Today we’d like to share a little of the process that goes into deciding the mascot for our ESL One events - this is a collaborative and often quite silly process that nevertheless plays a vital role in how the final event will look in the end. We’ve also talked more about the theme for ESL One Birmingham and future ESL One events.
We’ll be using ESL One Birmingham 2026 as our primary example, but a similar process has taken place at all of our events. It starts with a few Dota 2 degenerates in a call, and a jail cell full of heroes.
Our selection process
This is probably the easiest part of the entire process (and very fun to do). For ESL One Birmingham, we started with two goals in mind - we wanted to a: choose a hero that matched what we feel is the biggest Dota 2 community focused event and b: choose a hero that had a strong presence for broadcast and other elements, something that gave us options creatively rather than limiting us.
Now, Pudge as the mascot for a Dota event might seem like a no-brainer, but it was closer than you might think. Of course, he’s a British hero, and certainly the most popular hero by a long way. The hook is easily adapted to the big screen for broadcast, and we can have fun with a truly terrifying Pudge and his mischievous Persona.
Early sketch concepts to establish a visual style for our Pudge and Persona.
Each of these heroes had some merit in capturing the spirit of this event, with the show-stopping gameplay of Enigma - imagine an entire event dedicated to the idea of a 5-man Black Hole, the idea that no game is ever truly lost. Or we could explore the rivalry between Crystal Maiden and Lina, Ice vs Fire — Red vs Blue — some parts of the arena claimed by one and some by the other. Even splitting the event into 4, using the colours of the Spirit Brothers and having them guide our audience through to the Stage.
Once we have our initial pool of options that fit this criteria, we start the process of critiquing them and what they would bring to the event. IO for example - although it would be fun as a gimmick, to maybe attach to a different mascot, and although it does cover some criteria such as the community focus that we want, practically we couldn’t find the right approach to implement Wisp into a Dota event. For Crystal Maiden and Lina, there are downsides to sharing the attention of an event between two heroes, and ensuring both receive an appropriate amount of attention and care. For other heroes like Axe or Enigma, these were serious considerations, but in the end they were counted out not by their criteria individually but in comparison with what Pudge had going for him. As each one is eliminated from consideration, they are placed in the Dota mascot jail.
What comes next?
The event theme extends far beyond its mascot though. Pudge isn't just a cockney butcher, he is the most played hero in the history of Dota 2. Whether you like him or hate him, you know him, and he is an icon of the community. Between that and the fact that Birmingham has always had a stand-out audience, we decided that this event's theme would be much more about the community.
Ultimately, all our events are about community but this event is something even more special. We wanted this event to be the Heart of the Dota 2 community, going above and beyond our usual esports spectacle and ensuring that everyone, no matter how casual, could join us in celebrating Dota 2. It is in that spirit that we invited both the wonderful John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain Lowrie as well as Gorgc to co-stream onsite directly.
We’ll also be joined by amazing guests like Teaguv, Blitz, and more! This is a first for our events - bringing amazing people from all different walks of life to join us - and we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we will.
For us, while The International represents the peak of Dota 2 competition, ESL One represents something different; an event focused on community first - something that cuts to the Heart of what Dota 2 is - the best game ever made, bringing people together.
The heart of dota, and the importance of community
Esports would not exist without its community. When you have a game as incredible as Dota 2, and you add over a decade of community contributions to a game as fantastic as this, you get something truly magical. Dota has drawn together more talented people and next-level nerds than any other game, and more good things have come from the collaborative and creative spirit of this game than any other out there (aside from maybe Quake). Through the workshop, Valve has encouraged 2D and 3D artists to collaborate - through events, cosplayers have brought Dota 2 heroes to life from nothing. SFM artists working with script-writers to tell brand new Dota stories each year, songs, both in parody and original form have been written and sung about this game.
And in every single case new bonds of friendship have been made. We love the competition, the stakes and witnessing the hard work and talent of the players that make it to our events (otherwise we wouldn’t be putting them on!) but to us it is this next step beyond the competition that makes Dota so special.
Every Dota player has a moment where they fell in love with the game. If you’re lucky, you’ll also have a moment where you fell in love with the esport. And there’ll be another moment - probably at your first TI, through shared feelings with all of the fans around you - where you fell in love with the community. A reunion of all of these friendships, bonds and creativity, a place where all Dota fans come together whether they’re still grinding ranked or stopped playing years ago. That’s what the Heart of Dota means to us, and at its best, that’s what ESL One should be: the beating Heart of Dota esports. Our overarching theme for this and future ESL One events.
We’re super excited about ESL One Birmingham 2026, and we hope you are too! Your experience matters to us, and we want to know all of your thoughts on how we can improve things. From paying for hotels for the full event to give you a better chance of meeting your favourite players, to partnering with DreamHack to give you the biggest event expo possible, we want to know what matters to you, and how we can continue to develop ESL One into an event worth coming back to every time.
Until then, make sure you follow us on X, Instagram, and Facebook to get the latest announcements and news.