Earth Spirit and Treant Protector dictate the meta in the first half of The International 2026.
The year’s Dota 2 world championship tournament, The International (TI) 2026, has concluded its preliminary Group Stage and Elimination Stage phases, with 109 total games played on the freshly introduced Patch 7.41e.
Throughout the first half of the tournament, a total of 105 heroes have been contested, with 22 left untouched. Among these heroes, several have been familiar favourites and one particular hero dwarfed the rest of its peers in terms of sheer presence.
Let’s break down TI 2026 Group Stage meta below, highlighting the most popular heroes at the tournament, including the top picks and bans. All data is sourced from Spectral Stats.
Who is the most popular hero at TI 2026?
The most popular–and formidable–hero at TI 2026 is none other than the Treant Protector. The support hero has been contested in 100% of the games so far, being first-banned in 101 games. The hero did slip through the draft eight times and has won all but one match–when 
Team Falcons’ 
Jing “Sneyking” Wu played the hero against 
TEAM VISION in the Group Stage.
The old Ent is simply too broken to let loose. As a support, it provides an overpowered kit that crushes lanes, boasting the highest raw base damage in the game, alongside a stealth Innate that allows strong ganks. It also has global healing that works on towers, a BKB-piercing AoE root, and a powerful wave-clearing ability.
The hero was neck-and-neck with Lone Druid in terms of bans at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026. But after Patch 7.41e, the bear has faltered, leaving Treant stubbornly reigning at the top despite also being hit with nerfs. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing Treant Protector much for a while, as teams continue to keep the hero at bay.
A hero that we will actually see more often despite its high ban priority is Earth Spirit, which is frequently allowed through in drafts. The Strength hero has been contested 99 times across the 109 matches, with 61 bans overwhelming its 38 picks. Whenever the hero is available, though, it brings a strong presence to games, boasting a solid 66% win rate.
The hero’s success is courtesy of its superior mobility and scaling into the late game, alongside a potent Magnetize that can obliterate fights almost too easily. Earth Spirit was primarily played in the mid lane, with 
Team Liquid’s 
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski and 
Iron Wing’s 
Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov having played the hero the most, at five picks each.
Meanwhile, the overall top pick goes to Hoodwink. The slippery support hero was contested 94 times, with 55 total picks and a nearly equal number of bans. However, it reflects a mediocre win rate of 42%. Hoodwink has been ubiquitous in the meta for a while now, bringing strong lane presence and great crowd-control abilities, including a high-damage Break on its ultimate. The squirrel may not be overpowered, but it remains a go-to pick for a strong supporting presence. It is particularly popular with Team Liquid and Iron Wing, with both teams drafting the hero eight times.
Here’s a more comprehensive look at the most popular heroes in The International 2026.
What are the most-picked heroes at TI 2026?
- Hoodwink – 94 contests, 55 picks, 42% win rate
- Mirana – 70 contests, 51 picks, 47% win rate
- Centaur Warrunner – 85 contests, 43 picks, 49% win rate
- Earth Spirit – 99 contests, 38 picks, 66% win rate
- Undying – 78 contests, 37 picks, 51% win rate
What are the most-banned heroes at TI 2026?
- Treant Protector – 109 contests, 101 bans, 8 picks, 88% pick win rate
- Keeper of the Light – 93 contests, 76 bans, 17 picks, 53% pick win rate
- Largo – 76 contests, 63 bans, 13 picks, 46% pick win rate
- Lina – 95 contests, 62 bans, 33 picks, 55% pick win rate
- Earth Spirit – 99 contests, 61 bans, 38 picks, 66% pick win rate
What heroes have not been contested at TI 2026?
There are 22 heroes that have not been picked or banned even once across the 109 games played so far. Some of these are understandably niche, while others could indicate that they are heavily underpowered.
Here are all the uncontested heroes from the first half of TI 2026:
Abaddon, Anti-Mage, Bristleback, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Chen, Disruptor, Lich, Marci, Medusa, Meepo, Nyx Assassin, Ogre Magi, Omniknight, Phantom Assassin, Silencer, Skywrath Mage, Sniper, Venomancer, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Most-picked heroes at TI 2026 by role
The most popular carry hero at TI 2026 is Kez, with 21 total picks and a boastful 67% win rate. The hero notably helped 
Team Spirit's 
Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk accumulate the most kills at the tournament in a single match so far at 31 kills–tying the all-time record set by 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan’s Tiny.
The mid lane is, of course, dominated by Earth Spirit, with 36 total picks. The off lane, on the other hand, sees Centaur Warrunner lead the field by a large margin, standing at 35 picks, with Dark Seer trailing behind on 20.
The support line-up is often interchangeable, with Hoodwink flexed between positions 4 and 5, though it is more commonly used as the position 4 support. The hero was picked 38 times as position 4 and 17 times as position 5.
The most popular hero in the position 5 role is Undying, with 34 total games, followed closely by Winter Wyvern with 32 picks. Both heroes have a 53% win rate.
A similar meta to the Dota 2 Esports World Cup
The International 2026’s meta so far has been similar to that of the previous landmark event, the Dota 2 Esports World Cup last month, with Hoodwink and Treant Protector both sitting atop the most-picked and most-banned lists. The pre-TI hero changes in Patch 7.41e seemed to have little impact on these menaces, though Lone Druid particularly bore the brunt of the changes.
Other heroes that have dipped in popularity at TI 2026 include Bane, Clockwerk, Beastmaster, Largo, Ringmaster, Axe, and Puck. Meanwhile, heroes that have risen in trend include Jakiro, Doom, Underlord, and Pangolier.
What is The International 2026?
TI 2026 is this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, taking place in August in Shanghai, China. As with previous iterations of the tournament, TI 2026 featured a total of 16 teams that earn their spots in the tournament by receiving direct invites or earning slots through regional qualifiers.
The list of directly-invited teams to TI 2026 include 
Aurora Gaming, 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, Iron Wing (aka 1w Team), 
Xtreme Gaming, and 
Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the teams that earned their spots through the regional qualifiers include European qualifier winners 
Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), 
HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner 
OG, South American qualifier winner 
LGD Gaming, as well as Chinese qualifier winners 
Vici Gaming and 
Team Resilience.
At the time of publishing, the Group Stage has wrapped up to remain with the final eight as TEAM VISION, Nigma Galaxy, Team Liquid, Team Falcons, Team Spirit, Team Yandex, BoomBoys, and Iron Wing advance to the Playoffs.
TI 2026's main event will be hosted in the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 during last year's world championship tournament, where Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China's Xtreme Gaming in the five-game grand finals.
This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, where Western Europe's OG became the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in four games to claim the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 are split into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ main event. The Road to The International was a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, where the 16 teams were cut down to the final eight that will play in the game's biggest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center.
TI 2026's prize pool follows that of previous editions, with a US$1.6 million base prize pool that will then be boosted through sales of the TI 2026 Compendium. The prize pool currently stands at US$3 million.
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