DreamHack unveiled the esports line-up for its first UK festival, with DreamHack Birmingham set to host more than $1.7m (~£1.28m) in prize money across events taking place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from March 27th-29th. According to a release, the weekend will feature eight competitive titles, including ESL One for Dota 2, Call of Duty League (CDL) Major II, Halo competitions and Road to the Esports World Cup qualifiers.

The largest share of that total came from ESL One Birmingham 2026, which carried a $1m (~£752,000) prize pool and a 16-team field. Public event information listed teams such as PARIVISION, Team Spirit, OG, Tundra Esports, Team Falcons and Virtus.Pro, while DreamHack’s Birmingham site said the event would take place in the bp pulse LIVE arena next to the main festival floor.

DreamHack Birmingham also hosted CDL Major II, bringing 12 franchised Call of Duty teams to the UK for a tournament with a $365,000 (~£274,000) prize pool, according to the release. DreamHack’s event page added that limited free seating for the competition was included with general DreamHack tickets, while dedicated CDL tickets offered guaranteed seating.

Outside Activision Blizzard’s franchised circuit, the festival also included the Call of Duty: Warzone Resurgence Series Birmingham LAN Finals. DreamHack’s event page described Birmingham as the first live COD:WRS event of 2026, with a $100,000 (~£75,200) prize pool and qualification slots for the circuit’s championship at the Esports World Cup. According to the release, the Birmingham LAN featured a 32-team open bracket feeding into a 16-team Match Point finals lobby.

Halo also formed a major part of the weekend. According to the release, DreamHack Open ft. Halo Infinite offered $100,000 (~£75,200) across its main four-versus-four event, free-for-all, two-versus-two and legacy Halo tournaments, alongside pre-event online competitions. DreamHack’s Halo page also promoted a 32-team open bracket structure for the main event and confirmed that the overall Halo programme would award $100,000 in total prizing.

Another part of the programme came through Road to the Esports World Cup 2026, a set of open qualifiers in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, Street Fighter 6 and Trackmania. DreamHack’s public event page said Birmingham would award qualification places for all three titles, with four players advancing in FATAL FURY, two in Street Fighter 6 and eight in Trackmania. The same page listed prize pools of $50,000 (~£37,600) for FATAL FURY, $50,000 (~£37,600) for Street Fighter 6 and $15,100 (~£11,400) for Trackmania.

Beyond esports, DreamHack said the Birmingham event would also include creator meet-and-greets, cosplay, an expo and an indie games area. Ticket listings on DreamHack’s site showed entry starting from £25, while some dedicated esports tickets — including ESL One and CDL options — were sold separately for guaranteed seating.

According to the release, the combined competitions made DreamHack Birmingham “one of the largest single-location esports prize pools ever staged in the UK.” The event also marked DreamHack’s first festival in the country, adding Birmingham to a 2026 calendar that already included stops in cities such as Dallas, Stockholm and Atlanta.