ESL One Malaysia 2022 was an epic tournament with a pretty lucrative prize pool that attracted a lot of top teams. Many people had different favorites, but in the end, OG won the second LAN event of the year. The first one was also in an ESL One event, but it was in the ESL One Stockholm Major.
One of the most interesting things about this event was the fact that Valve released a new patch in the middle of it. 7.32 arrived after the event started so that teams could prepare for what was to come at TI 11. Needless to say, the new patch included a lot of new things, which you can read after checking our previous articles.
Some of the changes were great, but others made certain heroes and items extremely powerful. That’s the reason why Valve released 7.32b a couple of days after the original one.
WIth that being said, we already saw the first event on the new patch. So, let’s take a look at some of the heroes that were not as successful as people thought. We will also check whether they’ve received nerfs or buffs in Dota 2’s latest patch.
Snapfire
One of the first heroes that come to mind when talking about ESL One Malaysia 2022 is Snapfire. The latter is a versatile hero who can fit many roles. With that said, most people use her in the support role because it allows her to do a lot of damage without the need to have tons of farm.
Despite Snapfire’s advantages, this was actually one of the least successful heroes. Snapfire had the chance to play in 15 matches, which is a lot for a support. Despite that, the hero only won 5 of them, which is not impressive at all.
We expected 7.32d to bring some changes to Snapfire, but this was not the case. Hence, the hero will continue to be a part of some teams’ tactics, but they need to be careful when using it.
Dawnbreaker
Following Mars’s dominance in the offlane, patch 7.32 brought a couple of notable nerfs which made the hero less popular than before. Fortunately, the teams that relied on him quickly discovered a worthy replacement.
Dawnbreaker became one of the most important heroes in the meta and the go-to offlaner for almost everyone. The insane damage output mixed with global presence made the hero an excellent fit in the current meta. Despite that, the best players at ESL One Malaysia 2022 were unable to utilize the hero properly.
Dawnbreakrer’s win rate was just 40% because the hero won 6 out of 15 matches. Some teals clearly don’t know how to take advantage of the things the offlaner has to offer, but this may change at TI 11.
Unlike Snapfire, Dawnbreaker received a couple of changes in 7.32b. For starters, his base damage has been decreased by 2, meaning he won’t be as strong in the early game. This is a big nerf because the hero relies on his early-game potential.
Dawn’s Celestial Hammer also deals 10 less damage, which is another hit to his DPS. Last but not least, Dawn’s level 10 talent now provides a 12% slow to Celestial Hammer, whereas the other one gives +18 Starbreaker Swipe/Smash damage instead of +25.
All those nerfs mean that the hero won’t be as good at TI 11 as you think.
Hoodwink
Despite not being as popular as other supports, Hoddwink had the chance to impress players in 14 games at ESL One Malaysia 2022. Some teams knew how to make the most of the hero, whereas others didn’t. Unsurprisingly, this is reflected in the hero’s win rate, which is why it won only 5 matches.
It seems like Hoodwink’s low win rate did not prevent Valve from nerfing the hero even more in 7.32b. The pesky support’s Hunter’s Boomerang now has a 900 cast range instead of 1000, so it will be harder for him to cast it.
Fortunately, Hoodwink’s big damage abilities remain the same, so the hero might be one of the hidden top picks at TI 11.
Dazzle
One of the leading support heroes at the PGL Arlington Major was unable to shine in Malaysia. According to the official stats, Dazzle has 5 wins and 8 losses, making him one of the worst supports in the game.
Unsurprisingly, the main reason for the hero’s lack of success was patch 7.32. The latter introduced a lot of changes that had a negative impact on him. What’s interesting is that Dazzle also received 4 additional changes in 7.32b, all of which are related to his talents.
Dazzle’s level 15 talent now gives the hero +45 heal and damage to Shadow Wave rather than +50. Likewise, his level 20 talent provides +200 HP heal once Shallow Grave is over (it was +225 before), whereas his other level 20 talent gives +45 poison touch damage instead of +40.
Finally, his level 25 gives Poison Touch a jaw-dropping 40% slow instead of +32%. These changes seem interesting and should play a role in the hero’s popularity in subsequent events.
Monkey King
There are a couple of other heroes that failed to impress us, but we think that MK deserves to be on the list. With just 9 wins and 12 losses, this core was not as successful as people thought. Despite his incredible early game damage and ability to scale in the game’s later stages, MK failed to shine.
Unlike some of the other heroes mentioned on this list, MK did not receive any buffs or nerfs in 7.32b. This means that teams will likely continue using them in the upcoming TI qualifiers. Speaking of the devil, don’t miss out on the action because there are still a couple of slots left for Dota 2’s biggest event of the year.
