Halfway through the first season of the 2021-2022 DPC Leagues, we take a look at the heroes that are making their mark on the games.
The first DPC Season, or the tournaments leading to the first DPC Major of a new Dota 2 year always seem slightly stale, because the same meta that is deployed for The International gets recycled and reused with a few changes. It is a similar scenario for the first DPC Season of 2021-2022, with the TI10 meta continuing ahead with a few changes introduced through Dota 2 patch 7.30e.
But the beautiful thing about an intricate game like Dota 2 is that small changes have large implications. Even though the way the game is played is the same, the heroes that are used to take down the opposition Ancient have undergone a change due to 7.30e. The first DPC Season of this year is halfway done for five regions, with China yet to start theirs. A total of 380 games have been played over the five regions, and except Crystal Maiden and Huskar, every hero has been picked at least once! It isn’t a surprise though, as even The International 2021 (TI10) saw a plethora of heroes picked. With the leagues on break till the 5th of January, we take a look at the heroes that have dominated the first three weeks of Season 1 of the 2021-2022 DPC Leagues.
All stats are taken from datDota.
Most Picked Heroes from the First Three Weeks of the DPC Leagues
The 15 most picked heroes from 380 games of the DPC Leagues don’t feature too many heroes from the TI10 list. Heroes like Elder Titan, Tidehunter, Earthshaker, Tiny and Magnus – the strength behemoths that dominated TI10 – are nowhere to be seen after being hit with the nerf hammer in 7.30e. Snapfire, Bane, Io, Weaver and Monkey King, however, continue to be prominent in the DPC Leagues, as they were in Bucharest.
The two surprise entrants to the top 15 are Spirit Breaker and Outworld Destroyer, who were two of the eight unpicked heroes at TI10. After buffs in patch 7.30e, the two heroes have made quite a splash in the DPC Leagues and surprisingly enough, both heroes are in consideration for either the position 2 or position 3 role. Position 2 Spirit Breaker has been quite a revelation and is something that is completely new to the professional Dota 2 scene.
Here is a look at the three most player heroes for every region-
Eastern Europe (71 games)
Bane (40)
Snapfire (27)
Queen of Pain (26)
South America (69 games)
Mars (37)
Snapfire (32)
Medusa, Ogre (22)
Western Europe (76 games)
Snapfire (39)
Bane (29)
Mars (27)
North America (96 games)
Bane (43)
Snapfire (40)
Mars (33)
Southeast Asia (68 games)
Mars (37)
Snapfire (27)
Ember Spirit, Pangolier (25)
Most Contested Heroes from the First Three Weeks of the DPC Leagues
To get a clearer picture of teams’ priorities in games, it is always good to take a look at the most contested heroes, which takes into consideration the picks and the bans. Weaver tops the list with a 90% contest rate, with a majority of them being bans (245). His versatility of being a strong hero in either support roles or the carry role makes him a hero worth banning.
Other heroes that were banned for a good chunk of the games include Invoker, Monkey King, Mars and Io, indicating there are the heroes teams do not wish to play against. All these heroes were popular at TI10, and while they weren’t the ones making the headlines, nerfs to the top TI10 heroes has paved the way for them to make it to the top.
Heroes with the Highest Win Rate from the First Three Weeks of the DPC Leagues (picked in at least 30 games)
Mirana, Templar Assassin and Medusa lead the way with girl power, attaining over 60% win rates. Mirana and Templar Assassin are closer to the 70% mark, and also make an appearance in the best position 4 supports and best mid heroes of the current pub meta respectively. Weaver isn’t too far behind with a win rate of over 58%, which justifies his high ban percentage.
Unpicked Heroes from the First Three Weeks of the DPC Leagues (picked in 10 games or less).
While nearly all heroes were picked at least once, a good chunk of the heroes did not see too much play. The list of unpicked heroes comprises of heroes that were picked in 10 games or less in the 380 DPC League games across the five regions.
Some of the heroes in there like Elder Titan, Tiny, Keeper of the Light, Phoenix and Vengeful Spirit have been strong heroes in the recent past, and are rightfully in there after being nerfed. The usual suspects, who always find themselves in this list (at least for the last few patches) include heroes like Clinkz, Dazzle, Huskar, Lone Druid, Omniknight, Pudge, Sniper and Zeus. Hopefully, these heroes are blessed with strong buffs in Dota 2 patch 7.31, whenever it arrives.
If the past is anything to go by, the new patch will probably arrive after the first DPC Major of the year, and if we are lucky, in the break between the Season 1 Leagues and the DPC Major. Till then though, the same meta will continue to rule Dota 2 and the heroes seen here will dominate professional games.
