Fnatic crowned back-to-back ESL One Online champions

The first ESL One Birmingham Online winners have been decided.

Photo via Mars Media

Fnatic have locked in their spot as the top Dota 2 team in Southeast Asia yet again, winning their second straight ESL One championship at ESL One Birmingham Online today against BOOM Esports.

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BOOM had a strong run, showing that they are a team to watch moving forward in the region. But they didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to match the veteran team during the grand finals. 

Fnatic’s run was less than perfect, dropping a series to BOOM and Team Adroit in the group stage. But out of every team in the region, Jabz and his roster are by far the most consistent in playoff matches. BOOM were only able to take a single game off of them during the two times they matched up in the bracket. 

All four games of the grand finals were very competitive, but Fnatic just looked like the more put-together team behind steady performances from 23savage, Djardel “DJ” Mampusti, and Moon. Specifically with 23savage, he didn’t have a single negative performance, always contributing around eight kills and 30,000 damage, even in their one loss.

Moon was the standout player for Fnatic, with two dominant performances on Death Prophet helping lead his team to victory. Here are his statlines for each of the four games in the finals, showcasing just how well he controlled the mid lane even if he wasn’t the top contributor in every match.

HeroK/D/ANet WorthHero DamageResult
Death Prophet14/0/1616.9k (fourth)29.4k (second)Win
Zeus4/7/1219.1k (fourth)56.7k (first)Loss
Death Prophet11/2/1518.9k (first)30.9k (second)Win
Storm Spirit14/2/618.1k (second)24.3k (first)Win

This is Fnatic’s second straight ESL One title, having overcome Adroit in the grand finals of ESL One LOs Angeles Online last month to claim first place. There is no question that Jabz and his team are the top contenders in the region now, as they have now attained some consistency in their previously sporadic playstyle. 

SEA is the first region to wrap up play at ESL One Birmingham Online, with three more regional brackets still ongoing. 

Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.