Multi-team tiebreakers settle ESL One Birmingham playoff bids

(Photo credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

Tundra Esports won all three matches in a four-team tiebreaker on Wednesday to earn an upper-bracket semifinal berth at ESL One Birmingham in England.

In the Group B round robin, Tundra, Xtreme Gaming, HEROIC and Team Spirit all finished with five map wins to tie for second behind OG, who had sixmap victories.

In the tiebreaker round, Tundra beat each of the other three teams, while Xtreme went 2-1, HEROIC went 1-2 and Spirit finished 0-3.

Xtreme and HEROIC secured playoff places in the first round of the lower bracket.

Twelve teams, including eight regional qualifiers, began the Dota 2 tournament, competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool and 26,640 ESL Pro Tour points. The group stage split the teams into two round-robin groups of six, where all series consisted of two games.

The top two teams from each group advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs, the third- and fourth-place teams from each group move into the lower bracket, and the other teams were eliminated. The double-elimination playoff bracket features best-of-three matches except for Sunday's grand final, which is best-of-five.

Group A also came down to a tiebreaker with three teams, all with six map wins, vying for the top two spots. BetBoom Team and Team Falcons both defeated Team Liquid to gain places in the playoffs' upper bracket. Liquid had to settle for a lower-bracket position along with G2 x iG, who wound up with five map victories.

In earlier Group A action on Wednesday, Team Falcons swept Talon Esports 2-0, Liquid and BetBoom Team drew 1-1, and Shopify Rebellion played to a 1-1 tie against G2 x iG.

In Group B ahead of the tiebreakers, OG and Team Spirit finished in a 1-1 draw, Xtreme Gaming topped Tundra Esports 2-0 and Gaimin Gladiators dumped HEROIC 2-0.

The playoffs start Thursday with the two upper-bracket semifinals:

--Team Falcons vs. Tundra Esports

--OG vs. BetBoom Team

Lower-bracket action begins Friday with two first-round matches:

--Team Liquid vs. HEROIC

--Xtreme Gaming vs. G2 x iG

ESL One Birmingham final group-stage standings (W-T-L match record, map record)

Group A

1. Team Falcons, 1-4-0, 6-4

2. BetBoom Team, 2-2-1, 6-4

3. Team Liquid, 1-4-0, 6-4

4. G2 x iG, 1-3-1, 5-5

5. Talon Esports, 1-2-2, 4-6

6. Shopify Rebellion, 0-3-2, 3-7

Group B

1. OG, 1-4-0, 6-4

2. Tundra Esports, 1-3-1, 5-5

3. Xtreme Gaming, 2-1-2, 5-5

4. HEROIC, 1-3-1, 5-5

5. Team Spirit, 0-5-0, 5-5

6. Gaimin Gladiators, 1-2-2, 4-6

ESL One Birmingham prize pool

1. $300,000, 6,400 ESL Pro Tour points -- TBD

2. $175,000, 4,800 -- TBD

3. $120,000, 4,000 -- TBD

4. $85,000, 3,200 -- TBD

5-6. $57,500, 2,240 -- TBD

7-8. $47,500, 1,040 -- TBD

9-10. $30,000, 560 -- Talon Esports, Team Spirit

11-12. $25,000, 280 -- Shopify Rebellion, Gaimin Gladiators

--Field Level Media