ESL One Birmingham: Group Stage Results and Playoffs Schedule

After an intense Group Stage, ESL One Birmingham advances to the Playoffs after cutting the lineup in half. Let’s take a look at how teams performed during the groups and who holds the best record so far.

Once our Group Stage recap is done, we will also check the Playoff matchups, talk a bit about which ones are the most interesting, and discuss the expectations for each team considering their current and previous performances.

ESL One Birmingham: Group Stage Results

Group A

Starting with Group A, this is the first time in a while that we’ve had tiebreakers on the last day of the group stage. BetBoom Team, GamerLegion and PARIVISION ended up locked in a three-way tiebreaker and had some time to rest while Group B played its final day.

Team Yandex and Tundra Esports had already secured their Upper Bracket slots before the tiebreakers. Similarly, MOUZ locked in a Lower Bracket slot during the group stage and was later joined by PARIVISION after they won the tiebreaker.

Group B

While Group A brought back the thrill of tiebreakers, Group B went straight to the point on the final day. After four clean 2-0 victories, Aurora Gaming (which had already qualified in advance) and Team Spirit moved forward to the Upper Bracket in the Playoffs.

In the Lower Bracket, Team Falcons and Xtreme Gaming drew the short end of the stick and will have to fight for survival from the first round. Unfortunately, the remaining teams were eliminated and will receive $10,000 as a participation prize.

ESL One Birmingham: Playoffs Schedule

The Playoffs start right after the Group Stage on March 26. As usual, matches will be best-of-three, and the tournament will follow a double-elimination format. One small variation is that instead of all teams starting in the Upper Bracket, half of the qualified teams begin with their backs already against the wall.

Take a look at the matchups for the first round of the ESL One Birmingham Playoffs:

• March 26 — 12:00 GMT — Team Yandex vs. Team Spirit
• March 26 — 15:30 GMT — Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports
• March 27 — 12:00 GMT — MOUZ vs. Xtreme Gaming
• March 27 — 15:30 GMT — Team Falcons vs. PARIVISION

Interesting Matchups

Since we only have four matchups to choose from, let’s pick one from each bracket and talk about where teams stand right now and what the expectations are.

Team Yandex vs. Team Spirit

Team Yandex recently won PGL Wallachia Season 7 and is once again making its way toward the Grand Finals. They have a very solid roster but did not perform as well in DreamLeague Season 28 and won Wallachia with a stand-in.

On the other side, Team Spirit is trying to stay consistent after placing 4th in PGL Wallachia. Spirit has yet to win a tournament without Miposhka and defeating Yandex would be a strong sign that they have found balance with this roster.

Team Falcons vs. PARIVISION

Team Falcons faced successive unforeseen issues that forced them to use stand-ins during DreamLeague and Wallachia. Now, they return at full strength and look to regain their place and respect as standing TI champions.

PARIVISION, on the other hand, has a very different story, with ongoing struggles since their Top 3 finish at TI 2025. Astini left, DM was benched, and the team is still trying to find a new identity and consistent performance.

Closing Thoughts

The Playoffs are about to begin, and this is an important moment in the ESL Pro Tour as well as in the journeys of teams like Spirit and PARIVISION. Dota 2 seemed to revolve around Eastern Europe in 2025, but things have changed, and several rosters have fallen from grace.

On the other hand, Yandex and Aurora performed very well in the Group Stage and could emerge as new trendsetters in Tier 1. They have shown strong results in 2026 and will face each other in the Upper Bracket Final if they win their opening matches.

Patch 7.41 dropped in the middle of the tournament, and the Playoffs will now have an extra dose of chaos. If you want to stay informed about the results after ESL One Birmingham concludes, stay with us and check the news section on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Source: Twitter (@ESLDota2)