Every Dota 2 event has its own unique meta, which tends to evolve a lot, especially during the later stages of the tournament. The Bucharest Minor was no exception. In total, there were 82 heroes picked, which is a somewhat smaller number compared to previous events. That is mainly due to the current pub meta in which only a handful of heroes are doing great (yes, Beastmaster, I am talking about you :D). While pub and professional Dota are miles away regarding picks, one always affects the other.

The most picked

When we take a look at the most picked heroes for the event, the vast majority of them are support. Tuskar for example, who is the most picked hero (21 times in total), provides a valuable early game advantage with his annoying slow and block. Having an excellent early game is crucial because it could get pretty hard to bounce back after a rough start, especially against the best teams in the world. That’s why when we look at previous events, there is always at least one hero that can provide a decent start for his team before he becomes relatively “useless” in the later stages of the game.

Just after Tuskar, there are yet again three support heroes who have been on the radar - Earth Spirit, Dazzle and Lich. While there are no words needed why ES and Dazzle are here, Lich is the hero that went through a massive change in 7.20. Before that, the hero itself was considered a pure lane dominator, who becomes increasingly weak during the mid-late game. He was basically a walking ultimate. Now, besides a walking ultimate, Lich can provide a 2.5 sec disable, Slow + damage from his shield and overall better presence in all stages of the game. Yes, he loses his incredible laning presence during the early stages of the game (R.I.P denying creeps), but the overall changes have been good, and the pick rate of the hero proves that.

Of course, a Dota 2 game can’t be played with only supports. One of the most contested cores during the tournament were Tiny, Medusa and Troll Warlord. Sven was also picked pretty often, but sometimes he was played as a support, that’s why I will be excluding him from this list.

Tiny has been one of the most successful heroes in the pro scene for some time now. The hero provides incredible utility because he can be played in any position from one to four — no wonder why the hero is the second most picked at the event.

Medusa and Troll Warlord are your typical late-game monsters. If they are given the needed space, they can carry their team to victory. That’s why they make a good pair with some strong early game heroes such as Tuskar and Dazzle, which yet again shows why they have that high pick rate.

Wombo Combo

There are many heroes which can provide a devastating combo when they pair up together. Of course, we are not talking about your regular Magnus + melee carry combo. Gyro + Wisp, Grimstroke + Lich, Troll + ES are just some examples of the most successful pairs during the event. Phantom assassin deserves an honorable mention here because she is a wombo combo of her own. The hero has one of the highest win ratings in the Minor (70%), and it is for a good reason. The random 1.5k crits with just a battle fury might seem like too much. That’s why many of the pro players and the casters are eager to see a nerf on the hero. Until then - have fun in your pubs, one-shotting people.

Left in the shadows

The total amount of the heroes who were not picked during the event is 29. Zeus, Storm Spirit and Spectre are just some of the examples of heroes that were left behind, not getting a chance to shine on the big stage.

Despite getting a lot of attention in the pub games, heroes such as the above mentioned and more just do not fit in the current pro meta. This is due to change as soon as the next patch comes out, but until then, that’s that.

The most banned

As in pretty much every meta and nearly every tier one event, IO (a.k.a Wisp) takes the crown as the most banned hero. This is yet again self-explaining - in the proper hands, the hero provides excellent utility, presence in all stages of the game and an incredible escape mechanism. The funny thing about IO is that the hero always had one of the lowest win percent ratio in pubs, apart from those occasional Wisp spammers that ruin the game for others (much like the Meepo ones).

Coming in second, having just two bans less is Beastmaster. The nightmare for every safelane after 7.20, BM has proven himself as the top offlane pick. Maxing his Boar as well as rushing an early Vladimir has proven to be strong enough to make him the go-to pick for most teams. Regardless of that, the hero has around a 55% win rating in the event, which is not that high compared to some other heroes.

OD, Huskar, and Dusa are the top three position one and two heroes that have been banned the most, which is pretty self-explaining. No one likes to get demolished on a lane.

What’s next?

This week (19 January) there will be yet another must-watch event - The Chongqing Major. The tournament will feature the best teams in the world, which will be fighting for that $1,000,000 prize pool.

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