Team Liquid’s long-standing streak of attending every ESL event since 2017 came to a screeching halt following a crushing 1–2 loss to MOUZ in the Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham 2026 Western Europe Closed Qualifier.
Liquid actually drew first blood in the series behind a stellar Puck performance from Michał “Nisha” Jankowski. But MOUZ hit back in Game 2 as Daniyal “yamich” Lazebnyy’s Tusk dictated the pace in a dominating 30-minute win.
It was Remco “Crystallis” Arets’ show in the deciding Game 3, as his carry Dragon Knight went flawless with a 14/0/10 KDA to seal the 48-minute clincher.
The result extends MOUZ’s rapid rise after forming post-The International 2025, which saw them lift the PGL Wallachia Season 6 trophy with an upset over Team Spirit, their first tier-one Dota 2 title in history.
Fresh off a strong showing in the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers, the Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp-led squad rebounded from an opening loss to NAVI with a 2–0 sweep of Zero Tenacity to earn the Liquid showdown. And they certainly made it count.
For Liquid, it’s a bitter first in nearly a decade. The two-time TI winning organization last missed an ESL event in 2017 after falling to Ad Finem in the ESL One Genting qualifiers.
Liquid’s Birmingham run began promisingly with a 2–0 sweep of Nigma Galaxy, only to fall down after a reverse sweep by Virtus.pro in the upper bracket and the final blow from MOUZ.
The upset stings even more given Liquid’s status as regional favorites following the high-profile additions of former Gaimin Gladiators duo Marcus “Ace” Christensen and Erik “tOfu” Engel after a disappointing campaign TI 2025, which was one of the most anticipated tournaments in esports betting platforms last year.
Dota 2 ESL One Birmingham 2026 qualified teams and direct invites
Meanwhile, here are the other teams that made it through the grueling regional qualifiers, along with the directly invited squads:
| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Team Falcons | Western Europe Qualifier |
| Virtus.pro | Western Europe Qualifier |
| MOUZ | Western Europe Qualifier |
| Nigma Galaxy | Western Europe Qualifier |
| BetBoom Team | Easter Europe Qualifier |
| Aurora Gaming | Easter Europe Qualifier |
| REKONIX | Southeast Asia Qualifier |
| GamerLegion | North America Qualifier |
| Peru Rejects | South America Qualifer |
| TBD | ESL Challenger China |
| Team Yandex | Direct invite |
| Team Spirit | Direct invite |
| PARIVISION | Direct invite |
| Xtreme Gaming | Direct invite |
| OG | Direct invite |
| Tundra Esports | Direct invite |
ESL One Birmingham 2026 runs March 22–29, with a $1 million prize pool on the line.
