Dota 2: ONE Esports World Pro Invitational Meta Analysis

| Tags: | Author
Dota 2: ONE Esports World Pro Invitational Meta Analysis

The ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational was one of our first major events since the 7.23 update. We take a look at how the new meta seems to be shaping up.


The ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational was the last tournament of the year. Despite not being included in the DPC, it still gathered some of the best teams in the world that went head to head for that mind-blowing $500k USD prize pool.

Apart from the massive prize pool, this tournament was very interesting for one more reason. It was one of the first big events to be played on the Outlanders Update. As you know, Valve released the update a couple of weeks ago and since then, it drastically changed the game.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the most popular heroes during the tournament. The data for this article is from DotaBuff.

Tiny

The most picked hero in the tournament with 41 picks is Tiny. Although this hero received a couple of very noticeable nerfs, it seems like he is just too good to pass on right now.

Generally speaking, Tiny can play in every single position in Dota 2. However, most teams used him as a position four during the tournament. He is fast, fairly tanky early on, and does a very significant amount of damage, all things that are very good in the current meta.

Despite the many picks, Tiny only has around a 46% win rating.

Puck

Although Puck was one of the most popular heroes a couple of years ago, he kind of faded away in the last two years. However, it seems like the Outlanders Update gave him another glimmer of hope.

Unlike many other heroes, Puck receives a couple of very strong buffs, including a free “blink + silence”. As a result, teams started utilizing the pesky Faerie Dragon again. However, contrary to the popular item build, Vici Gaming showed a new way to play the hero.

By taking advantage of the changes and the talents, it turns out that Puck can actually do a lot of physical damage. Previously, this hero was mainly associated with tempo-controlling. That said, it seems like right-clicking is the way to go from now on.

Puck has a 45% win rating out of 31 picks.

Doom

Unlike other heroes on this list, Doom is rocking a very high win rate – 63% out of 30 matches. Similar to pick, Doom received a couple of very important buffs, mainly to Devour. As a result, his popularity skyrocketed.

This hero can also be played in pretty much every position. However, he definitely shines the most on the offlane where he feels most comfortable. That said, some teams even tried to play Doom as a position four. Although they won, it really felt as if that was not his comfort zone.

Vengeful Spirit

Much like Doom and Puck, the buffs to Vengeful Spirit in the new patch resulted in a drastic increase in her pick rate. The hero is definitely a lot stronger than before, not only because it deals more damage, but also because her abilities are just more well-rounded now.

Vengeful Spirit has exactly 60% win rating out of 30 picks. Not bad for a hero that wasn’t picked at all a couple of months ago.

Viper

This is without a doubt one of the sensations of the new patch. Historically speaking, Viper has always been a huge pain to deal with. He is often considered to be one of the biggest lane stompers, which is why teams often pick him when they are desperately trying to win a lane.

However, after a couple of changes, Viper became more of a spell-caster rather than a physical damage dealer. Now that 7.30 is live, the hero is back on his right-clicking spree yet again.

Alliance was the team that utilized Viper the most during the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational. As a result, the hero finished the tournament with 25 picks and a 64% win rating.

According to some pro players, this is one of the craziest patches we’ve seen in Dota 2. There is still a lot more to discover, so we can’t wait for 2020 to begin.

The first big tournament of the year will be the Bukovel Minor, which begins on the January 9. Eight of the best teams in the world will be fighting for that sweet $300K USD prize, and the DPC points.

Until then, be sure to spend some quality time with your family for the upcoming holidays!

Dota 2: ONE Esports World Pro Invitational Meta Analysis
Zlosterr
Zlosterr has been a fan of esports for many years and mainly focuses on Dota 2. He has more than five years of experience writing Dota 2 content for numerous platforms. Besides being a passionate fan of the game, he's also played for various amateur teams.