The other team has already banned a hero and it’s your team’s turn to ban a hero. In most regions, the answer is obvious - Illidan. But in Korea, Sonya is every bit as scary as Illidan - making the choice of whether to ban Illidan, Sonya, or neither an agonizing dilemma.
A Super Sonya
Sonya has won 20 out of the 25 maps she’s been played on in Heroes of the Storm Super League 2016 - Season 2, and has been banned on 7 other maps for an involvement rate of 78%.
That’s pretty impressive - and yet it understates her impact since the Chromie patch came out. 12 maps have been played in Super League on the new patch, and Sonya has been picked on every single one of those maps for a 100% pick/involvement rate. She has also won on 9 of those maps, giving her a 75% win rate. But it’s not just the statistics that speak to Sonya’s utter domination of Super League - check out this video of Sonya literally winning a game-deciding team fight against Tempest in Game 3 of Tempest vs. DsA.
Even the #1 Heroes of the Storm team in the world, MVP Black, has tasted her wrath.
Draft phase war paint
But perhaps where Sonya’s impact is most keenly felt is in the draft. Ever since the Chromie patch came out, Korean teams have made it clear they believe Sonya is first pick material in the draft - she has been first picked on 8 of the 12 maps played since the new patch. The four times she was not first picked she was immediately picked by the other team, winning 3 of those 4 games. She has never been banned by the first pick team, since that team is usually trying to secure her with the first pick by forcing an Illidan ban from the enemy team (Illidan is almost perma banned in Korea).
So far, teams have not wavered from the stance that they’d rather face Sonya than Illidan, but given the results so far this sentiment may change. At any rate, while her win rate and involvement statistics are amazing, it is the fact that they have been accomplished given her prioritization in drafts that cements her status as one of the most feared heroes in Heroes of the Storm Super League 2016 - Season 2.
Heroes of the Storm Super League - Season 2 continues tomorrow at 3 am PDT with the Winners’ match between MVP Black and TNL. The victor qualifies for Dreamhack All Stars - Summer 2016, although it will not be known whether that will be as the #1 KR seed or the #2 KR seed until after the Grand Finals of this event. Follow the legendary exploits of Sonya in Heroes of the Storm Super League 2016 - Season 2 here on the US stream and here for the Korean stream.
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