Team Falcons staged an impressive comeback in the lower bracket, dominating the BetBoom Team in the grand finals of ESL One Birmingham 2024.
Throughout the tournament, Team Falcons epitomized the spirit of comeback. They faced a shaky start in the group stage, entering the competition without adequate practice and with Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan filling in at the last minute. Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak, the team's mid-laner, arrived in the UK only on the tournament's second day, and their first decisive victory came on the final day of the groups.
After salvaging their tournament run in a tiebreaker series, the Falcons secured a spot in the upper bracket playoffs. However, they stumbled in their playoff opener against Tundra Esports, leading to a relentless battle for survival throughout the remainder of the bracket.
"I'm prepared to play eight games today," declared Falcons' carry player Oliver "skiter" Lepko at the start of the finals day in Birmingham, but he ended up playing only five.
In the lower bracket finals, Falcons decisively defeated Tundra Esports to advance to the best-of-five grand finals against BetBoom Team. However, the BetBoom Team came out strong in the first two games of the finals.
BetBoom Team entered the grand finals with a fast-paced Dota strategy. The draft for the first game aimed to catch Falcons off guard, employing a mid-lane Keeper of the Light, an offline Visage, and a carry Bloodseeker, supported by Enchantress and Tiny. Despite BetBoom's early dominance, two of the Falcons' heroes managed to maintain their farm, avoiding the chaos on the map. A crucial mid-lane engagement past the 30-minute mark turned the tide in the Falcons' favor, leading to a surprising victory despite trailing in kills.
A similar scenario unfolded in the second game, with the BetBoom Team maintaining their aggressive playstyle. Despite their early lead, a resilient defense from Falcons near the 30-minute mark shifted the momentum of the game. Malr1ne's outstanding performance on his mid-lane Primal Beast and Skiter's impressive damage output on Sven were pivotal in the Falcons' victory.
The panel questioned how the BetBoom Team would recover after such defeats, as they seemed unrecognizable in the third and final game of the series.
ESL One Birmingham 2024 marks Team Falcons' third tournament victory of the year, with four grand finals appearances by the end of April. For BetBoom, this marks their second grand finals loss in 2024, both times falling short of the championship title against Team Falcons.
Prize Pool Distribution for ESL One Birmingham 2024:
1st Place: $300,000 / 6,400 EPT Points - Team Falcons
2nd Place: $175,000 / 4,800 EPT Points - BetBoom Team
3rd Place: $120,000 / 4,000 EPT Points - Tundra Esports
4th Place: $85,000 / 3,200 EPT Points - OG
5th-6th Place: $57,500 / 2,240 EPT Points - Team Liquid / G2 x iG
7th-8th Place: $47,500 / 1,040 EPT Points - Xtreme Gaming / Heroic
9th-10th Place: $30,000 / 560 EPT Points - Team Spirit / Talon Esports
11th-12th Place: $25,000 / 280 EPT Points - Gaimin Gladiators / Shopify Rebellion