Photos by: ESL and Mars Media

MDL Macau and ESL One Katowice ran in parallel where Team Liquid and Team Secret took the plaudits respectively. They were the first tournaments (on LAN) which we got to see on the 7.21 patch and the games did not disappoint.

MDL Macau and ESL One Katowice Team Stats

Hero Stats for MDL Macau

Total games played: 47

Total heroes picked: 91

Number of heroes unpicked or unbanned: 22

Most picked hero: Elder Titan (19 games, 10 wins, 52.63% win rate)

Most contested hero: Lifestealer (47 games, either picked or banned in 100% of the games)

Most banned hero: Lifestealer (38 games)

Hero with the highest win rate (10 games or more): Bane (12 games, 11 wins, 91.67% win rate)

Hero with lowest win rate (10 games or more): Rubick (10 games, 2 wins, 20% win rate)

Hero Stats for ESL One Katowice

Total games played: 85

Total heroes picked: 98

Number of heroes unpicked or unbanned: 14

Most picked hero: Shadow Shaman (14 games, 11 wins, 56% win rate)

Most contested hero: Lifestealer (77 games, either picked or banned in 90.59% of the games)

Most banned hero: Lifestealer (55 games)

Hero with the highest win rate (10 games or more): Pangolier (18 games, 14 wins, 77.78% win rate)

Hero with lowest win rate (10 games or more): Sven (15 games, 1 wins, 6.67% win rate)

Lot of varied picks and strats coming out from the teams and with longer games as compared to 7.20, games went back and forth. Both the winners, Team Liquid and Team Secret dominated their respective events dropping just 3 and one games respectively. Liquid seem to have found their footing after a slow start to the season while Secret just continue to build on their good form.

Coming to the heroes, it is clear Lifestealer is the hero of the current meta. Most contested and most banned at both events, the hero has a combined win rate of 58.06%. Elder Titan is on the rise again but Sven, even though picked in a decent number of games, seems to be a hero that is difficult to win on. with a combined win rate of just 20.69%, the Rogue Knight is in need of some buffs or else he will once again, be forgotten and banished like he was for a long time before 7.20.

The next big events coming up are the third Minor and Major of the 2018-2019 DPC season. That is where the meta will unfold even more with all the big teams squaring off against each other. But even before that, Dota 2 will welcome a new hero, Mars! A lot to look forward to in the days to come.

Related Articles: