Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham 2026: Dark horses, best teams, and players to watch

The ESL One Birmingham 2026 qualifiers have concluded, and nine teams have secured a place at the event in March 2026. ESL One Birmingham is the first major Dota 2 LAN tournament hosted by ESL in 2026, with qualifiers running from January 16 to 20, resulting in notable outcomes.

A few fan-favourite teams have made it to the main event, but some dark horses have slipped through as well, and if teams are not careful, they might just get knocked out by an unexpected opponent. Some of these teams comprise the best Dota 2 players, including rising stars, and they could shake up the competition in unforeseen ways.

So which teams should we watch, and which might surprise viewers? This preview for ESL One Birmingham 2026 should tell you everything you need to know about March’s premier Dota 2 event.

Tundra Esports is quite possibly the team most fans have on their ESL One Birmingham 2026 predictions to win it all. With the recent momentum from winning four BLAST Slam events and finishing strong in just about every other tournament in 2025, Tundra Esports might just be the team that brings home the big one for WEU.

With a lineup boasting some of the best Dota 2 players in every single role, Tundra Esports is easily one of the more predictable fan-favourites going into ESL One Birmingham 2026.

After being relegated to Tier Two for the majority of the last three years, OG is finally making a comeback in the Tier One pro scene, with some of the best Dota 2 players in its new SEA roster. Not only has the team performed exceptionally well in the tail end of 2025, but OG has also defeated some of the top names today.

​Even though the team didn’t win any of the major events in 2025, we feel like the SEA iteration of OG is young and hungry enough to go toe-to-toe with the best players in Dota 2 today.

MOUZ was not on many viewers’ radars in 2025. When the team reformed in September 2025 with a new roster, its performance improved significantly. A balanced mix of old and new players led to strong cohesion and synergy, as MOUZ went on to win PGL Wallachia Season 6 in November 2025.

​MOUZ also crushed fan-favourites, Team Liquid, in the ESL One Birmingham 2026 qualifiers, ending its eight-year-long streak of attending every ESL Dota 2 event. With such momentum going into the group stages, MOUZ is a team that cannot be underestimated.

Another fascinating team to watch is REKONIX, the newly formed SEA team that may have flown under the radar for many viewers, as it was not included in predictions for ESL One Birmingham 2026. Soon after its formation in July 2025, the team began to make a name for itself, winning several smaller EPL tournaments in the SEA region.

​While most of the REKONIX players might not be household names yet, they are on their way to becoming some of the best players in Dota 2 today and might surprise many viewers at ESL One Birmingham 2026.

For a long time, Crystallis was synonymous with Team Secret. Once Crystallis separated from the group, he found success wherever he went. Whether playing for Parivision, Tundra Esports, or MOUZ, Crystallis cemented himself as one of the top carry players in modern Dota 2.

​Now, with the coaching of ImmortalFaith and the guidance of players like Seleri and MidOne, Crystallis might just be one of the best Dota 2 players in the world today, and the MOUZ standout player to watch in this tournament.

If there were one professional player who had a difficult run throughout his career, it would have to be the standout Indonesian midlaner, inYourdreaM. Not only has he played as both a midlaner and a safelaner in his career, but inYourdreaM has excelled at both roles in the tier 2 scene. However, he never received the break he deserved, playing for 16 different teams in his early career without breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling.

​Now, as the midlaner for REKONIX, inYourdreaM has a chance to cement his legacy as one of the best players in Dota 2. Whether REKONIX is going to achieve success against more established teams is yet to be seen, but if there’s one thing Dota 2 viewers have learned over the years, it is that you never count the underdogs out.