The qualifications for ESL One Birmingham 2026 have reached their logical conclusion in most regions — and we agree that it was strong. From January 16 to January 20, teams in five zones competed for the right to enter the bp pulse LIVE stage, and nine teams, in fact, can already pack their bags.
There’s been a lot of drama in North America, to be honest. The GamerLegion team literally snatched the victory from the guys from Rottweilas LATAM — the final score of 3:2 speaks for itself for an hour and a half of cards, where everything hung in the balance. In South America, by the way, everything went much more prosaic: the Peruvian national team just ran over HEROIC with a score of 3:0. By the way, the Peruvians gave away only one card for the entire tournament, which is an impressive result for such a level, really.
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List of participants of ESL One Birmingham 2026
Western Europe is delegating four teams from closed selections to Birmingham at once. Team Falcons, who became world champions in 2025, went skating on NAVI and Zero Tenacity — along the way, they are not going to slow down. Together with them, curiously, the qualification was overcome by the Nigma Galaxy, which managed to get out of the basement of the lower grid.
In Eastern Europe, to be honest, the BetBoom Team dominated. The guys did not lose a single meeting, closing L1GA and Inner Circle Esports with a 2-0 dry score — this is the top level of training. The second ticket was taken by Aurora Gaming, who, by the way, took revenge on Inner Circle in the loser’s final for an annoying defeat at the beginning. In Southeast Asia, however, REKONIX made a comeback — after falling into the bottom bracket, they issued a series of four wins and in the final slammed the “Execration” 3:1.
The current list of participants looks like this:
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Team Spirit;
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Tema Yandex;
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Team Falcons;
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BetBoom Team;
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Nigma Galaxy;
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Parivision;
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Xtreme Gaming;
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OG Esports;
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Tundra Esports;
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Virtus.pro;
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MOUZ;
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Aurora Gaming;
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REKONIX;
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Gamer Legion;
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Peru Rejects;
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TBD.
Right now, only one place is vacant, and the fate of the last slot will, in fact, be decided in China. From January 30 to February 1, Vici Gaming, Yakult Brothers and others will meet at ESL Challenger China. Not only a trip to Birmingham is at stake there, but also a share of the prize money of $ 142,000. The tournament is going to be hot, that’s it. We are waiting for the final participant — the intrigue will remain until the last day.
Analysis and favorites of the Birmingham tournament
The qualifications for ESL One Birmingham 2026, apparently, have already put all the dots on the “I”, highlighting the gang of main contenders for the title. While analysts are arguing about meta, the numbers actually speak for themselves — the fight in Birmingham will be based on the clash of three powerful regional schools and audacious Peruvian talents.
Dota 2 Regional Qualification Results
In Eastern Europe, BetBoom Team and Aurora Gaming proved to be real machines for destroying opponents. Moreover, to be honest, BetBoom went through the grid as confidently as possible, closing the matches with a score of 2:0 without unnecessary fuss in leyte. Aurora, by the way, had to sweat it out in the bottom bracket — they took a ticket through the loser’s final, proving that they can adapt when it gets hot.
Let’s just say that Western Europe this time was remembered for the straightforward aggression of Team Falcons. The guys just took out Natus Vincere with a score of 2:0, leaving the “Born to Win” no chance of a comeback at all. Judging by the statistics, the Falcons have full control of the gold and objects by the middle of the game — that’s the level, really.
Statistics and win rate of the REKONIX team in Southeast Asia
The REKONIX team, perhaps, gave the strongest distance in the selections. Just think about it:
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Total series balance — 6-1;
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Card score — 12-3;
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The result of the grand final is 3:1.
Along the way, this is the most stable JUVA team at the moment. In the decisive match against Execution, they, by the way, lost the first card, but then turned on the destruction mode and took three desides in a row. Such psychological stability, apparently, will be their main trump card at the LAN stage.
The main contenders for the Birmingham Cup
If we analyze the head-to-head potential, then the BetBoom Team remains the main “benchmark” of the discipline. Their dry wins in the closed qualifiers are, in fact, a marker of perfect preparation for the drafts. By the way, it will be extremely interesting for them to resist Peru Rejects. Peruvians are a completely different story.: chaos, risk, and a frenzied pace.
The Peruvian backbone, in general, is traditionally famous for its individual skill. According to the data, it is the Peru Rejects players who have settled in the top KDA in South America. Their aggressive style, in fact, can become a nightmare for system teams like the Falcons if they don’t keep up with the brazen exchanges in the first 10 minutes of the match.
A short guide to favorites:
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BetBoom Team — adherents of stability and resource control.
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Team Falcons — Kings of midgame with crazy carry stats.
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REKONIX are masters of comebacks and long distances.
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Peru Rejects is an unpredictable “aggressor” with a top personal KDA.
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Aurora Gaming is a “dark horse” that has survived in the meat grinder of the lower grid.
Predictions for face-to-face meetings of the tournament favorites
The history of face-to-face meetings before Birmingham is still quite sparse, but the scripts are already being read. Team Falcons, apparently, will feel comfortable against classic macro strategies. But REKONIX, to be honest, will become a mystery to everyone — there were almost no cross-regional matches with their participation, so the opponents will have to prepare for their drafts literally “on their knees”.
As a result, in fact, a battle of styles awaits us: European discipline against Asian endurance and South American courage. Birmingham, however, will show whose win rate in the qualifiers was well-deserved, and who just missed the grid. We are waiting for the launch — it will be powerful, that’s for sure.
