Dota 2
Riyadh Masters 2022 was the most interesting non-DPS event of 2022 and will go down in history. Aside from allowing us to watch some of the best teams in the world, this event features a massive $4M prize pool. This is one of the most significant prizes for a non-DPC tournament.
The competition took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, and lasted four days. Even though most fans expected the winner to be from Europe, PSG.LGD proved why they are regarded as one of the best in the world. Ame and the rest ripped through their competitors and deserved the victory.
Like Tour 3 of the DPC, this event was played on patch 7.31d. As a result, some of the popular heroes throughout the DPC were also the go-to options here. Nevertheless, we saw some pretty exciting drafts and strategies, especially from the Chinese teams. That’s why we’ve decided to do a quick meta recap and review some of the most popular and successful heroes.
Tiny
We’d like to start with the most popular hero at the Riyadh Masters 2022. Tiny has proven himself as one of the stable picks in the current meta. His high versatility, insane damage, and one-shot capabilities make him a popular pick.
Despite all of the advantages and the fact that Tiny has a 90% pick and ban rate, he only has a 39% win rate. The hero won only 9 out of 23 games, which means that most teams know how to counter him.
Speaking of countering, Tiny relies a lot on snowballing to succeed. Even though he can farm pretty fast, this is not a hero that is comfortable when he is behind other cores. Hence, teams who manage to shut him down usually win.
Every team used Tiny at least a couple of times during the event. That’s why we expect this hero to continue to be among the go-to options in the upcoming Major.
Zeus
The second name on the list is one of the top mid-laners and supports in the current meta. Zeus is one of the classic meta-core heroes that only work in some situations. That said, it seems like the current meta is great because he is one of the most successful heroes in the game.
Zeus has around a 70% pick and ban rate. The hero appeared in 15 matches, which is pretty impressive. However, the thing that makes him stand out is his jaw-dropping win rate, which is around 73%.
The fact that Zeus wins most of his games probably won’t come as a surprise to some people. He is often combined with heroes like Bloodseeker, Spectre, or Nature’s Prophet because they benefit from his insane damage capabilities. Zeus is one of the best nukers in the game, which makes him excellent against all sorts of squishes.
Dawnbreaker
Every meta has its hot offlaner, and it seems like Dawnbreaker is the queen of 7.31d. The hero successfully replaced Mars, something no one expected to happen because the latter was the preferred option for almost one year. Some teams continue to use him even today.
Dawnbreaker is an excellent option for lineups that rely on snowballing. The hero is among the best for early game skirmishes and can deal a lot of damage. Furthermore, his global ultimate allows her to be a constant threat.
Despite all of the advantages, Dawnbreaker only has a 40% win rating. The hero also appeared in 15 matches, but unlike Zeus, it lost most of them.
Winter Wyvern
WW is probably the most interesting name on this list because she was not among the famous heroes during Tour 3. Even though some teams used the dragon a lot, WW was not as big as other supports. That said, it seems like this support became the go-to pick in the current meta.
Winter Wyvern is one of the game's most dangerous supports because this hero can ultimately change the course of every team fight. Furthermore, the hero can save her allies from dying and can be highly annoying in the early game.
WW appeared in 14 matches and won 9, meaning the hero has a 64.29% win rate. We must see if this hero will be among the top picks at the Major. Don’t forget to tune in to PGL Arlington on August 4 to find out!
Marci
Speaking of top supports, Marci made a name for herself in the current meta and will continue to be one of the top choices. Some teams tried to surprise their opponents by putting her in position 1. However, it seems like the hero shines more in the support position.
The bad news regarding Marci is that her win rate at the Riyadh Masters 2022 is just 42%. Like WW, this hero was picked 14 times but lost most of its games. That said, we don’t think that this will have an impact on her popularity. After all, this is the latest hero in Captains Mode, which means that some teams do not know how to play against her.
Void Spirit
Unlike Zeus, Void Spirit has been one of the preferred mid-laners for some time now. The hero quickly proved himself as one of the best cores in his position and became the primary weapon for many teams. For example, OG relies on Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov’s incredible Void Spirit, which explains why the Bulgarian prodigy often picks him.
The bad news is that Void Spirit is not as good as other top midders, according to the stats. VS appeared in 12 games but won only 4 of them. In other words, he has a 33% win rate, which is not that impressive.
Honorable mentions
Aside from all the heroes mentioned above, there are a couple of other names we must include. For example, Nature’s Prophet also deserves some attention because he became one of the top-tier carriers for some teams. His global presence, insane pushing capabilities, and amazing attack animation make him an excellent option for many teams.
Razor is also a hero that we will see a lot in Arlington a few days from now. Thanks to his impressive 80% win rate, Razor has become one of the best heroes in the current meta. He can easily counter most right-clickers and is incredibly strong in the mid-game.
Feature Image: Gamers8/Twitter