Tundra Esports defeat Team Yandex to be crowned ESL One Birmingham 2026 champions

Tundra further cement their position as the most dominant team of the season, now with four tournament victories under their belt.

Western European Dota 2 juggernauts Tundra Esports have claimed the championship of ESL One Birmingham 2026 after they defeated Eastern Europe's Team Yandex, 3-1, in the tournament's grand finals on Monday (30 March). Tundra claimed the grand prize of US$290,000, split between US$250,000 for the playing roster and US$40,000 for the organisation, out of the event's US$1 million prize pool.

Tundra's victory in Birmingham marks their fourth championship this season, adding to their titles from BLAST Slam IV in November 2025, BLAST Slam V in December 2025, and DreamLeague Season 28 in March this year. This victory also comes in veritable home turf for Tundra, as their roster includes Matthew “Ari” Walker–the only notable player to come out of the United Kingdom–and the organisation itself is headquartered in London.

Meanwhile, Yandex bow out of Birmingham with a commendable second place finish and US$130,000, split between US$100,000 for the roster and US$30,000 for the organisation, in consolation.

Despite the loss, Yandex can still hang their hats on being one of the strongest contenders this season. The Eastern European powerhouse now have five Top 3 finishes in tournaments this season, including third place in FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 and second place in BLAST Slam V in November 2025, victory in DreamLeague Season 27 in December 2025, as well as third place in FISSURE Universe: Episode 8 and 3rd-4th place in BLAST Slam VI in February this year.

Tundra's path to the championship in Birmingham

Both Tundra and Yandex began their campaigns in ESL One Birmingham 2026 under Group A in the Group Stage. Tundra enjoyed a perfect 4-0 start in the opening day of the Group Stage, but only finished as the second seed of their group with an 11-3 record. Meanwhile, Yandex claimed the top spot of Group A with a 12-2 standing. Tundra and Yandex's first encounter in the Group Stage notably ended in a 1-1 draw.

In the Playoffs, Tundra and Yandex both defeated their first round opponents in Aurora Gaming and Team Spirit, respectively, to meet for a second time in the upper bracket finals. While their previous encounter ended in a 1-1 draw, Tundra soundly swept Yandex in their rematch in the upper bracket finals to become the first team to advance to the grand finals.

The final day of the tournament then kicked off in the lower bracket finals, where Yandex put a stop to Xtreme Gaming's fiery lower bracket run to earn a second rematch with Tundra in the championship round.

Tundra rout Yandex 3-1 in the grand finals

The grand finals kicked off with Yandex looking determined to avenge their previous loss to Tundra, as they dominated game one and forced their opponents to call GG after a 40-minute beatdown. Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov and Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov were the stars of the show in game one as Yandex racked up 41 kills while only conceding 11 deaths. Watson on Muerta led the way with 13 kills and 11 assists while CHIRA_JUNIOR on Sand King added 11 kills and 20 assists, with both players only having one death apiece.

Yandex looked like they could secure a commanding 2-0 series lead early into game two, as their aggression seemed to be too much for Tundra to handle. However, Tundra managed to slow down Yandex's momentum with some key pickoffs and sly outmaneuvering, giving time for lineup to properly come online. Once Tundra hit critical mass in the late game, Yandex were simply being bulldozed in teamfights and were eventually forced to concede game two after 62 minutes.

Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov on Storm Spirit sparked Tundra's crucial comeback win in game two with 18 kills and 19 assists on six deaths. Neta “33” Shapira on Largo added 10 kills and 24 assists on five deaths while Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko on Monkey King had eight kills and 20 assists on four deaths. Watson on Weaver also had 16 kills and 13 assists on five deaths despite the loss.

Yandex seemed discombobulated after having game two slip from their hands, as Tundra stomped them in game three to the tune of a 42-14 kill lead in game three. Matthew “Ari” Walker on Tusk was notably key to Tundra's dominance in game three, much to the delight of his home crowd, as he set up multiple early ganks that hamstrung Yandex's game plan. Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon on Phoenix then proved crucial in preventing their opponents from clawing things back by anchoring the ensuing teamfights for Tundra.

Bzm on Beastmaster made good use of the set-up from his supports, putting up 18 kills for a second straight game to go with 14 assists against just one death. Pure also had another strong performance on Monkey King, notching 11 kills and 19 assists on three deaths.

Despite Yandex's best efforts to mount a comeback in game four, Tundra simply could not be denied the championship. In the most one-sided game of the grand finals, Tundra took the lead from the get-go and never looked back until Yandex were forced to throw in the towel after just 27 minutes. Bzm on Beastmaster and Pure on Lifestealer led the way for Tundra in the closeout game, combining for a clean 14 kills and 23 assists out of their team's 27-10 kill lead.

A look back at ESL One Birmingham 2026

ESL One Birmingham 2026 was the latest event in the 2025-2026 ESL Pro Tour (EPT), being the fourth ESL One tournament to be hosted in Birmingham, the United Kingdom after the previous edition in 2024. ESL One Birmingham 2026 featured 16 of the best teams in the world competing for their cut of the tournament's US$1 million prize pool and EPT points that will go towards qualification for the Esports World Cup 2026's Dota 2 competition.

ESL One Birmingham took place from 22 to 29 March, split between the Group Stage from 22 to 25 March and the Playoffs from 26 to 29 March. The Group Stage split the 16 participating teams into two round-robin groups of eight teams each, where they competed in best-of-two matches to be among the eight total teams that advanced to the Playoffs. The Playoffs then followed a double-elimination format with best-of-three matches, except for the grand finals, which was a full best-of-five series.