ESL One Birmingham Meta Recap: Slow Transition

Now that ESL One Birmingham is over and Tundra Esports have been crowned champions, we can recap the tournament and examine how the metagame was affected by having two patches drop during the event.

Despite the apparent chaos of so many changes during the tournament, the meta favorites did not shift abruptly and we still have a list of popular picks very similar to what we had seen so far in 2026.

ESL One Birmingham Meta Recap

Higher Win Rates

When we check the data for ESL One Birmingham’s most popular picks, the first thing that stands out is how the average win rate is much higher than usual. The top five starts with Tiny in fifth place, with a 51.11% win rate across 45 games.

Tiny ended up tied with Phoenix in terms of match participation, but Phoenix had a superior win rate at 55.56%. Phoenix was not nerfed in 7.41a, while Tiny received a buff that pushed him more toward dealing damage with basic attacks.

In third place, Tusk had the second-lowest win rate among the most popular picks but still remained above 50%, with 50.94%. He had some abilities reworked, and his Drinking Buddies ability was turned into an Aghanim’s Shard upgrade, which feels like a nerf.

Jakiro and Shaman Alternating on the Top

As usual, the Jakiro and Shadow Shaman duality continues to dominate the top five most popular heroes in tournaments. This time, Jakiro had the best win rate, with an impressive 64.91% across 57 matches. Double Trouble receiving a smaller damage penalty as he levels up was a significant buff to an already strong ability.

Shadow Shaman claimed the title of most popular hero this time, but that came at the cost of having the lowest win rate among the top five. He won 45.31% of his 64 matches and was the only hero below a 50% win rate among the most popular picks.

Shadow Meta: 2 Our of 3 Squad

This tournament featured many changes, which seems to have homogenized the meta in terms of performance. No hero that appeared in over 10% of the 142 matches achieved a win rate above 70%. At the same time, however, there is a large group of heroes performing above 60%, with roughly a two-out-of-three win ratio.

Above 60% Win Rate

There are over 10 heroes with win rates of 60% or higher during ESL One Birmingham, spanning all roles. An interesting trend is that the highest-performing heroes sit around a 66% win rate and are all cores, mostly played in the offlane.

• Tidehunter (66.67% in 24 matches)
• Sand King (66.67% in 21 matches)
• Largo (66.67% in 15 matches)
• Weaver (66.67% in 15 matches)
• Windranger (65% in 20 matches)
• Jakiro (64.91% in 57 matches)
• Dragon Knight (64.29% in 14 matches)
• Razor (64.29% in 14 matches)
• Storm Spirit (63.64% in 22 matches)
• Templar Assassin (63.64% in 22 matches)
• Invoker (62.50% in 24 matches)
• Void Spirit (60.53% in 38 matches)
• Faceless Void (60% in 15 matches)
• Muerta (60% in 15 matches)

On top of providing options for every role, this list of top-performing heroes makes it clear how strong Jakiro is, considering that he was not only one of the most popular picks but also performed well enough to appear among the highest win rates.

This should serve as a reference for the next couple of weeks, but it is likely that the meta will shift now that teams have a longer break to work on their new picks and develop strategies based on patch 7.41.

Closing Thoughts

ESL One Birmingham had the unique characteristic of spanning three patch versions, but the metagame did not evolve as quickly as that might suggest. Jakiro remains strong as a go-to support and has reached new heights following the latest patch.

At the same time, teams prioritizing stable drafts while adapting to the new patch have given us a solid idea of which heroes to practice and pick for the foreseeable future.

If you want to stay informed on future meta shifts, tournament previews, roster changes, and more, check out the news section on the Strafe website!

READ MORE: Tundra Esports Are the ESL One Birmingham Champions

Featured Image Source: Valve