WePlay AniMajor Data Analysis
Props to WePlay, AniMajor is one of the best Major ever produced, despite missing the amazing crowd.
Overview
Patch: 7.29d
Games: 134
Total Heroes: 120
Picked: 100
Banned: 92
Untouched: 17
Out of Captains Mode: Dawnbreaker
Same as previous analysis, League helps a lot for teams to try out more strategies and heroes. This a very special patch, no hero has 85% (after round up) or above contested rate throughout the whole patch, even in the major.
Comparing to the last major, it is also a more balanced patch, more heroes are picked, less dominating heroes, and a nice pumped contested hero rate at 20% and 30%, the hero diversity is quite healthy.
Most Picked Heroes
As the major progresses, the pick of Lion increases, it is totally due to his lock-down ability against heroes that invades back line and hard to catch, like Puck and Storm Spirit. With an early Blink Dagger, he is also able to deliver reliable initiation.
Mars is the favorite at the start of the tournament, but other heroes pop up and fill the first pick slots, then he is mostly banned in 2nd phase, decreasing his pick rate. He provides great initiation and combo with Phoenix and Ancient Apparition.
Dragon Knight is heavily picked by Nigma and then by many other teams, he is one of the best tanky initiator that also wins the lane, he is also a flex pick that sometimes he is played as mid.
Most Banned Heroes
The change in 7.29 of Broodmother made her a viable and reliable pick instead of a niche pick, she can dominate the offlane and half of the map, making lots of space for her team and pushes towers quickly, she is still strong after multiple nerfs, she is not 100% banned is simply due to not every team can play this micro hero.
Viper is banned for the break effect, which is understandable, but it is very dependent on match up, wining the lane is important too. Ancient Apparition is similar, he is banned because he disables all the healing lineup and counters many tanky offlaners too.
Timbersaw is the hero that does all the above, he counters tanky strength heroes, he dominates the lane and provide strong teamfight that helps the snowball.
Nyx Assassin is 1st banned at the early stage of the major, but fall off afterwards, his high ground defense with the Aghanim’s Scepter is very hard to deal with.
Highest Win Rate Heroes (pick ≥ 5)
Not every team can play Hoodwink, and obviously not every team knows how to deal with her. She comes in as a pos 4 support, she can either build for utility or focus on magic damage boosting. For utility, people go for Solar Crest, Eul’s Scepter or things like Force Staff. The magic damage boosting build is fun, it starts with Veil of Discord and then Aghanim’s Scepter to gain access to the skill Hunter’s Boomerang, adding a total of 43% Spell Damage Amplification, and it can affect multiple enemies.
Invoker’s win rate is actually boosted by Miracle- of Nigma, he picked 9 out of 18 times and winning 7 of them.
Winter Wyvern is one of the star in the major, after multiple buffs, people finally found the OP combo, which is Holy Locket + Cold Embrace. With the level 10 talent, the combo heals 35.1% of the target’s max health, in addition to the base heal and Holy Locket active, which gives a flat 648 heal.
Lowest Win Rate Heroes (pick ≥ 5)
It is amazing how long this list are. It indicates that due to regional difference, many teams find their original strategy does not work on an international stage, and also triggering them to find new strategies, causing multiple failing attempts. This happens on Clockwerk, Dark Seer and Morphling, who had 50%, 50% and 60% win rate in DPC leagues.
Tiny is an interesting one, core Tiny has a 38.89% win rate but support Tiny has an 11.11% win rate only. It indicates that support Tiny does not work any more after the nerfs, especially the one on his movement speed.
Highest Pick Rate Increase
People have found the potential of the armor reduction of Lil’ Shredder, causing significant more picks on Snapfire, teams play around the skill to get towers and Roshan quickly. She is also a great counter to Phoenix. She is still great after the nerfs.
Templar Assassin received great buffs in 7.29, she is one of the best snowballer in the game right now.
Enchantress is another beneficiary of Holy Locket, with the buff on Nature’s Attendants in 7.29, the significant healing makes her a great tanky support with decent damage.
Highest Pick Rate Decrease
This is basically the list of heroes that was heavy nerfed in 7.29. Death Prophet can still work as a core, but she cannot be played as a support anymore. Puck is still strong after the nerfs, adding a cheap Aeon Disk makes it unkillable.
Peak Hero Performance
You can see again how strong is Winter Wyvern as a healer now, she can keep up the healing with Io.
Faction
Teams tend to abundant the safe lane at mid-game, giving Radiant an advantage on controlling Roshan, and this advantage cannot be balanced out by last pick, may be due to less cheese pick available.
I will see you next time during TI 10, take care.
