ESL One Birmingham returns this May with 12 teams attending

Arena Birmingham from England will host for the third year in a row an ESL One Dota 2 event.

ESL One Birmingham 2020 will be held May 29-31 and although it is not a part of the current Dota Pro Circuit, the tournament will feature a total of 12 teams and a $300,000 prize pool

It's BACK!#ESLOne Birmingham returns for its third consecutive year this May, from the 29th to 31st!

So gather up your stack, pack those umbrellas (it is the UK after all) and get ready for a tournament like no other!

🇬🇧 https://t.co/AB5MZc7QuC pic.twitter.com/mCKQt1U3L5

— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) January 20, 2020

Eight participating teams will receive a direct invite from the organizers and they will be joined by four other squads coming from regional qualifiers held in Europe, North America, China and Southeast Asia. None of the direct invites has been announced yet, but perhaps at least one of the previous Birmingham champions will be taken into consideration.

Back in 2018, ESL One Birmingham was a Major in the DPC schedule and Virtus.pro made a historical run, taking the trophy home without dropping a single game through the entire tournament, from the group stage to the grand finals where they defeated Optic Gaming 3-0. That year’s edition also broke records in ticket sales and given the tournament popularity, ESL One returned last year with a new instalment of the event. Team Secret took the title home in 2019, after a gruelling grand final where they were pushed to decisive game five by Evil Geniuses.

According to the official announcement made by ESL One today, January 20, the tickets sale will start “soon,” but on their official website, under the Tickets tab, the countdown shows that the sale starts in less than two days with prices ranging from £39 (plus fees) for a simple weekend – 3 days access pass, to £129 (plus fees) for a 3 days weekend premium access pass.