AFTER MORE than a hundred games played, The International 2022 is finally reaching crescendo as playoffs start tomorrow.
Before the playoffs start, we take a look at how the meta has progressed so far and which heroes have so far dominated the field.
All data was sourced from Liquipedia and Datdota, two community-based websites dedicated to professional Dota 2 stats.
Marci is the most picked and second most banned
Marci has so far been the most picked and the most banned hero in the group and LCQ. Out of the 183 games so far, she has been picked 76 times (41.53 percent) and banned a whopping 101 times (98.91 percent). That means that she was only absent from two games. She does have a good 50 percent win percentage in the current meta.
Only after a year since she was announced, Marci has been a threat in-game. She can be flexed as a core or support with her kit. Her long-range initiation and stun are pivotal to starting team fights or finding quick pick offs while her level 25 talent provides an additional brief spell immunity.
Enigma is the most banned hero
The only hero who’s above Marci in the banned pool is Enigma, who has been banned in 95 games so far or 89.07 percent of the total games played. His ban rate may have something to do with his win percentage, winning 57.45 percent of the 47 games he has been picked.
Enigma has always been a great team fight hero but recent changes have pushed him back into meta limelight. With the meta slightly favoring side lane pushes over constant team fights and pick-offs. Enigma’s recent eidolon buffs offer a quick and cheap side lane pushing power. If everything else fails and the team is down, a great Blackhole is all it takes to turn the game around.
Shadowfiend, Undying, Tiny, and Primal Beast follow Marci in top five most picked
Following Marci, Nevermore the Shadow Fiend (SF for you younglings out there) has the second-highest pick rate being picked 71 times or 38.80 percent of the games. He currently has a 54.93 percent win percentage in the tournament.
After Shadowfiend, it’s Undying who's been picked 63 times or 34.43 percent of the games so far. Tiny follows suit being picked 61 times or 33.33 percent, and finally Primal Beast who’s been picked 59 times or 32.24 percent.
All four offer team great flexibility with Undying, Tiny, and Primal Beast being extremely versatile core or support picks. Shadow Fiend, meanwhile, is a reliable core hero that can out scale lane matchups.
Batrider, Primal Beast, and Morphling join Enigma and Marci in top five most banned
For the most banned, Batrider is the third finishing the first two stages with a massive 101 bans or 55.19 percent. Following him is Primal Beast, who was banned 95 times or 51.91 percent of all games. Then lastly, there's Morphling with 91 bans or 49.73 percent of games.
Other notable stats are Dire, with a 52.5 percent win rate over the radiant side. First pick also has a slight advantage with a 51.4 percent win rate.
Possible changes in Playoffs
Everything can still change once playoffs start. We have already seen a glimpse of what new hero meta can come out in the playoffs with Boom Esports’ dominant pick of Bristleback. Prior to their game against EG, Bristle was only played once in the LCQ and Group stage. Boom won with the pick three consecutive times.
The last day of groups also saw Disruptor becoming a more reliable pick for long-range catches or disengages. Boom showcased a great Disruptor game catching out heroes, Fnatic’s DJ also showed the heroes’ full potential in their final match of the group singlehanded carrying Fnatic in those two games on Disruptor.
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