ESL One Birmingham 2019 Odds & Picks: Secret Open as Favorites

• ESL One Birmingham gets underway May 28th
• Is Secret the right pick at such short odds?
• Is there possibly another upset from the Chinese region in the cards?

ESL One Birmingham is set to take place from May 28th to June 2nd and will host some of the best teams in the world of Dota. Team Secret comes into the event as the favorite once again, as they have been on a tear in the Dota Pro Circuit this season. Not far behind is the other powerhouse representing the CIS region, Virtus.Pro. Both teams that have not placed outside of the top-4 at a DPC Major so far this season, and both will be looking for another title on the year in England.

Odds to Win ESL One Birmingham

*Odds taken 04/23/19

Another Battle of the Titans on the Horizon?

So far this season it has more or less been a two horse race between Team Secret and Virtus.Pro to see who is truly the top team in the world of Dota. VP managed to win the first DPC Major of the year with Secret claiming second in Kuala Lumpur, and at the Chongqing Major they flipped positions with Secret coming out on top and VP taking home the silver.

I fully expect the another battle between the number one and two teams in the world in the Grand Finals come Sunday.

It seemed like they were primed to meet up again in the finals at the third major of the year, DreamLeague Season 11, but ViCi managed to pull the upset and beat both Secret and VP to claim their first major win of the season. Though an upset could happen again, I wouldn’t bet on it at ESL One Birmingham. I fully expect the another battle between the number one and two teams in the world in the Grand Finals come Sunday.

The last time the two squared off VP was the one that had the last laugh, as they knocked Secret out in the semifinal of the Lower Bracket at DreamLeague Season 11. If you were looking at patterns here, you would think it was time for Team Secret to find the win over VP at ESL One Birmingham in this back-and-forth tilt for the right of being called the best team in the world.

I think it’s more or less a toss-up between which team will come out on top in England, but in this case I would give the slight edge to Team Secret. They ran through the EU qualifier for the Disneyland Paris Major without even dropping a game, whereas VP had a few series that got a little closer than they would have liked in their CIS qualifier.

Value Picks that Could Cause an Upset

There are a few teams that offer a little more value than the top two teams that could certainly make some noise and even find themselves playing for the trophy come Sunday. The teams I would consider before putting any money down on a winner for ESL One Birmingham would be Keen, PSG.LGD, and ViCi.

All three are Chinese teams that have found some success this season, with the most notable accomplishment coming in the way of ViCi winning the DreamLeague Major. Each team is world-class and definitely has the ability to play with, and even beat, both Team Secret and Virtus.Pro on their best days. So if you’re looking for a little more value consider taking a look at any of the three to take home the $125,000 prize for first in Birmingham.

Pick: Team Secret (+275)