After the massive party that was ESL One’s first visit to the UK in 2018, we can confirm that top level Dota 2 will return to Arena Birmingham on May 31 - June 2, 2019 with 12 of the best teams on Earth fighting it out for a prize pool of $300.000 USD.
Over the last couple of months, one request has oppressed the meta of our social media game. Whenever we posted about one of our other events, like ESL One Katowice in February, or even about other games, there would always be a couple of replies along the lines of: “pls cnfrm doto back 2 uk 2019”.
This level of passion is more than understandable. In 2018, ESL One Birmingham powered by Intel became our fastest-selling Dota 2 event to date. Fans gathered from more than 38 different countries and 120 different areas of the UK for a multi-day festival to celebrate the pinnacle of competitive strategy gaming. Across the globe, more than 30 million people viewed the action on our various streams.
Dear UK, let’s keep the party going in 2019!
What they’re saying:
“I’m delighted Birmingham will once again play host to an ESL tournament. It is a testament to the brilliant fans who made this such a success last year, and we look forward to welcoming fans from across the world”, said Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries.
“We witnessed unimaginable levels of support from the UK community which genuinely surprised us all earlier this year”, said James Dean, Managing Director at ESL UK. “We’re working on implementing improvements and some additional surprise features based on superb feedback from the community this year.”
What you need to know:
-TEAMS: Open qualifiers for teams wishing to play their way into ESL One Birmingham 2019 will be announced soon. They will take place in March and April 2019 across Europe, North America, China, and South-East Asia.
-FORMAT: After the success of the format we premiered at ESL One Hamburg 2018, Birmingham will follow the same competitive structure. Group stage matches will be played from May 28 - May 30 and consist of two groups of six teams in a Round Robin bo2 configuration.
The top two teams in each group will be seeded into the Upper Bracket Semi Finals, while 3rd and 4th will play in the Lower Bracket. The Arena Days, on May 31 - June 2, will consist of multiple bo3 matchups featuring eight different teams and will culminate in a bo5 Grand Final.
-COSPLAYERS: Bring your finest look and show it off on the main stage for our traditional contest. The winner will be part of the trophy ceremony to crown the new ESL One Birmingham champions. Stay tuned for details.
-TICKETS: Tickets for all days of ESL One Birmingham 2019 will be available on Thursday November 15, click here to start hitting refresh every five minutes. Prices will range from £19 for a one-day ticket and £44 for a three-day ticket to £134 for a premium ticket - which will grant fans access to exclusive signings and better seats in the arena.
Follow our official Dota 2 accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all things ESL One Birmingham.
