The opening section of Dota 2’s The International is nearly at its close, and thus we’ve pulled the trigger on our Meta Report for the Road to TI.
In total, 91 matches have been played, with plenty in the way of trends emerging—from particular heroes dominating the meta to single items that dictate the results of matches. We’ve only scratched the surface of what we’ve seen thus far from the teams at TI, but there are definite trends emerging that can even dictate the general public meta long after the tournament concludes.
The picks, bans, items, and more defining The International 2023’s Road to TI stage
Strength, Universal attribute heroes top charts
Yep, if you were sick of seeing tanky Strength and all-around stat-machine Universal heroes on the map over the past few months, you won’t have liked the Road to The International this week. Eight of the top 10 contested heroes are Strength or Universal heroes according to stats site Spectral.
While the exact list of heroes isn’t identical, ranked Dota also boasts a wide range of these primary attribute heroes too, with their power in the meta plain to see.
Pangolier leads the charts in Seattle, seen in 84 of the 91 matches so far—but primarily in the ban phase of the draft. Also up there with Pango is Treant Protector, Invoker, Brewmaster, and Spirit Breaker.
Vengeful Spirit is currently the most-picked hero, utilized heavily as a safe lane support thanks to her base kit of abilities. Having a Universal attribute helps her deal that extra bit of damage as the game goes on, and given matches are trending later, any bonus helps.
Chaos Knight, Sven lead carry pick rates, but Agility heroes aren’t dead
The Strength/Universal trend is easily seen when looking at position one choices made by teams. Chaos Knight (as predicted in our Heroes to Watch piece) is dominating matches right now with a 71 percent win rate from 21 picks.
The Armlet of Mordiggian remains the go-to piece of kit for CK, who farms incredibly quickly now thanks to 7.34d’s boost to his Chaos Strike crit against creeps. It was really the weakest part of his game, but once Armlet and Echo Sabre are acquired, good luck bringing down this monster.
Sven (19 picks, 36 percent win rate) despite possessing the almighty Strength attribute, just isn’t landing well so far, with the hero often kited around by mobile picks and lineups. That said, Agility heroes aren’t all dead and gone.
Luna, Spectre, and Void (oh look, another of our picks!) have seen plenty of picks thus far, while Naga Siren has also been tested by 10 different players. Only Talon’s 23 dared to pick the hero twice. Templar Assassin was given a few laps in both the mid and safe lanes, but with four wins from 12 picks, she’ll need a little refining.
Pangolier not working? Try Kunkka instead
So Pango’s a no-go. Who should mids be turning to? Kunkka’s not a bad shout, it seems.
Yes I know, another Strength hero, but at just above 50 percent win rate, everyone’s favorite Dota pirate is putting his foot (peg leg?) forward. He slots in well alongside popular picks like Skywrath Mage (five matches together for four wins) and Chaos Knight (three from five) and has a great kit of abilities allowing him to fill both utility and damage roles.
Players are leaning into a fast Phase Boots into Blade Mail before immediately tanking up with a Heart of Tarrasque (which, by the way, is by far the most popular non-starting item so far at TI). An Aghanim’s Scepter for Torrent Storm normally comes next.
Primal Beast is winning even more often in mid-lane, and given the prevalence of heroes like Bristleback that require Break, getting an Agh’s Scepter on the hero has proven critical.
However, one mid hero has emerged from the depths to steal away the winningest mid so far at TI…
Dazzle: The hero of TI 2023?
We were warned of the return of the classic support hero, but some refused to listen. Dazzle has recorded an incredible 83 percent win rate in the mid lane. Sure, six picks so limited data, but it’s no wonder the hero’s been copping plenty of bans so far.
After Treads it’s an immediate Agh’s rush for the Shadow Wave upgrade, which applies a standard attack to all enemies hit by the Wave whilst also healing allies nearby. Think Gyrocopter’s Flak Cannon except on a nine-second cooldown. No wait, sorry, even less thanks to Bad Juju’s cooldown reduction.
Throw in an amazing attack animation, decent stat growth, a lack of nerfs in 7.34, his own personal save which can be used on teammates, and a mini-Hex, and you’ve got yourself a brutal war machine with plenty of utility. Did I mention he is Universal?
He’s so good that teams are floating him into alternate lanes, with Dazzle seen in every position in the draft apart from position one carry so far. His effectiveness outside the mid-lane has been minimal, unfortunately, so if he makes it through in future drafts, he’s probably the position two.
Dark Willow, Treant Protector lead support picks
Nothing too exciting happening in the support world. Treant Protector is the most-contested support pick but has seen over double the bans, with Dark Willow (25 picks in 30 matches, 52 percent win rate) sneaking beneath the meta as the offlane support.
Ancient Apparition (another of my picks, I’m on a roll!) was certainly expected to make an appearance thanks to Ice Blast’s ability to delay healing and cut down generally tanky heroes. Muerta (15 picks, 73 percent win rate) has also seen action as a four, needing very little gold or items to make a solid contribution to a team fight.
Vengeful Spirit and Phoenix round out the list, while Nature’s Prophet has also been trialed as a position five with kaori, Sneyking, and Yamsun all trialing the hero with various degrees of success. Most lean into the Solar Crest for armor reduction before picking up an Aghanim’s Shard for the Curse of the Oldgrowth vision and damage over time.
Uh, why does Radiant have a 59 percent win rate?
Radiant’s 59 percent win rate so far is quite remarkable, and historically it’s one of the largest gaps between the two sides in TI history. Only the first iteration of TI came close in regards to the sizeable discrepancy between Radiant and Dire.
Many players discussed this phenomenon throughout the course of the week’s matches. Some pointed out how much more comfortable it feels to play in the Radiant safe lane, with easier and safer access to common ward spots and pulling jungle camps.
Another added that the buffs on the sides of the map, which give health regen (Dire) and mana regen (Radiant) respectively, also affect jungle camps within range, which means the safe jungle at the top of the map is technically tankier than Radiant’s safe jungle at bot.
A third isn’t totally convinced yet, and we’ll need more matches to determine the true trend. I don’t know, mate—91 matches is plenty, but you made a good point about the strength of picking second instead of picking sides.
In short, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
The 12 heroes who haven’t made the cut yet
Finally, after 91 matches, just 12 Dota 2 heroes have gone uncontested thus far, with Abaddon, Dragon Knight, Leshrac, Lion, Magnus, Meepo, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Slardar, Timbersaw, Tinker, and Winter Wyvern avoided altogether.
We’re surprised to see Abaddon here, especially in a Strength/Universal meta. If a solid Dispel on a six-second cooldown that provides a small shield and deals damage isn’t enough to pick him as a four, I don’t know what is—and that’s just one ability! I’m sure we’ll see him pop up at one point in the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, it’s been a dismal 7.34 for the Horseman, who also went unpicked through DreamLeague Season 21 alongside Meepo and Slardar. The chances we’ll see the three enter the server are low, but Abaddon easily has the best chance of the trio.
A further 11 heroes have only been seen once in drafts so far at TI 2023. Ember Spirit and Io, normally staples at the big show, are seeing next to no interest from teams, as is Huskar—one of my picks for a hero to watch this month. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.
The final playoff bracket qualifiers kick off later today, with TI moving to the Seattle Convention Center’s Summit next week to begin the final push for the Aegis of Champions.
