B. They are surely one of the favorites for the ESL One Birmingham. If they don’t end up in the top 2 in this group, I’ll be very surprised. Gaimin Gladiators, who had an amazing 2023, are still looking at themselves. They cannot pick up proper form, so I don’t see them going far away in this competition. Especially not in the group where teams like OG, Team Spirit and Tundra Esports are.
Tundra is still a strong team, but they are still playing with a standing (Tobi instead of MindControl and with a Pure- who is on loan from BetBoom. Very shaky team right now and a shaky roster, when you don’t have 5 compact individuals. Team Spirit and OG are always a threat, even though OG is trying some new players too, so be careful about that. Spirit, Xtreme and Gaimin should go through, that is what I’m sure.
Outright – Favorites:
Team Falcons @ 3.40 (Leetbit)
The most dominant team this year, so far. With two 1st places in tier 1 events this year, and 2nd place at Elite League, they are looking incredible moving into the middle of the season. Surely top favorites for this event too, if Xtreme Gaming doesn’t stop them. Would bet on them all the way.
Xtreme Gaming @ 4.80 (Leetbit)
Xtreme Gaming is the best team from China in the last months. With a very packed roster full of Chinese top individuals, Xtreme is looking to take their 2nd championship this month. They have won Elite League with 3-1 over Falcons. With all the reasons, it’s a top-ranked team, and I think this is the only team where the Falcons might stumble.
Team Liquid @ 5.00 (Leetbit)
Team Liquid is always among the favorites in every tournament, but they still didn’t manage to go all the way, last year or this year. With Nisha, one of the best mids in the game carrying them, they are surely here to make some mess. Their 2nd place at BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 in February and 4th place at Elite League 2 weeks ago, proved that they have it. They can surely present a big danger to the top 5-6 teams. Everyone else, they can beat easily I think.
Honorary mentions (teams that can go far – underdogs):
Team Spirit @ 6.30 (Leetbit)
BetBoom @ 7.00 (Leetbit)
Leetbit offers a wide range of Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham markets and bets. Check our offer HERE.
You can follow Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham on Twitch.tv.
Not sure what kind of bets you want to place on Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham? Check the basic esports bet list HERE.
