With the Invitational now over, it’s time to take a look at the GAMERS GALAXY meta report.
Dubai became an arena of epic Dota 2 action in the last couple of days because the city hosted the GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series. Some of the best teams from each region had to go up against each other and compete for a hefty prize pool. Even though this event was not included in Valve’s DPC calendar, we had the chance to watch tons of interesting matches.
Besides the fact that some of the best teams in the world had the chance to shine, this tournament was special because of the patch. As you know, Valve released Dota 2’s newest update, which changed the current meta. This was the first event where we had the chance to see the teams in the new patch, so it was interesting to keep an eye on the heroes.
Speaking of the devil, this article will show you some of the most successful heroes in the tournament. Needless to say, we will only include names that appeared more than five times. There are several heroes with a 100% win rating, but they only got picked once or twice. Be sure to check out the Grand Final Recap here.
Snapfire
The first hero won’t surprise many people, especially those who watched a lot of events in the previous meta. Snapfire was the go-to support hero for many teams in Europe, as well as in NA and SA. However, the recent changes allowed Snapfire to transition from a pos4/5 to a mid laner.
A couple of players had the chance to use Snapfire, but Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer was in a league of his own. The new SEA superstar was almost flawless with the hero and helped his team all the time. Snapfire’s AoE damage allows the hero to work really well in combination with Sand King, Tiderhunter, and loads of other meta heroes. That’s one of the reasons why Snapfire has five victories and one loss.
Invoker
The next hero is probably the tournament’s superstar. Invoker is one of the mid laners that can be used in every meta. Although there were times when pro teams used him as a support, the hero shines if he gets the mid-lane and has a good early game. We’ve seen this numerous times during the GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 because Invoker appeared in 15 games. What’s really impressive is the hero’s win rating, which is 73%.
Almost every pro team had the chance to use Invoker in the games. Although Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov showed his prowess, Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi was on another level for Nigma Galaxy. One of the most popular Dota 2 players in the world played extremely well with Invoker. His Tornado, Meteor, and all other spells were always on time and helped Nigma reach the LB Final.
Although the new Dota 2 update has been out for a couple of days, it seems like this is the Q/W meta. With that being said, the top players always switch to Exort sooner or later, so it will be really interesting to see what will happen.
Undying
The next interesting name on the list is Undying, a hero that you can often see in your PUBs. Many people associate the hero with Decay and his Tomb because these spells can do wonders early on. Fortunately, the new updates made Soul Rip a lot stronger, and it seems like this was enough to make the hero popular in pro games.
Even though Undying had the chance to shine in five games, he only lost one of them. What’s even more impressive is that the hero had a special role in each of the games. In other words, we expect to see him more often in the future.
Death Prophet
DP is one of the interesting heroes in Dota 2 that always had a role for some teams. Even though the hero used to be the go-to mid-laner for several years, most teams pick her as a support. The most recent updaters allow her to do a considerable amount of damage even as a position four, and as expected, the best teams in the world take full advantage of it.
DP had the chance to show her prowess in 14 matches. Despite the four losses, the hero has an impressive 71% win rating, making her one of the best supports in the meta. In fact, the hero has the same stats as Weaver, which is the next name on our list.
Weaver
Weaver is a hero that used to be one of the strongest carries in the game. Although some people continue to utilize him in the position one role, pro players have been using him as a support for some time now.
Due to the fact that he can reduce his opponent’s armor, escape from tricky situations and use his ultimate on friendly heroes once he gets Aghs, the hero has everything needed in a late-game scenario. His only drawback is the lack of stun, which is why some people even get things, such as a Meteor Hammer.
As mentioned above, Weaver’s win rating is also slightly over 71% and the hero has the same W/L ratio as DP. This means that he will play an essential role in the upcoming DPC Tour 2.
Shadow Demon
Old-school Dota 2 players probably remember when Shadow Demon and Luna was the deadliest and most annoying combo in the game. It seems like this meta is back yet again because the two heroes appeared a couple of times.
Shadow Demon is one of the few hyper-offensive supports that are capable of doing impressive amounts of damage even early on. The hero works well in the late game and is often picked as a counter to some popular carries that need to hit you to do damage. This includes Ursa, Sven, Troll Warlord, and more.
Shadow Demon appeared in seven games and won five of them. It will be interesting to see if the hero will be the preferred option in the upcoming DPC quals.
Gyrocopter
The last hero we’d like to point out is Gyrocopter, the carry that has been a part of the meta for several months. Ever since Gyro became popular during TI 5, the hero always had a special role for many teams. His unmatched team-fight potential and the fact that he can easily out-farm most carries makes him great for all sorts of scenarios. The hero is not that tanky, but when paired with IO, he can easily kill a couple of heroes before dying.
Gyrocopter was one of the preferred carries in the event. He showed up in 10 games and won seven of them, which gives him a solid 70% win rating. We are yet to see if he can keep up with other top carries in the current patch.
Honorable mentions
As you can probably guess, there were several heroes that deserved to be on this list. Aside from everything mentioned above, we also have to mention Templar Assassin. This is among the hottest mid-laners right now, despite receiving small changes in patch 7.31.
In addition to TA, several other names should be here, such as Monkey King, Sand King, Kunkka, Tidehunter, and more. Needless to say, all of them will play a key role for the pro teams in the future.