Team Falcons won ESL One Birmingham Powered by Intel this evening after a Grand Final clash versus BetBoom Team at Resorts World Arena.
Team Falcons had a near-flawless run to the trophy, finishing top of Group A without dropping a series. Despite a slight stumble against Tundra Esports in the Upper Bracket, they flew through the lower bracket, dispatching Team Liquid and OG, before getting their revenge on Tundra Esports in the Lower Bracket Final.
With their performance, Team Falcons took home $300,000 and 6,400 of the EPT Points, as well as the ESL One trophy.
With this win, Team Falcons have now secured their spot at Riyadh Masters at the Esports World Cup in summer 2024.
Grant Rousseau, who we interviewed at ESL One Birmingham yesterday, had this to say:
Europe’s biggest Dota 2 esports event in six years, ESL One drew a peak viewership of 327,000+, with 18,000+ fans from across the world attending Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on the final three days of the tournament.
Group Stage
Making a return to Birmingham for the first time since 2018, the tournament commenced on April 22nd with the Group Stage, where 12 world’s best teams were split into two groups of six.
DreamLeague Season 22 champions Team Falcons went unbeaten and topped Group A, with BetBoom Team finishing a close second. Team Liquid and G2.iG eked through in third and fourth place, respectively, with Team Liquid also unbeaten.
In Group B, local UK hero Matthew ‘Ari’ Walker and his OG side finished at the top of the group, with London-headquartered team Tundra Esports finishing a narrow second. Xtreme Gaming and Heroic qualified for the Lower Bracket.
Playoffs
In the first matches of the Upper Bracket, Tundra Esports took the win against Team Falcons to secure their spot in the Upper Bracket Final against BetBoom Team, who knocked OG to the Lower Bracket.
The first day at Resorts World Arena saw Team Liquid take on Heroic in a tense matchup which saw the latter become the first team to be eliminated from the Playoffs. Later in the afternoon, G2xiG battled their way through a tough Xtreme Gaming opposition, with one of the longest series in the competition, clocking in at nearly three hours of gameplay. In the final matchup of the day, Team Liquid’s momentum from their earlier win was quashed by Team Falcons, who took the match 2-1.
Hometown hero Ari returned to the stage in the first match on Saturday, as OG took on G2.iG, with OG advancing to the Lower Bracket Semi-Final in the first 2-0 sweep of the Playoff stage. BetBoom Team were back in action to take on Tundra Esports, facing off for a spot in the Grand Final and crushed their opposition to emphatically secure their place. Tundra’s Lower Bracket final opponents were decided in the next match, where OG, despite battling bravely, fell to a 2-1 against a rampant Team Falcons.
Ari thanked the home crowd for their support and said OG would go even further next time.
‘Thanks for your support. We’ll go further next time’ – @Aribeonaty 🇬🇧 #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/QevFsycYxh
— Esports News UK (@Esports_News_UK) April 27, 2024
In the Lower Bracket Final, it was Team Falcons who brushed Tundra Esports aside with a 2-0 sweep, setting the stage for a finale against BetBoom Team.
Grand Final
With both teams making short work of their previous-round opposition, both BetBoom Team and Team Falcons won a spot in the Grand Final, eliminating some world-class organisations on the way.
The last time these teams faced off was in the Group Stage where the match finished in a 1-1 draw, but at DreamLeague Season 22 earlier this year, Team Falcons took a clean 3-0 sweep over BetBoom Team, leaving them hungry for revenge.
Before the match, a grand finals ceremony took place featuring a live orchestral performance and special video:
After a rocky start in the first game, Team Falcons managed to rally quickly to dispel BetBoom Team’s chances of opening the scoring in the Grand Final. Team Falcons continued this form into the second game, where, despite some early setbacks, they managed to overpower BetBoom Team to increase their lead to 2-0.
Almost directly replicating the DreamLeague Season 22 Final, Team Falcons resumed their dominance into the third game, sweeping BetBoom Team away to continue their almost flawless start to 2024.
“We’re super happy with this win, we’ve been working so hard this year and it’s really showing with our performances,” said Wu ‘Sneyking’ Jingjun from Team Falcons. “The fans were brilliant, and we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve this year with this great team.”
“It was absolutely brilliant to be back in Birmingham, where our journey in British Dota began six years ago,” said Shane Clarke, Director Game Ecosystems for Dota 2. “The community here is one of the most loyal, passionate, and committed to the scene. It’s always great to witness the historic moments and feel the electric energy of the crowd cheering on their favourite teams and players – it’s an experience like no other.
“Birmingham holds a special place in our hearts, and we are grateful to be a part of the Dota 2 esports legacy once again.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
