| The Heroes | |
| Top Tier Heroes | |
The top tier heroes are: Lich Lich was either banned or first-picked 38 times. In 18 matches, Lich had 55.56% winrate. Because Lich can be banned or picked without revealing any strategic information, it was favored by every team. Also, Lich is a very familiar face in a new game, and this comfort factor contributed to increased usage in the first Dota 2 tournament.  Antimage Antimage was either banned or first-picked 33 times. In 17 matches, Antimage had 70.59% winrate, and was highly favored by most teams. A lot of teams used Antimage in the tournament, especially EHOME. Other teams, however, never picked Antimage. Na'Vi, for example, never used Antimage during The International, choosing instead to ban this hero in almost every game.  Night StalkerNight Stalker was either banned or first-picked 28 times, and got 58.33% winrate over 12 matches. Night Stalker was favored due to this ability to control the flow of the game and force situations.  Ancient ApparitionAncient Apparition was either banned or first-picked 26 times, and got 52.38% winrate over 21 matches. His global reach and laning versatility made the him a top tier hero.  SpectreSpectre was either banned or first-picked 26 times, and got a 50% winrate over 8 matches. Just before The International, Spectre was winning everything, and thus she rarely got into the games. Her global ultimate gave her the best assist average, 15.2 (justifying her gigantic 0.84 teamfight involvement). | |
| Most loved heroes | |
The heroes that got into most games are: Vengeful SpiritThe most picked hero with 33 appearances. With her low HP pool, Vengeful Spirit players had very little luck throughout the tournament, achieving only a 33% winrate. Her versatility and familiarity made her the most popular hero in the tournament.  WindrunnerAlleria was picked in 29 matches, and got a 48.28% winrate. Once again, versatility is the explanation for her popularity, as she can hold herself on the hard lane, has a strong case for soloing the mid lane, and can even be used as a support in a triple lane.  EarthshakerPicked in 28 matches, with 60.71% winrate. Even with a small mana-pool in the earliest stage of the game, Earthshaker brings a lot of things to the game: he can roam, he can defend the carry in a triple lane, and he wins teamfights like no other hero, with little farm.  BeastmasterPicked in 24 matches, with 58.33% winrate. With his hawk and ultimate that ignores BKB, Rexxar is the best choice to control the map and stop the enemies from fighting on their own terms. Beastmaster is Night Stalker's nemesis: they were never in the same team. They faced each other nine times; Beastmaster won four, while Night Stalker won five.  Priestess of the MoonPicked in 22 matches, with 72.73% winrate. Easily one of the most important heroes in the whole tournament, highly favored in matches where Spectre and Antimage are banned. Strong in all stages of the game, Mirana was frequently used by everyone. | |
| Most effective heroes | |
The most effective heroes are: Viper (4-1 80%) Na'Vi made this hero a monster during The International, picking him all the time and losing only one match. Viper's ability to soak up magical damage and dominate lanes with orb-walking and tower diving, as well as his relative unfamiliarity to other teams, contributed to Na'Vi's successful use. Priestess of the Moon (16-6 72.73%) Mirana was everyone's favorite hero during The International. A lot of players used her successfully during the matches, even in the worst situations possible, with Mirana soloing the hard lane. Her versatility and utility over all game phases makes her a very safe pick, and with so much money on the line, teams played safe. Antimage (12-5 70.59%) The discussion of whether Antimage is overpowered or not continues. Why teams are favoring Antimage? If we compare him to Spectre, we'll see that his average game time when he wins is 20 minutes smaller than Spectre (42 against 63 minutes). Antimage is taking less time to start dominating the game. That's a good argument for Antimage's prevalence over other carries. If we look at ESWC and The International data, Antimage has a 100% winrate against Spectre and 57% winrate against Faceless Void. His worst number is against Drow: 33%. Drow's average game time in her wins is even smaller than Antimage. | |
| Least effective heroes | |
The least effective heroes are: Clockwork Goblin: (4-10, 28.57%) Just like Spectre, Clockwork Goblin was very dominant in the Dota scene just before The International. During the tournament, however, he wasn't as dominant as before. However, we did have winning and stellar performances on Clockwerk Goblin (Hi Lacoste). It feels to me that, right now, Rattletrap isn't that popular because of the limited hero pool, as he's still one of the best heroes to have when you want to sacrifice a hero in the hard lane.  Venomancer: (5-11, 31.25%) Venomancer didn't fare well in The International. While he's versatile and can hold most lanes, he didn't have as much success as heroes like Windrunner or Tidehunter. He was picked together with Vengeful Spirit 10 times, but that combo achieved only one win.  Sven: (5-10, 33.33%)Sven is a strange hero. If we look at his abilities, we can think he's a carry hero. However, teams usually play him as a support hero, as his stun is probably the most powerful level 1 spell around and he's very strong at roaming. Because of this, he's a very hard hero to use effectively, because you're doomed to lose if his roaming is unsuccessful. Vengeful Spirit: (11-22, 33.33%) Vengeful Spirit's case is similar to Rattletrap: there are a handful of teams who can play a stellar Vengeful Spirit (hi NS). She gets picked a lot because she's a safe and familiar pick, but not everyone can use her to the fullest. For the future, these numbers might change as the hero pool gets bigger and bigger. | |
| Other numbers | |
| Here are some other numbers: Dire won 32 matches, while the Radiant won 22. During the International, all the teams got a total of 2506 kills. 2558 deaths. 52 of these were by the Radiant/Dire/Neutral creeps or denies. 5471 assists were made in total. Mirana is the hero with the most kills in the whole tournament, with 181. Weaver is in the second place, with 174, and Antimage is the third, with 162 kills. Earthshaker is the hero with the third-most deaths in the tournament, with 118. Windrunner is the second, with 152. And the first is, guess who? Vengeful Spirit, with 264 deaths. She's easily the most hated hero. |
Click here to see The International ban/pick order info
Click here to see the complete Dota 2 general info (The International and ESWC for now)
Click here to see the complete Dota 2 ban/pick order info (The International and ESWC for now)
