The most contested Dota 2 hero in every International

The International (TI) is Dota 2’s most prestigious annual event, signifying the ultimate winner of that year’s competitive season. Dota 2 esports teams battle it out in majors and tournaments throughout the year to qualify for the International. Each iteration of TI not only crowns a champion but also defines the game’s competitive meta, showcasing which heroes, strategies, and playstyles reign supreme at the highest level of play. 

The tournament’s evolving meta reflects Dota 2’s ever-shifting balance of power. In this article, we break down the most contested heroes and defining strategies from each International, exploring how patches, innovations, and team philosophies shaped each year’s battle for the Aegis.

Winner: Natus Vincere (Na’Vi)

Prize Pool: $1,600,000

The very first International was a marketing tactic by Valve to promote Dota 2 by shocking the world with the biggest prize in esports at the time. Sixteen teams were invited to hard launch the game with a grand tournament, with Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) bringing home the prize. At this point, the game was still in closed beta, and Valve slowly handed out invitations to the public during and after the tournament.

With 46 heroes at launch and barely any time with the game, the meta was a wild west where teams played whatever they wanted, as long as they protected their carry. Anti-Mage was the most contested hero of the TI1 at a 90% pick and ban rate and a 70% win rate. There wasn’t any answer to his fast farming and mobility. Other highly contested heroes were Ancient Apparition, Lich, Earthshaker, and Windranger. Axe was the only hero that went unpicked. 

Winner: Invictus Gaming (iG)

Prize Pool: $1,600,000

The second International saw teams choosing heroes who had strong pushes during this tournament, yet there was an emphasis on teamfighting and big ultimates. Dark Seer was the most contested hero during this tournament, with a 100% pick and ban for all 151 games played during the event. 

The present heroes of this event followed the trend of sieging and teamfighting: Rubick, Naga Siren, Lycan, Leshrac, Chen, Nature’s Prophet, and Invoker all saw a 90% contest rate (cr).

Winner: Alliance

Prize Pool: $2,874,380

The International 2013 introduced crowdfunding to raise its prize pool with the compendium, credited as the first iteration of a battle pass. TI3 saw the prevalence of “Rat Dota” or constant splitpushing pioneered by Alliance to win one of the greatest grand finals in Dota 2 history. Fans will ultimately remember how annoying they were with Nature’s Prophet and Io. 

But Batrider was the most contested hero of TI3, with a 100% pick and ban rate on all 158 games. Lifestealer, Outworld Destroyer, and Visage were above 90% contest rate. Visage was the most picked hero of the tournament, played over 85 times with a 54% win rate. TI3 was also the event that had the infamous fountain hooks from Na’Vi.

Winner: NewBee

Prize Pool: $10,931,105

The International 2014 is considered one of the worst tournaments because of its underwhelming grand finals, boring deathball meta, and questionable format. Chinese team NewBee won 3-1 in extremely one-sided and short matches, which is a shame because there were many great games during the group stages and playoffs.

Traditional Hard Carries were barely seen as teams favoured anti-carries like Razor, the most-picked hero with 87 matches played, and Doom, who had a 90% contest rate. Teams wanted to win their lanes and group as five to deathball, so Lycan was the most-contested hero in TI4 with a 98% pick and ban rate. They’d often let their carry go Brewmaster (83% pick and ban), and Weaver to start joining fights early. For supports, Shadow Shaman and Skywrath Mage were both picked 83 times because of their strong laning and pickoff potential.

Winner: Evil Geniuses (EG)

Prize Pool: $18,429,613 

Bounty runes were in play in TI5, incentivising roaming kings Tusk (87% cr) and Bounty Hunter (82% cr) to start skirmishes around the map. Gyrocopter and Leshrac were both the most contested heroes in this International, with a 100% contest rate. Even though Leshrac was present for 18 matches, the lightning spamming hero was banned for 145 matches.

The winners of the tournament terrorised their matches with Aui_2000’s Techies (who was immediately kicked after the event). Techies was banned 33 times because every game with him in it was an unwinnable slog.

Winner: Wings Gaming

Prize Pool: $20,770,460

The International 2016 was fortunate to have a balanced meta, which was evident in its hero diversity. The most contested hero of this tournament was Elder Titan (85% cr), closely followed by Mirana (81 picks and 84% cr). There was a healthy representation during this tournament, and teams brought their own tactics. One trend was pairing Shadow Demon (third most picked) with hard-hitting carries like Luna, Drow Ranger, and Mirana to safely whittle down towers.

Champions Wings Gaming were a dominant force who swept through the tournament with their innovative drafting filled with flex picks, picking 58 different heroes during their run. Additionally, this TI showcased Dota 2 on their upgraded engine.

Winner: Team Liquid

Prize Pool: $24,787,916

The International 2017 was played on patch 7.06e. There was also the game’s first original hero, Monkey King, who had an abysmal pick and win rate. Night Stalker was this tournament’s most contested hero (82% cr) and the only one above 80% due to his superior vision. Talents, Dota 2’s biggest change, led to a diverse meta where teams also had to consider that aspect in their kit. At 70 appearances and a 57% contest rate, Earthshaker was the most picked hero in TI7. Nyx Assassin had a high win rate of 69%, winning 31 of the 45 games they were present in.

Team Liquid was the first team to sweep a grand finals 3-0, which is even more impressive considering that they came from the lower bracket during the playoffs. Their cores, especially Miracle- and Matumbaman’s green hero pool, were not only flexible in their hero selections but also in their lanes. The simple change of adding one extra creep to midlane incentivised carries to start mid. 

Winner: OG

Prize Pool: $25,532,177

TI8 was heavily shaped by IceFrog’s decision to release Dota 2 patches every two weeks, giving teams less time to prepare for the tournament. The changes to denying creeps granting 25% experience instead of the past 75% emphasised the laning phase. Trilanes, roamers, and early game jungles were punished, forming the 2-1-2 lanes still used today. Lane bullies like Enchantress (94% cr) and Weaver (91% cr) were the most sought-after heroes in the tournament. The most picked hero is another strong laner, Vengeful Spirit, present for 89 games.

Champions OG’s Cinderella story started before the tournament. Suffering from bad placements and dramatic roster exits, they barely qualified for TI for EU’s last slot. Once the playoffs started, they were unquestionable, winning all of their matches from the upper bracket and ending 3-2 against one of the most iconic grand finals. 

Winner: OG

Prize Pool: $34,330,068

TI9 was one of Dota 2 esports’ most diverse tournaments as every single hero was picked or banned, whereas only three heroes weren’t played (Clockwerk, Keeper of the Light, and Ursa). The recent change that stackers received more gold favoured heroes who could efficiently stack and clear stacks like Alchemist (89% cr) and Shadow Demon (second most picked).

The Aghanim’s update and rework to every hero further cemented Alchemist’s popularity. Additionally, Elder Titan was the most picked hero with 75 appearances throughout the tournament.

Team Liquid made it from the grand finals starting from the lower bracket, making them the first team to do so. However, their underdog story was cut short when the innovative OG showed off how well they understood the game. OG’s famous carry Io was an unbeatable threat. Topson played whatever he wanted, like Diffusal Gyrocopter, Pugna, and Monkey King.

Winner: Team Spirit

Prize Pool: $40,018,195

The International was skipped in 2020 due to the pandemic, so TI10 took place the next year in a crowdless LAN event in Romania. Flexible heroes had high pick rates as they were safe to draft in the early phases. The top two most contested heroes of the tournament were Monkey King and Tiny, with a 96% contest rate, and were both played in all positions. Io joins them as another hero with a 90% contest rate.

Strength heroes dominated the event and set the trend for future TIs. Elder Titan was the most picked hero with 73 games played, followed by Tidehunter, Earthshaker, and Snapfire. Magnus was the standout hero of the tournament with a solid 66% win rate in 44 games and was contested in all five games of the grand finals. 

Winner: Tundra Esports

Prize Pool: $18,930,775

The International 2022 was a tournament for aura carriers and zoo heroes. Wraith Pack, an upgrade to Vladimir’s Offering that summons a ward that reduces physical damage, and Pipe of Insight were frequently bought together for team-wide mitigation. Heroes who could summon additional units like Enigma (87% cr), Broodmother (62% cr), Beastmaster (55% cr), Visage (48% cr) fully utilised these auras.

The most contested heroes of this tournament were Marci (96% cr), Enigma, and Primal Beast (83% cr), favoured as first-phase drafts for their flexibility. Winners Tundra Esports were a cut above the competition and used many high-level tactics, like spamming mangoes and cutting waves, to retain their lead.

Winner: Team Spirit

Prize Pool: $3,380,455

The International 2023 showcased one of Dota 2’s most balanced metas, with 104 heroes picked over 100 games played. TI12 was played with the expansive map from the New Frontiers update, which introduced many meta-defining changes like Universal heroes, twin gates, and minor objectives like Tormentors and Wisdom Runes. Treant Protector emerged as the most contested hero (89% cr) due to his Nature’s Grasp shard providing vision control. Kunkka and Dazzle were the other heroes with contest rates above 80%.

At 102 bans, teams didn’t want to take their chance against Dazzle. He won 13 out of the 18 games he played, including the last match of the grand finals. Muerta was the most picked of the tournament with 56 representations, followed by Grimstroke at 48 picks. Grimstroke could farm empty lanes and was a strong answer to problematic heroes like Pangolier (74% cr) and Spirit Breaker (73%). Blade Mail and Heart of Tarrasque were overtuned in this patch, and tanky heroes like Bristleback (40 picks) and Primal Beast took advantage of it.

Winner: Team Liquid

Prize Pool: $2,776,566

The International 2024 is the least diverse TI, as only 99 heroes were picked through the tournament, and 25 heroes were missing from the action. The introduction of Facets in 7.36 broke the balance and dictated which heroes were strong, explaining the concentrated hero pool of this event. Naga Siren had an overwhelming 97% contest rate, despite only playing 12 games, because of her Deluge Facet, which softened up enemies. Shadow Demon and Sand King were hotly contested heroes, where they were picked or banned in 94% of the games. 

Mirana was the most picked hero, appearing in 46 games due to her Solar Flare Facet, used to amp up the whole team’s damage during her ultimate. Other high pick rate heroes were Windranger (44), Tusk (43), Dragon Knight (40), and Kunkka (39). Omniknight deserves a special mention for his 65% win rate on the 17 games he was let through.

Dota 2’s The International has been one of the faces of esports since it shocked the whole world with its prize pool in 2011. The game has gone through many evolutions, and TI tournaments serve as a snapshot of the prevailing meta during that time. Metas that were shaped by patches, overtuned heroes and items, or innovation from professional teams.

The most contested heroes in The International were usually flexible heroes who were safe to draft first. Heroes like Mirana, Marci, and Tiny didn’t mind what role or lane they were going to, as long as it was for the betterment of the team. These contested heroes were pulled from professional matches, and, as always, the general playerbase should think twice before bringing these heroes into their pub games.