Medusa Dominates the Berlin Major: A Closer Look at Her Success
The Berlin Major of Dota 2 is reaching its climax, with one of the 9 Pandas or Gaimin Gladiators securing a spot in the grand final through the upper bracket final on May 6. However, the biggest story coming out of the tournament is not about the potential winner but rather the overwhelming success of the hero, Medusa.
Medusa’s win rate on the Berlin stage has skyrocketed to 77 percent after 22 matches, according to Dota 2 statistics tracking site, Spectral.
Gaimin’s player, dyrachyo, played a crucial role in unleashing Medusa’s power, which led to her ban rate eventually matching her win rate in later Dota 2 matchdays.
Related: Live updates from the Dota 2 ESL One Berlin Major
Previously, Medusa suffered from a weak early game. However, the recent 7.33b update addressed this issue by modifying Medusa’s Mana Shield, making her much harder to kill by the 20-minute mark. Moreover, her teammates can apply defensive auras, further bolstering her survivability.
Another reason for her recent success is the map expansion in Dota’s New Frontiers patch, providing Medusa with more opportunities to farm. With the help of Power Treads and Manta Style, Medusa can now come online as early as 20 minutes, enabling her to participate in fights sooner than before.
The Berlin Major analyst panel even discussed Medusa’s dominance, with former professional player Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann stating that she is one of the top three most broken heroes Dota has ever seen.
While Medusa’s dominance is comparable to Lina’s performance in the Lima Major, Medusa has enjoyed a wider presence in the draft stage, with teams giving her more opportunities to be picked.
Teams have devised various strategies to counter Medusa, with 9 Pandas successfully defeating her in all three meetings. These strategies often involve heavy spell damage burst, disarming items like Heaven’s Halberd, and carries that scale with attack speed.
Other teams have attempted to break down Medusa’s Mana Shield quickly with mana burn from items like Diffusal Blade or Lion’s Mana Drain. However, adjustments to Medusa’s 7.33b buff are expected after the conclusion of the Major on May 8.