We’re about two months away from ESL One Birmingham, powered by Intel, and it’s time to announce the first of six direct invites to the first ever Dota 2 Major in the UK.

Revealing the first direct invite to #ESLOne Birmingham - @virtuspro!

The reigning ESL One champions are looking to add another Major trophy to their collection!https://t.co/0VzVEJigJ2 pic.twitter.com/82wqQrKIrj — ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) March 23, 2018

It’ll come to nobody’s surprise that the reigning ESL One champions, Virtus.pro, are set to fill the first direct invite slot! The winners of both recent ESL Majors, ESL One Hamburg and ESL One Katowice, will now have the chance to defend their title in Birmingham. With their most recent victory in Poland, they have made history as the first ever team to win two ESL One events, both of them being Majors at that. In their midst, they also have two Mercedes MVPs in Solo and RodjER, their dynamic support duo.

Will Virtus.pro be able to extend their record-breaking performance by racking up the third ESL One Major title in a row? Be in the audience to find out! Our final wave of tickets is currently live, so don’t miss out on the chance to see the #1 ranked DPC team in action in the Arena Birmingham!

For further tournament updates, invite reveals and Dota 2 content, be sure to follow ESL Dota 2 on both Twitter and Facebook.