https://www.cybersport.ru/dota-2/articles/uzhe-zavtra-kerri-io-i-pyaterka-luna-budut-v-kazhdom-vashem-matche-v-dota-2-chem-udivil- meidzhor-v-singapure

Ana happy – Kerry Io is back in the meta

“Did you miss me?” It was with these words (if we translate his gurgling into Dota 2) Io burst into the meta major. During the first season, the character was taken from time to time in all regions, but often for the support position. In Singapore, Io, just like at TI9, moved to the core position. At the moment, he was taken 12 times – and in 66.67% the character won. However, here it is worth mentioning that the hero’s statistics were spoiled by Alliance and Nigma, who used him as a support. As a carry, Io hasn’t lost a single card yet.

At the same time, the strength of the character has already been appreciated by all participants in the tournament (except perhaps for one captain, but more on that later). Io is currently the most banned hero of the Major – he was banned 42 times. One way or another at the draft stage, Io figured in 94% of all maps in the championship. And if earlier OG took Io in conjunction with another strong core or a character who can play the role of a tank, for example Bristleback, now the hero is completely self-sufficient. Team Liquid used Io when, in fact, he had no one to effectively apply Tether to (in the match against Gambit, his teammates in core positions were Invoker and Sand King).

Io quickly buys Helm of the Dominator and Aghanim’s Scepter before minute 20, and then acquires Black King Bar and Heart of Tarrasque, after which he becomes almost immortal. Thanks to this, his teammates can move on to constant aggression around the map and the demolition of buildings. Moreover, the character feels comfortable not only in early aggression, but also in the late game: for example, in the Neon-Aster match, carry Io in the late just destroyed Anti-Mage on the map, which dragged on for more than 40 minutes, and ended with a score of 11/0 /eleven.

After the furore that the character made in the early days of the tournament, there are fears that we will now rarely see him. Teams don’t hesitate to take Io on the first pick, so now he is banned in the first stage. If during the championship we do not have a new imbalanced character, then Io will practically not be selected from the ban.

Chinese Luna

Luna was occasionally seen as a carry in the first season of the DPC, but her performance left a lot to be desired. Later, the character began to be used in the fourth position with an early exit to Aghanim’s Scepter, which gave huge magic damage. In Europe, Taiga from Team Liquid liked to play the character, but in Singapore, Chinese bands showed exactly how to use the hero. At the Major, Luna settled on the fifth position, although sometimes she also appeared on the “four”. The character was taken ten times, and only the Chinese teams did it – in six cases the hero won.

Chinese players have given up on the Aghanim’s Scepter strategy with a quick exit – they often don’t even try to collect this artifact. On Luna, they just buy items with auras like Vladmir’s Offering and Drum of Endurance or other support items like Glimmer Cape. The character is primarily taken in order to strengthen the lane – the hero, for example, feels great in triple thanks to the aura for increasing damage for allies and a quick recharge of the first ability. Together with Luna, the Chinese teams are trying to play as aggressively as possible – dominance on the lane, flowing into pressure throughout the map and fast demolition of buildings. However, if the game drags on, then you can see Aghanim’s Scepter with Refresher Orb, as, for example, in the Vici Gaming – Gambit match, in which Pyw took the third place in the damage dealt by Luna in the foursome (over 60 thousand). So if in the early days the Chinese region was able to surprise the rest of the world with something, it was Luna support.

Where have Nyx Assassin, Batrider and Keeper of the Light gone?

If new characters begin to enter the drafts, it means that one of the old ones, of course, should drop out. This happened in Singapore as well. Several characters that were extremely popular during the regional leagues have become less in demand. For example, Batrider, who almost always ended up in picks or bans during the first season, appeared at the Major four times and won only once. At the same time, the character is not particularly afraid – only eight bans. By comparison, even Phantom Assassin was getting rid of more often.

The situation is similar with Keeper of the Light, although he was banned much more often – 15 times. However, in those five cases, when the teams did take him, the character looked rather weak, as evidenced by the winrate – one victory in five fights. Not the best memories will remain of Keeper of the Light and the fans from the CIS. SoNNeikO spent the last ban on him in the first stage in the replay against Team Liquid for reaching the group stage of the Major. Apparently, the captain of AS Monaco Gambit was afraid of the once formidable KoTL much more than the increasingly popular Io. We all remember how this prioritization ended for our team during the draft: Liquid immediately took Io, and miCKe destroyed the opponents on this hero.

However, Nyx Assassin lost most of all in popularity – it was as if they had completely forgotten about him. The character was taken only four times and only three times got rid of him at the draft stage. How to explain such a total disregard for the most demanded hero of the first season is unclear. Nyx Assassin still looks good against most of the popular heroes, so he may still return to the meta towards the playoffs.

Hello Razor

Fans from the CIS have probably already forgotten about such a hero. During the entire first season, Razor appeared only twice in our two divisions and lost in both fights. A similar picture was observed in China, where he was picked in only four matches. In the first days of the major in Singapore, he has appeared in the drafts ten times and won on six occasions.

Now Razor is almost one of the main characters of Team Liquid, although the European team took him to the qualifiers only a couple of times. The teams seem to have forgotten that Razor is great at covering most of the enemy melee carries. Given that Monkey King, Juggernaut, Troll Warlord and Wraith King are currently extremely popular in core positions, the character should feel comfortable in most matchups. However, Razor is still a situational hero: despite the fact that he performs well in the laning stage and in the middle of the game, after 35-40 minutes, if his teammates have not gained a serious advantage, the hero has problems with gold and falls out of the match.

Alchemist does not work on the Troika?

At the end of the first season of Dota Pro Circuit, we celebrated the appearance of a new unusual offlaner in the meta – Alchemist. We performed with him quite successfully in Europe, and also tried to use it with varying success in the CIS and China. However, at the Major, the strategy through the purchase of fast Aghanim’s Scepter, apparently, will surprise no one. In Singapore, the character was picked eight times, and only once did he win – in a match between PSG.LGD and T1, where Faith_bian presented the Ame artifact to Monkey King already in the 12th minute.

But in other cases, Alchemist failed to realize itself. For example, Alliance and Team Liquid tried to use the hero, but in their matches the early Aghanim’s Scepter for Monkey King and Gyrocopter, respectively, practically did not give any advantage. Alchemist’s rivals began to play aggressively, preventing him from farming more than one artifact. OG, on the contrary, showed that it was the team with such an unusual “three” that should set the pace on the map. However, in Singapore, Alchemist failed to do anything of the kind. So, it is likely that in the near future the character may disappear from the drafts altogether (although the teams are still afraid of him – the hero was banned 37 times), at least as an offlaner, although in the core position he now looks weak and does not have not a single victory.

Conservative Thunder Predator

Against the background of certain changes in the meta after the regional leagues, the most interesting thing is Thunder Predator, which currently has a 100% win rate in the group stage – eight won maps. Usually, teams from South America are not considered seriously by anyone – rather, they are expected to make unusual or even insane drafts and decisions during the game. And Thunder Predator this time, no doubt, surprised everyone, but not with strange picks, but, on the contrary, with conservatism. The Peruvian team did not show any home preparations in the first three matches. Thunder Predator drafts do not include support Luna, carry Io or Razor – the team chooses, perhaps, the most familiar characters of recent months.

Quite often, at major tournaments from Valve, its own meta is formed, to which all participants immediately try to adapt, but this transformation is not successful for everyone. Thunder Predator has no such problem yet. The Peruvians continue to rely on Tidehunter, Wraith King, Beastmaster, Earth Spirit, Death Prophet, Void Spirit and other characters who performed well in the first season in all regions. And it works. The unusual picks of the Peruvians can be attributed only to the mid Nature’s Prophet, taken against Aster, although other teams sometimes used it in this position during the season. At the same time, during the draft stage, Thunder Predator gets rid of unpleasant heroes like Io, Broodmother and Lone Druid, depriving opponents of the opportunity to surprise with something. Many expected a clash of regions, different strategies and approaches from the major. Thunder Predator just took the best from everywhere and performs consistently on it – so far it works flawlessly.